In December of this year, former Stanford running back Toby Gerhart will be formally inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, founded by the National Football Foundation. In light of that, I thought it would be fun to take a look back on Gerhart’s career and the impact he made on the Stanford program.
Gerhart committed to Stanford as a member of their 2006 recruiting class out of Norco High School in Norco, California. He was rated as a high 3-star with a 5.7 Rivals rating and listed as a fullback. In addition to Stanford, Gerhart also held offers from Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Mississippi, Nevada, UCLA, and Utah. Of that group, Gerhart took official visits to Utah, UCLA, Mississippi, and of course Stanford.
Gerhart had a solid freshman season at Stanford, rushing for 375 yards on 106 attempts while also totaling 124 receiving yards on 15 receptions, making it 499 yards from scrimmage. He did not find the end zone as a freshman, but he did a nice job of moving the chains and being involved in the offense.
As a sophomore in 2007, Gerhart only played in one game against San Jose State before having to undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee. In that lone game against the Spartans, Gerhart rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts.
As a junior in 2008, Gerhart had a breakout season, rushing for 1,136 yards and 15 touchdowns on 210 attempts while also totaling 114 receiving yards on 13 receptions, making it 1,250 yards from scrimmage. Gerhart played in all 12 games for the Cardinal, who ended up going 5-7 on the season.
As a senior in 2009, Gerhart took his game to another level in which he rushed for 1,871 yards and 28 touchdowns on 343 carries while also totaling 157 receiving yards on 11 receptions, making it 2,028 yards from scrimmage. Gerhart averaged 5.5 yards per carry as a senior, which was slightly higher than the 5.4 yards per carry he averaged as a junior. The big difference was the increase in carries as Gerhart averaged 26.4 carries per game as a senior while averaging 17.5 carries per game as a junior. That’s nearly an increase of +9 carries per game.
As a result of Gerhart’s increased amount of touches as a senior, the Cardinal finished the season 8-5 with Gerhart playing in all 13 games. The Cardinal reached the Sun Bowl, where they narrowly fell to Oklahoma by a final score of 31-27. Gerhart was widely regarded as one of the top players in the country, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
While he didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, which is supposed to honor the most outstanding player in college football, Gerhart cleaned up in other awards, winning the Doak Walker Award and the Jim Brown Award, two awards that both honor the top running back in college football. Gerhart also won the Archie Griffin Award, which is given out to the most valuable college football player for the entire season and Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors.
When you consider the awards that he did win, one can make a very strong case that Gerhart should have won the Heisman Trophy as well. Though I don’t want to take anything away from Mark Ingram, who rushed for a ridiculous 6.1 yards per carry for the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.
What made Gerhart such a great running back was his combination of size, speed, and strength. At 6’1”, 235 pounds, he was a downhill running back that was excellent at breaking tackles; incredibly powerful, running like a bull. If you wanted to bring him down, you needed to gang tackle and even then, that might not be enough. He’s a guy who brought his hard hat to work every single day.
On top of being a dynamic running back on The Farm, Gerhart also played baseball. He batted .264 for his career, totaling nine home runs and 33 RBIs. Gerhart regularly started in the outfield for Stanford and was part of their 2008 team that reached the College World Series. In the 2008 NCAA tournament, he batted .310 for two home runs and five RBIs to go along with a .459 on base percentage and a .655 slugging percentage.
After completing his degree in Management Science & Engineering, Gerhart would go on to be drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Viking with the 51st overall pick, playing six seasons with both the Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars. Gerhart would later return to Stanford, graduating from the Graduate School of Business in 2020 with an MBA. A year later in 2021, Gerhart was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.
When looking back on his career, it is clear that Toby Gerhart is one of the greatest players in the history of Stanford football. His numbers and accolades speak for itself. While he wasn’t a part of much team success, he helped set the tone for what Stanford would become in the years to follow. It is very well deserved that he will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as part of their 2024 class.
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