At the 2017 Pac-12 media day, a little-known, little-framed running back from Stanford received only a smattering of questions — most of those regarding trying to replace Christian McCaffrey.

On Wednesday, the clamoring to get quotes from Bryce Love about himself was so loud that the Heisman favorite had to Skype into the event.

Love was already on pace to complete his degree in human biology in June, but when he decided to accelerate the process to December, he had to take on a larger load of summer classes that conflicted with the conference’s annual gathering in Los Angeles.

“He broke a lot of records last year, did some phenomenal things last year. This year’s about him getting bigger, stronger, being more versatile, different things, adding to his game. We’re not going to do the Bryce Love stat watch,” Stanford head coach David Shaw said. “… Our focus is going to be on having the best team we can have, the most well-rounded team we can have, the most balanced offense we can have, as well as having one of the most explosive running backs in the history of college football.”

Love parroted his coach’s sentiments when he finally got out of class long enough to call into the media workroom. By far, the longest response of the 5-foot-10, 196-pounder’s session was when he was asked about the entire Stanford offense.

More Information Stanford career rushing leaders Player Yards TD* Years Stepfan Taylor 4,300 40 2009-12 Darrin Nelson 4,169 24 1977-81 Christian McCaffrey 3,922 21 2014-16 Toby Gerhart 3,522 44 2006-09 Bryce Love 3,127 24 2015-present * Rushing touchdowns Source: Stanford athletics

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Coming off a season during which he rushed for 2,118 yards and finished second to Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield in the Heisman voting, Love gave props to his teammates — squeezing 15 names into a 60-second response.

Bursting with modesty and a team-before-self attitude, Love doesn’t enjoy the spotlight. These were his first public comments since the middle of April, and before that, he had not spoken to the media since deciding to return for his senior season in January.

On top of wanting to finish his degree soon, with plans to become a doctor, Love said he postponed the start of his NFL career because he thinks Stanford has unfinished business. The Cardinal went 9-5 last season and lost to USC in the conference championship game.

“It was an amazing year for us, but we didn’t necessarily get to accomplish everything that we wanted to accomplish,” Love said. “… I wanted to go out there with my class again.”

Despite missing a game with an ankle injury and being hobbled in six others, Love set an FBS record with 13 runs of at least 50 yards. He averaged 8.05 yards per carry.

“It’s basically just a race to the end zone to see who can celebrate first,” receiver JJ Arcega-Whiteside said. “I always joke with him, saying: ‘When you break the next one, I’m going to catch you.’

“Obviously, I never do.”

Of course, Love doesn’t credit himself, or even his speed. What appears to be his knack for explosive runs is actually a testament to the offense, he said.

Love said Stanford sports the “best offensive line in the nation” and pounds on opponents until he’s able to break the long runs.

“I wish I could explain it. I have no idea. You never know when those plays are going to happen,” Shaw said. “The funny thing with him is: You get to the point that you know it’s going to happen at some point, so we don’t worry about the 3- and 4-yard gains with him. At some point, he’s going to break one.

“What is unique about Bryce is: A lot of those big runs, they’re not untouched runs. They’re runs where he has to break a tackle, make a guy miss, and then his acceleration, I don’t know that I’ve seen live, on the field, an acceleration like that.”

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron