Bryce Love turns 22 on July 8, but that’s not why the former Stanford running back is eyeing the date.

It is by then, Love said Thursday, that he hopes to be running and capable of moving about a football field again on his surgically repaired right knee.

Love also expects to be part of an NFL team at that point, likely one that will call his name during the draft which begins April 25. His optimistic recovery target would put him on track to take part in at least part of his first NFL training camp.

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Thursday, Love attended the Raiders’ local pro day at their Alameda headquarters, but stood to the side as an observer, wearing a numbered jersey and a sleeve on his right leg, while Raiders running backs coach Kirby Wilson put several players through drills.

At one point, Wilson called over to Love: “Bryce, do you know everybody?”

Most college football followers knew Love after his junior season in 2017, when he rushed for 2,118 yards, averaging 8.1 yards per carry, and was viewed as a potential first-round NFL draft pick.

Rather than declare for the draft, though, Love opted to return to Stanford for his senior season and to complete his degree in biology. Hampered by an injured ankle, Love rushed for 739 yards while averaging 4.5 yards per carry. And in the Cardinal’s final regular-season game, he suffered a torn ACL.

As a result, Love has spent recent months rehabbing instead of participating fully in pre-draft events like the Senior Bowl, scouting combine and pro days. In a positive development, Love had his combine re-check in Indianapolis this week and said reviews of his knee were “all good.”

“Obviously you dream of being able to do the combine, pro days, days like this, but it’s just not how it worked out,” Love said. “At the end of the day I’m a mental giant in terms of just looking on to the next and focusing on what I’ve got to focus on.”

Love adopts a positive outlook toward his injury and recovery - he said at the combine that he has “no regrets” about returning for his final college season - and said the process has showed aspects of himself that his previous successes did not.

“Going through knee rehab ultimately forces you to be a mental giant, like what I said, trusting the process, being patient, learning the things you can do and trying to get better day by day,” Love said. “Not to say I wasn’t doing it before. But applying it when you get back out there - it really makes you appreciate the things you can do when you can do them.”

While observing Thursday, Love said he’d made note of details like the differences in footwork drills and hand placement in pass protection being taught by Raiders coaches.

No longer projected as an early-round pick - some projections have him going on the third day - Love said he has given little thought to when he might be selected.

“I mean, you never know,” Love said. “I don’t really ask - I don’t really look on social media or anything like that.”

Love said his hope is that his college video will “speak for itself,” as, “ultimately that’s the player you are - what your tape shows.”

The caveat, of course, is that video shows Love prior to a significant knee injury. Love, though, told the NFL Network recently he believes “ACL (injuries) aren’t what they used to be.” Thursday, he characterized his own as a temporary setback.

“I know I’m going to be back,” Love said. “I know I’m going to be better than I was before.

“It’s a mentality in that when I say ACLs aren’t what they used to be, it’s obviously in terms of, I know that I’m going to be able to do what I could do before. But I’m trying to push past that, take it to another level. Not be stagnant. And be better than I was.”

Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara