Wikipedia

Toby Gerhart

Tobin Bo Gunnar Gerhart (born March 28, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. With Stanford in 2009, Gerhart won the Doak Walker Award[1] and was the runner-up for the 2009 Heisman Trophy.[2] He received 1,276 points in the Heisman voting, coming in second to Mark Ingram II, who received 1,304 points; the 28-point margin was the closest vote in Heisman history.[3] Gerhart had a breakout senior season in 2009, leading all running backs in the nation in rushing yards, touchdowns, and points scored, and setting several Pac-10 and school records. He held the Stanford record for most rushing yards in a season (1,871) until Christian McCaffrey broke it in 2015, and still holds Cardinal records for touchdowns in a season (28) and most touchdowns in a career (44).

Toby Gerhart
Dark blue and red
Gerhart with the Jacksonville Jaguars
No. 32, 21
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1987-03-28) March 28, 1987 (age 37)
Norco, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High school:Norco
College:Stanford (2006–2009)
NFL draft:2010 / round: 2 / pick: 51
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:1,675
Rushing average:4.2
Rushing touchdowns:7
Receptions:100
Receiving yards:809
Receiving touchdowns:3
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata
College Football Hall of Fame

Early life

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Gerhart was born in Norco, California. He had a record-breaking career at running back for Norco High School. He set a California state record for rushing yards with 9,662 yards in his career. As of December 2009, Gerhart holds the third highest career total of running yards in national high school football history.[4] He led Norco High School to the CIF Division 5 Southern Section football championship on December 9, 2005. Gerhart was named the Gatorade High School Player of the Year for the state of California and was named California's Mr. Football by Cal-Hi Sports. Gerhart also played baseball and graduated as a valedictorian of his high school class.[5]

College career

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Gerhart's high school statistics garnered him interest from many top college football programs. He ultimately committed to Stanford University, where he played for the Stanford Cardinal football team from 2006 to 2009.

2006 season

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In his freshman year, Gerhart backed up Anthony Kimble at the halfback position, starting one game. He rushed for 375 yards for the season, as Stanford struggled to a 1–11 record.

2007 season

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In 2007, Gerhart played in only one game, against San Jose State, in which he rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

 
Gerhart (no. 7) carries the ball during the 2008 Big Game against California.

2008 season

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In 2008, Gerhart had a breakout season under the direction of then-running backs coach Willie Taggart.[6] He set the Stanford single-season rushing record with 1,136 yards, breaking Tommy Vardell's school record of 1,084 yards. Gerhart was the fifth player in Stanford history to run for 1,000 yards or more in a season, after Darrin Nelson, Brad Muster, Jon Volpe, and Vardell. He scored 15 rushing touchdowns, then the second highest single season total in Stanford history. His eight games with 100 or more rushing yards were a Stanford record. He tied a Stanford record with four rushing touchdowns against Washington State. Gerhart averaged 5.4 yards per carry and finished third in the Pac-10 in rushing.

2009 season

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In 2009, Gerhart had 1,871 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns.[7] Gerhart led the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing yards (1,871), rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (28), and points scored (172 points). His 3,522 career rushing yards are the third most in Stanford history, behind Darrin Nelson's 4,033 yards and Stepfan Taylor's 4,300 yards.

Gerhart rushed for over 100 yards in 11 of his 13 games in 2009. On September 26, 2009, he became only the sixth person in Stanford history to rush for 200 yards in a game, with 200 yards on 27 carries against Washington. On November 7, 2009, Gerhart recorded his second 200-yard game of the season, running for 223 yards against the 7th-ranked Oregon Ducks, breaking the Stanford single-game rushing record previously held by Jon Volpe. On November 28, Gerhart ran for 205 yards and three rushing touchdowns in a 45–38 win over Notre Dame. This was his third 200-yard game of the season. Gerhart again tied the school record for rushing touchdowns in a game by running for four touchdowns against Cal. Gerhart also threw one pass in 2009, completing it for an 18-yard touchdown against Notre Dame.

Gerhart helped lead Stanford to an 8–5 record and its first bowl berth in eight years. He finished the season first in Division 1A in rushing yards (1,871) and rushing touchdowns (28).[8]

Gerhart was a unanimous 2009 First-team All-America selection. He was named the 2009 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. He was one of five finalists for the 2009 Heisman Trophy and finished in second place behind Mark Ingram II by 28 points, the slimmest margin in the trophy's 74-year history. Gerhart is the winner of the 2009 Doak Walker Award as the best running back in the nation and of the Jim Brown Trophy presented to the top running back in college football by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Gerhart won the Touchdown Club of Columbus' Archie Griffin Award, which is awarded after the completion of the bowl games to college football's MVP for the season.

Gerhart was a starting outfielder for the baseball team. He passed up the opportunity to play professional baseball after the 2009 season to return for his senior year at Stanford.[9]

Gerhart majored in Management Science and Engineering.[10]

College statistics

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Season Team Rushing Receiving
Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD
2006 Stanford 106 375 3.5 38 0 15 124 8.3 16 0
2007 Stanford 12 140 11.7 48 1 0 0 0.0 0 0
2008 Stanford 210 1,136 5.4 46 15 13 114 8.8 21 0
2009 Stanford 343 1,871 5.5 61 28 11 157 14.3 33 0
Total 671 3,522 5.2 61 44 39 395 10.1 33 0

Awards and honors

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Gerhart's Doak Walker Award on display at the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame

Records

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Pac-12 records

  • Most rushing touchdowns in a season (28) in 2009
  • Most total touchdowns in a season (28) in 2009
  • Most points scored in a season (172) in 2009

