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On Location: Interview With Toby Gerhart at Heisman Trophy Presentation

Skinny: Gerhart is a very interesting prospect. Last season he rushed for 1,136 yards and 15 touchdowns and averaged 5.4 yards per carry on a team that went 5-7. He was by far the team’s best offensive player and pretty much the only guy that opposing defenses had to worry about. He has good size at 6-1 235, good speed, and the ability to change directions quickly. He needs to work on his receiving skills as he only caught 13 passes last season, but he is a very consistent runner who will run hard on every play. Gerhart is someone to watch as he could be moving up draft boards as the season progresses.

Quote of Note: "He's a big, physical runner. Everyone thinks he runs north-south, but they run him to the edge a lot on a toss or a toss-sweep. When he gets to the edge, you're in trouble." - Charlie Weiss on Toby Gerhart

NEWS

02.28.10 - Speed is about the only question with Stanford RB Toby Gerhart. Nobody is doubting his toughness or football intelligence. Best said he marvels at Gerhart's tireless running style. “It's amazing to see guys bounce off him when he runs through a hole,” Best said. “His first carry looks like his last carry. That's mental toughness right there. He doesn't get tired.” But even Gerhart concedes that he must alter his running approach. He never shied away from hits in college, but he's going to have to be more judicious in taking on the bigger bodies of the NFL. “I think you have to adjust to it a little bit,” Gerhart said. “But over my last three years I've played with quite a few guys that are in (the NFL) and, yes, everybody's bigger, everybody's stronger, everybody's faster, but I'm going to have to learn to dodge some hits, not take them all the time.” – San Francisco Press Democrat

02.25.10 - From toast of the Heisman Trophy homestretch to just another slab in the NFL meat market, the past few months have been a whirlwind for Toby Gerhart. But the Heisman runner-up from Stanford touched down in Indianapolis on Wednesday with everything he feels he will need to succeed over the next four days at the NFL scouting combine: good running shoes, a sleeker physique and a healthy dose of spite for the Mel Kipers and Todd McShays of the world. “I hear what people have said about me on TV,” Gerhart said of the ESPN analysts. Neither Kiper nor McShay lists Gerhart among his top five running backs available in the April 22-24 draft, and they are hardly alone in that assessment. “They say I don’t have top-end speed or the burst,” Gerhart added. “They say I can’t play running back at the next level. I don’t think I’m getting the respect I deserve.” Today begins his chance to prove them wrong. — San Jose Mercury News

02.19.10 - Most projections have Gerhart (6-1, 235) going in the second or third round. Because of doubts about his breakaway speed, some draft pundits see his NFL future at fullback. "I want to play running back and be the feature back," said Gerhart. Gerhart said he has run a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash at Stanford. To make his case for being a primary back, he may have to duplicate it, or even improve on it, by the time of the NFL draft, April 22-24. "Once I post some good times I think things will settle out," Gerhart said. "I can't wait to go out there and turn some heads at the combine." – Dallas News

01.15.10 - Heisman Trophy runner-up Toby Gerhart is entering the NFL draft instead of staying at Stanford for a fifth season, according to the Associated Press. Gerhart ran for a school-record 1,871 yards and a nation-leading 28 touchdowns this past season. He could have stayed for a fifth year because he played just one game in 2007 because of a knee injury.

01.01.10 - Stanford running back Toby Gerhart scored twice and had 135 yards in a Sun Bowl loss to Oklahoma. Gerhart has one year of eligibility left, but has already slipped when discussing his plans for next year. He finishes the year with an amazing 28 touchdowns and 1,871 yards.

12.09.09 - After an outstanding season that has him as one of the finalists for the Heisman Trophy, Stanford running back Toby Gerhart has the option to return to the Cardinal or head to the NFL. Gerhart has not announced his future plans, but an interview with Comcast's Chronicle Live on Tuesday may have shed some light on his intentions. After saying he was undecided and would not let the Heisman result impact his final choice, Gerhart made a reference to training for the 40-yard dash: "I'm going to start training here shortly, get ready for the (NFL Draft) Combine." Gerhart backtracked and said he would wait to decide until after Stanford plays Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl before adding: "But it's looking like that's the way it's going to go." When asked again about wining the Heisman and its impact on his decision: "I don't think so. It's going to totally depend on my evaluations by the NFL." – USA Today

12.04.09 - Gerhart has faced six of the top 46 rushing defenses and gained at least 123 yards against five of them. His low against those six teams was 96 yards against Oregon State. In those six games, Gerhart gained 881 yards (146.8) and ran for 14 TDs. That average of 146.8 YPG is actually higher than his overall season average of 144.7 YPG. Gerhart was at his best when he played the best. In four games against teams currently ranked, Gerhart rushed for 158.3 YPG and 12 TDs (against unranked teams, Gerhart ran for 137.9 YPG). – ESPN

12.02.09 - While he spoke this week, Gerhart was wearing a T-shirt that proclaimed "Corn Fed and Still Hungry." He's a southern California product but plays football in a bulldozing Big 12 style. His hometown of Norco -- east of Los Angeles -- is full of horse trails and hitching posts and goes by the slogan "city living in a rural atmosphere." "It's real country," Gerhart said. "People think of Southern California as hip and Hollywood-y. But my home town is isolated. And crazy for football." Gerhart's bruising running style and work ethic have put him in the Heisman conversation. But that's not his most important achievement. "I wanted to help re-establish Stanford football," he said. "To make a difference. It's taken four years to do it. But that's the most satisfying thing." – SI.com

11.18.09 - The ability to see blocks almost before they happen. The power to shrug off tacklers without breaking stride. The mentality to finish plays with a bruising flourish. Speed. Balance. The skill and toughness to block blitzing defenders. The hands to catch passes. He said that if he doesn't figure to be a high draft pick this coming offseason, he might stay in school and play baseball again. An outfielder, he hit .288 last season but is considered a pro prospect. The man whose Stanford touchdown records Gerhart is about to break, Tommy Vardell, calls him "a phenomenal prospect." Vardell, the ninth pick of the 1992 draft, played eight years in the NFL. "The question will be what kind of a system he's in and how he can leverage his assets," Vardell said. "If he can get the ball and run downhill, I wouldn't anticipate him being any less productive in the NFL than he is in college." – San Francisco Chronicle

09.24.09 - Senior running back Toby Gerhart could return to the Stanford football team for a fifth season. "There's a chance," he said. "It all depends on how this season goes. If I stay healthy, have a good year, I'll see what the next level thinks of me. If it's not appealing, I'll come back, get a master's degree and play my final year of football." Gerhart is a 'true' senior who set a Stanford single-season rushing record with 1,136 yards last year. However, Gerhart could be granted a medical redshirt year for 2007, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the third quarter of the game against San Jose State, his only appearance that year. Gerhart would not speculate on what projected draft round would be the tipping point in his decision, but acknowledged that NFL interest would drive it. "Definitely," he said. "The focus is on this year, and when the year's over, evaluate it and see what my potential could be to play at the next level."