Toby Gerhart

[White Power]

The game will be televised on FSN everyone with cable should be able to watch Toby if they have cable if not then go to a sports bar. We must support our own. Edited by: White Power

 

[Leonardfan]

Gerhart might be a dark horse heisman candidate. He is the best RB in the country right now, if he continues to carry his team to a PAC 10 title and a high level bowl game it can greatly help his chances. He is projected to run for about 1500 yds this season.

 

[green fire317]

Gerhart is a machine, a team can put 9 guys in the box and he will still run through them. How big of a victory would it be if he did win the Heisman? What kind of oppurtunities would he open up for other white running backs? That could also have an affect on cornerback as well.

 

[Don Wassall]

Gerhart is a machine, a team can put 9 guys in the box and he will still run through them. How big of a victory would it be if he did win the Heisman? What kind of oppurtunities would he open up for other white running backs? That could also have an affect on cornerback as well.

If by some miracle that happened, it would have the exact same affect as Luke Staley winning the Doak Walker Award in 2001 -- none.

The rare white athlete who overcomes the huge odds against him and excels at a taboo position changes nothing. The DWFs regard these kind of players as freaks, exceptions to the rule of black supremacy, who also prove that there is no discrimination against capable whites. The media certainly isn't going to change its agenda. If we're not knowledgeable aboutthe Caste System that has been in place for 30 years and realistic about what white athletes are up against, we're just going to be continually disappointed by false and unwarranted optimism.

 

[SuperSpeed23]

We still cant give up on the chance though. Things may have gone bad in the past but maybe this time itll be different. Im just trying to stay optimistic i guess.

 

[Don Wassall]

I agree. Root like crazy for our guys and promote them whenever possible and try to make others understand what's going on and hope that more get a chance, but don't think that any one player is going to break down an institution that has been methodically built up over decades. When enough people are educated and are speaking outand writing about what's going on, then it will begin to change. I like to believe this site will be the catalyst behind a brighter future for white athletes (which will spill over into other areas as well), but there is still a very long way to go. We're in a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[backrow]

great words Don. really, this week even i was losing hope a little bit...

PS in Luke's case they were able to shield his cast'ing aside in his injury problems to make it easier to believe even for the slightly more aware people. of course this was all smoke, but as long as Toby doesn't give them an excuse... still, with his size it will be easy for the system to try and make him into the fullback, even though he never played it.Edited by: backrow

 

[white is right]

Gerhart is a machine, a team can put 9 guys in the box and he will still run through them. How big of a victory would it be if he did win the Heisman? What kind of oppurtunities would he open up for other white running backs? That could also have an affect on cornerback as well.

<div> </div>
<div>If by some miracle that happened, it would have the exact same affect as Luke Staley winning the Doak Walker Award in 2001 -- none.  </div>
<div> </div>
<div>The rare white athlete who overcomes the huge odds against him and excels at a taboo position changes nothing. The DWFs regard these kind of players as freaks, exceptions to the rule of black supremacy, who also prove that there is no discrimination against capable whites.  The media certainly isn't going to change its agenda.  If we're not knowledgeable about the Caste System that has been in place for 30 years and realistic about what white athletes are up against, we're just going to be continually disappointed by false and unwarranted optimism. </div>

I agree I think Staley is the only white back to win the Doak Walker award (which is a fairly new trophy and the equivalent of the running back's Heismann). I even think Staley was a finalist of for the Heismann too.

 

[whiteathlete33]

Also we all know Staley came out of BYU. I am willing to bet he didn't have many offers from big schools. In fact BYU was probably the only school that would allow him to start for them.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Yep, Staley is the only white Walker winner so far. However, as far his recruiting goes, he was pursued by Washington, Washington State, Colorado, Nebraska, Cal, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona State and UCLA. Here's some more info about his high school career.

</span>Named Oregon's Gatorade Player of the
Year...selected by USA Today as the Oregon Player of the
Year...selected as a Blue Chip Top-100 player...named Oregonian Player
of the Year...earned All-State offensive and defensive
honors...selected as the conference offensive, defensive and special
teams Player of the Year...averaged over 300 yards per game during
Tualatin's four-game playoff run his senior season.</span></span>


</span>

 

[whiteathlete33]

I am surprised he had so many offers from big schools. I could see him starting at Oregon, Oregon State, Utah or Colorado. I can't remember the last time Nebraska had a white runningback. It must have been Jeff Kinney and that was the early 70's.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Nebraska now has white RB Rex Burkhead on 2nd team, poised to be future starter.

 

[Electric Slide]

Guys lets all vote for Toby Gerhart for the Nissan Heisman vote!

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/2009/index

Toby has made it to the top 8 listed, and his numbers have shifted up lately. He needs all the votes he can get though, he is only in 12th with about 2%. He's even behind Jahvid Best

So please go to the site and vote for Toby, and send it around to other potential fans!

Anyone think this should get its own thread for more visibility? Just wondering. Edited by: Electric Slide

 

[Don Wassall]

I am surprised he had so many offers from big schools. I could see him starting at Oregon, Oregon State, Utah or Colorado. I can't remember the last time Nebraska had a white runningback. It must have been Jeff Kinney and that was the early 70's.

Nebraska used Josh Davis at tailback a fair amount earlier this decade. He signed as a FA with the Jets, the team that loves to sign white running backs only to always release them.