Stanford career records

  • Most career touchdowns (44)
  • Most career rushing touchdowns (44)
  • Most career 100 yard rushing games (20)
  • Most career 200 yard rushing games (3) (tied)

Stanford single season records (2009)

  • Most rushing yards in a season (1,871)
  • Most rushing touchdowns in a season (28)
  • Most total touchdowns in a season (28)
  • Most points scored in a season (172)
  • Most yards from scrimmage in a season (2,028)
  • Most 100 yard rushing games in a season (11)
  • Most 200 yard rushing games in a season (3)
  • Most consecutive 100 yard rushing games (7)

Stanford single game records

  • Most rushing touchdowns in a game (4) (twice) (tied)

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Gerhart was offered a lucrative contract to play baseball after the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft in June, but opted to play football during the 2009 college football season.[12]

Due to his knee injury in 2007, he had a potential additional year of college football eligibility. He chose to forgo this additional year and entered the 2010 NFL Draft.[13]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m) 		231 lb
(105 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		9+5⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.60 s 1.62 s 2.70 s 4.25 s 6.94 s 38.0 in
(0.97 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)		 22 reps 30[14]
All values from NFL Combine[15][16]
 
Gerhart with the Vikings in 2013

Gerhart had the highest Wonderlic score among running backs with 30.

Minnesota Vikings

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Gerhart was selected in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft, the 51st overall selection by the Minnesota Vikings.[17] A four-year contract was signed on July 30, and Gerhart's first career NFL rushing touchdown came in a win against the Washington Redskins on November 28, 2010. Gerhart started five games for the Vikings during the 2011 regular season and rushed for 531 yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars

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On March 11, 2014, Gerhart signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The deal included $4.5 million guaranteed.[18] On December 5, 2015, the Jacksonville Jaguars placed Gerhart on injured reserve.[19] He was released by the team on March 10, 2016.[20]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles
GP GS Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum Lost
2010 MIN 15 1 81 322 4.0 21 1 21 167 8.0 23 0 3 3
2011 MIN 16 5 109 531 4.9 67 1 23 190 8.3 42 3 1 0
2012 MIN 16 0 50 169 3.4 22 1 20 155 7.8 21 0 2 2
2013 MIN 14 0 36 283 7.9 41 2 13 88 6.8 13 0 1 1
2014 JAX 14 7 101 326 3.2 23 2 20 186 9.3 26 0 1 1
2015 JAX 7 1 20 44 2.2 6 0 3 23 7.7 8 0 0 0
Career 82 14 397 1,675 4.2 67 7 100 809 8.1 42 3 8 7

Personal life

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Gerhart's father, Todd, was a running back at Cal State Fullerton, played in the USFL, and coached him in high school.[21] Toby is the oldest of six children, all of whom are former collegiate athletes. His brother Garth played at Arizona State University and was an offensive lineman with the Cleveland Browns, while his three sisters (who are triplets) played softball: Kelsey[22] and Teagan[23] played at Stanford, and Whitley played at Cal Poly.[24] Gerhart's youngest brother Coltin played at Arizona State and New Mexico.[25][26]

Gerhart returned to Stanford in 2018 for the MBA program, graduating in 2020. He currently works in sales for Asurion,[27] an insurance company based in Nashville, Tennessee that owns the UBreakiFix technology repair shop franchise.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2010 NFL Draft RB ranking", CBS Sports, retrieved February 8, 2010
  2. ^ "McCoy among five finalists for Heisman". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 7, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
  3. ^ "Ingram delivers Alabama its first Heisman". rivals.com. Retrieved December 13, 2009.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Stephens, Mitch (December 11, 2009). "Starting Point: Heisman finalists rated on high school credentials". maxpreps.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  5. ^ "Scout.com: Toby Gerhart profile". Scout.scout.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Dell, Alan. "Commentary | Willie Taggart hasn't wasted a second since taking over the head football job at USF | South Florida Bulls | Bradenton Herald". Bradenton.com. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. ^ "Stanford Cardinal depth chart". Archived from the original on June 4, 2011.
  8. ^ "FBS (Division I-A) Player Rushing Statistics - 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  9. ^ "Baseball - Stanford University Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on December 14, 2006.
  10. ^ Kiefer, David (December 8, 2009). "Toby Gerhart: From Dream to Reality". Stanford Athletics. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  11. ^ "Pac-10 Named 2009-10 Tom Hansen Conference Medal Winners". CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 23, 2010. [dead link]
  12. ^ "No Easy Catch". Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  13. ^ "2010 NFL Draft Early Entries & Projections". Archived from the original on April 6, 2010.
  14. ^ "Gerhart posts top RB Wonderlic score". nationalfootballpost.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Toby Gerhart Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "2010 Draft Scout Toby Gerhart, Stanford NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  17. ^ "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  18. ^ "Toby Gerhart, Jacksonville Jaguars reach 3-year deal". NFL.com. March 11, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  19. ^ "Jaguars place RB Toby Gerhart on IR". www.jaguars.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  20. ^ Smith, Michael David (March 10, 2016). "Jaguars cut Toby Gerhart". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  21. ^ FitzGerald, Tom (November 18, 2009). "Stanford's star stays grounded". SFGate.com. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  22. ^ "Player Bio: Kelsey Gerhart". Stanford University. Archived from the original on January 10, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2010.
  23. ^ "Player Bio: Teagan Gerhart". Stanford University. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  24. ^ "Player Bio: Whitley Gerhart". California Polytechnic State University. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  25. ^ "High school football playoffs: Round One results :: The Valley News". Myvalleynews.com. November 16, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  26. ^ "Coltin Gerhart – University of New Mexico Lobos athletics".
  27. ^ "Toby Gerhart". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
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