Stanford shrugs off early Heisman buzz for Christian McCaffrey

David Shaw has seen his fair share of Heisman candidates at Stanford. In 2009, when Shaw was Jim Harbaugh's offensive coordinator, he saw Toby Gerhart finish as the runner-up for the Heisman. In 2010 and 2011, Stanford QB Andrew Luck also finished in second-place for the nation's most prestigious award.

This season, it looks as though running back Christian McCaffrey could have a shot at the trophy. McCaffrey's 1,518 all-purpose yards are best in the nation and he's on pace to best Barry Sanders' single-season record for all-purpose yards.

Despite all the buzz around McCaffrey's potential Heisman bid, Shaw is reluctant to start campaigning for his sophomore sensation.

"There have been billboards in New York, email campaigns, text message campaigns [put on by schools for Heisman candidates]," Shaw said, according to ESPN. "None of that's been proven to work. ... I've studied it a lot. Nothing anyone does works outside of playing great football and winning games late in the year."