 

[celticdb15]

Wow ES Jacory Harris has 11% of the vote? That willchange in the next coming days lol

 

[white lightning]

Luke Staley was recruited by many schools but only Byu promised to keep him at running back. I remember reading an interview he did. He wanted to play rb and the other schools wanted to move him to another position. The best the other schools would say is that he might stay at running back but most didn't even say that. Byu had the guts to start and play him. He was my favorite player back then and I still have an official Byu Staley Jersey which I wear with pride on occasion. I used to wear it all the time. It makes me sick what happened to him. He was so damn good.

 

[Westside]

Contrary to some here, I believe if Toby wins the Heisman or puts up monster yardage numbers this season, a team will take a chance on him. When he dominates in camp and the pre season and continues his success in the regular season, the media will take notice. He will be our version of Jackie Robinson. He will open a flood gate of whites at running back, reciever and defensive backs. A team with a guy like Toby who can play wants to make money. Green is the bottom line. This guy is key for starting a trend. Just my thoughts.

 

[Electric Slide]

Wow ES Jacory Harris has 11% of the vote? That will change in the next coming days lol

Yes, I'm sure the Jacory Harris numbers will fall soon. Obviously there is always hope for a black quarterback, and they will get a significant advantage. But yes once reality kicks in he will fall.

Anyway, just from around 6 PM last night, Toby only had about 600 or so votes, and is up to 1500 or so now. I think realistically he can move into the top 4, and should definitely be above Best. I don't think he'll move above Tebow or McCoy in the Nissan vote unless they bomb somehow. But getting Gerhart in the top 4 would still be a significant boost for him. People are just starting to learn about him.

If Gerhart won the Heisman, not only would it add another white winner for this decade (the first decade since the 60s in which the majority of winners are white), I do believe it would improve things a bit for white running backs. In no way can I conceive it being twisted by DWFs to show that "only one" white RB can make it, thus "proving" that they aren't good enough. If anything, they can just dismiss it as an exception, but with the realization that these exceptions will still occur even Barack Obama's world in 2009.

I think there would be support for a white running back. The DWFs were not against Hillis. In fact, many Denver fans supported him. The problem is your average fan oustide of Broncos fans didn't know Hillis. Heck, even many casual Broncos fans don't know him. He was drafted in the 7th round, albeit from a big-time SEC school. If Gerhart wins the Heisman, many will know his name. Hopefully being a slow early December news day, his name and picture would plastered on newspapers nationally. CNN, Fox News, ABC and the like would have to throw 10 to 15 seconds his way every few hours.

Again, I don't think him winning it would cause a seismic shift overnight, but it would be a huge blow to all caste system and stereotype holders out there. If someone ever said whites aren't as good at running back, for at least five years we could say "Oh wait just a second there, Toby Gerhart won the Heisman. So you take that back!"

 

[guest301]

Guys lets all vote for Toby Gerhart for the Nissan Heisman vote!

http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/2009/index

Toby has made it to the top 8 listed, and his numbers have shifted up lately. He needs all the votes he can get though, he is only in 12th with about 2%. He's even behind Jahvid Best

So please go to the site and vote for Toby, and send it around to other potential fans!

Anyone think this should get its own thread for more visibility? Just wondering.

I just voted for Toby and will do so again but I wouldn't mind seeing Tebow or Colt McCoy winning it as well. I think Stanford has Notre Dame and USC still on it's schedule so that will be two high profile games for Gerhart to show what he can do.

 

[backrow]

from SI.com:

Toby Gerhart/RB/Stanford: Stanford's feature back is moving up draft boards faster than any ball-carrier in the nation. Gerhart has been a one-man show that's literally carried Stanford's offense. He followed up an impressive performance in the victory over Washington, when he posted 200 rushing yards, by running roughshod over a tough UCLA defense for 134 yards and three touchdowns. Gerhart was responsible for almost half of Stanford's first downs in the victory over the Bruins. The 235-pound power runner reminds many of Tommy Vardell, the former Stanford star selected with the ninth pick of the 1992 draft by the Cleveland Browns.

Read more: si.comEdited by: backrow

 

[whiteathlete33]

Wow what a surprise he is being compared to Tommy Vardell. Whites always get compared whites. At least he is getting positive press.

 

[Don Wassall]

Wow what a surprise he is being compared to Tommy Vardell. Whites always get compared whites. At least he is getting positive press.

Yep, and Vardell was a fullback, not a tailback, both in college and the NFL. And he also wasn't Stanford's featured runner, being used more in a Mike Alstott type way.

 

[whiteathlete33]

They could have also compared him to Jacob Hester. This fits the media agenda very well. Vardell received more of an opportunity than most white backs do. He had 99 carries his first season in the league and 171 the next. Sadly after that it was mostly back to blocking for him and very few carries. The sad part is black backs like Jerome Bettis and Ron Dayne are considered big backs. Whites like Vardell and Alstott are considered fullbacks. Vardell and Alstott were just as fast as Dayne and Bettis and actually lighter when you consider they were 6-1 compared to 5'10 for Bettis and Dayne.

 

[Don Wassall]

I just watched Kirk Herbstreit

of all people mention Gerhart as one of his Heisman candidates, though he thinks Colt McCoy will win it. Stanford needs to keep winning games to keep Gerhart's name out there.

 

[Taco]

A white running back winning the heisman...if that doesnt break the caste system, nothing would.