Toby Gerhart

[Electric Slide]

Man else can I add here? A friend of mine who never expressed any pro-white attitude said Toby is going to open the door for more white running backs!

I think this is true. This weekend has been full of great signs in my life. This just added to it immensely, and I'm sure others on here had a great feeling about this game. That was great to see Brent Musburger campaigning for Gerhart, and for him to say it "may" have been the best individual performance in any game he's called!

Like I have said many times before, sometimes the chips do fall into place. The stars still have a little more shifting to do to be in perfect alignment for Gerhart to get a fair shot in the NFL, but I think they are moving ever closer to position!

 

[White Power]

Musburger has enough years calling games to be taken seariously. He was very complimentarily of Brandon Wegher when he called the Penn State game. He was the one that made the reference to Earl Campbell. Musburger I think is aware of the caste system, and now at his age and the winding down of his career he is able to say what he wants without much retrobution. Even caste whore Herbstreit was conplimentarily of Gerhart. I could not beleive what I was hearing. I think Toby has finally arrived just in time to snag the heisman from the rest of the field. I bet you Tebow might actually vote for Toby seeing how their both pigeon holed into other positions. You never know.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I don't know too much about college football so I'll ask one of the experts here in Colonel Reb Or Tough. Has Toby even had one poor game this season? Everytime I check this thread it seems he puts up great performances.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

What a great game! In the second half I kept hoping he would get enough carries to go over 200 yards.

Toby Gerhart deserves the Heisman Trophy.

 

[Van_Slyke_CF]

ToughJ.Riggins wrote:

"Damn, I slept through most of this game from the 2nd quarter on. My wife tried to shake me awake a few times to see Toby's dominant performance, but I kept quickly falling back asleep."

Shame on you! Don should put you on CF double-secret probation.

 

[icsept]

Toby's running style actually reminds me of Emmitt Smith in the way he goes through holes. Great vision, no wasted motion, but with more power to finish a run than Emmitt.

Checked his stats, with 677 college football touches, Toby has never fumbled. He is the prototype tailback. He still needs to get in the right system with a fair opportunity and good health in the NFL. If so, the sky is the limit.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I don't know too much about college football so I'll ask one of the experts here in Colonel Reb Or Tough.  Has Toby even had one poor game this season?  Everytime I check this thread it seems he puts up great performances.

His only two non 100 yard games were against Wake Forest, where he had 17 carries for 82 yards and no TDs. The other was against Oregon State, where Stanford fell behind early, so Gerhart didn't run as much as he usually does. In that game, he went 20 carries for 96 yards and 2 TDs.

 

[Young Stribling]

This was also my first time viewing Gerhart and I concur with everyone else, he is a special running back. Incredible how he always falls or drags several defenders forward for 2 or 3 extra yards! Here's to hoping for a brilliant NFL career for this man. Wonder if he'll ever realize just how much he is re-shaping the paradigm for White athletes in the caste-driven world of football.

I've also got to mention, there were several other quality White players on that Stanford team!

 

[Deadlift]

Did anyone else see ESPNs scroller? In "The Lead" - it said, "Stanford runs all over Notre Dame in shoot-out."

Doesn't this Stanford athlete have a name? And, everytime they showed the Stanford/Notre Dame score on the scroller, there was NO stats!

I think they showed C.J. Spillers stats, after showing the score for the Clemson/South Carolina game...

 

[Electric Slide]

Did anyone else see ESPNs scroller? In "The Lead" - it said, "Stanford runs all over Notre Dame in shoot-out."

Doesn't this Stanford athlete have a name? And, everytime they showed the Stanford/Notre Dame score on the scroller, there was NO stats!

I think they showed C.J. Spillers stats, after showing the score for the Clemson/South Carolina game...

ESPN hasn't been the best in highlighting Gerhart, but it was still much better this week than when they played USC. I truly think that USC week there were too many white highlights, including the other Stanford players, Jordan Shipley with his record game, a couple TCU players, and several others that I can't think of. I think that week was the "whitest" highlight reel they have shown for CFB in years, which is why they excluded Toby's highlights and Heisman talk for fear of it looking like Bizarro World.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

They showed the UGA vs. GA Tech game down here (I watched at a buddy's house), but we kept a close eye on Stanford's awesome come-back & Toby's dominant performance (again). If Toby doesn't win the Heisman, it's a travesty of the 1st order. WPWW!!!

 

[green fire317]

My favorite part of the game was when Toby put that punishing hit on the Notre Dame defender (i think he was number 4).

 

[Electric Slide]

For what it's worth, Toby Gerhart was the number 5 "hottest" search item on google on saturday.

http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=toby+gerhart&date=2009-11-28&sa=X

Now, I'm sure this doesn't mean it was the 5th most searched item, as things like "restaurants" or something would probably be higher, but I think it means current event type things that have made a spike in searches. Also, it links to several stories that have come out since Saturday.

 

[Electric Slide]

ESPN's Ted Miller has been championing Gerhart nearly all season long, here is his latest comment:

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/14385/gerhart-makes-his-heisman-statement

Gerhart makes his Heisman statement
November, 29, 2009
Nov 29
1:07
AM ET
Email Print Share
By Ted Miller
Toby Gerhart: Strike a pose?

In perhaps the most impressive Heisman Trophy statement of the season, Toby Gerhart rushed for 205 yards on 29 caries, scoring three rushing touchdowns and passing 18 yards for another in Stanford's thrilling 45-38 comeback win over Notre Dame.

Gerhart -- oh, he also caught a pass for 33 yards -- was simply a beast, repeatedly punishing the Notre Dame defense. He never went down on first contact, and it's certain that more than a handful of Fighting Irish defenders are going to be worse for wear Sunday morning.

This was Notre Dame's fourth consecutive defeat, so the program already was hurting. The Irish finish the season 6-6, with all six loses coming by seven or fewer points. Coach Charlie Weis is almost certainly going to be looking for work this winter.

But this one was about Gerhart and Stanford, which finishes the season 8-4 and will be heading to its first bowl game since 2001. The Cardinal, by the way, went 1-11 in 2006, the season before coach Jim Harbaugh arrived.

Notre Dame took a 14-10 lead in the first quarter and didn't trail until Gerhart's final TD run with a minute left -- a run in which the Irish appeared to let him score in order to get the ball back.

The Irish drove to the Stanford 24, but couldn't punch in a tying TD.

For much of the game, the offenses dominated the opposing defenses. Notre Dame countered Gerhart with Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, a pass-catch combination that had the Cardinal secondary on its heels. Clausen completed 23 of 30 passes for 340 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Tate hauled in 10 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

But the Cardinal defense got the game's critical stop with six minutes left. On a third-and-2 from the Irish 35, running back Robert Hughes was stopped for no gain.

Stanford took over. Or Gerhart took over. He rushed seven times for 54 yards on the 10-play, 72-yard game-winning drive, treating the Irish defenders like they were pinball bumpers.

At this point, it's impossible to imagine that Gerhart won't be invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. This performance, however, may have made this a two-man contest with Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, though a couple of fellows playing in the SEC championship game on Dec. 5 might make their own counter-statement.

Gerhart has rushed for 1,736 yards this season -- 144.67 yards per game. His 26 rushing touchdowns lead the nation and are a new Pac-10 record.

Moreover, in an age when speed kills, Gerhart reminds us that sometimes power ain't much fun to stop either. Not that Gerhart is slow. He hates it when folks doubt his speed, and we don't want to get on his bad side.

He's a hard man. Some defenders might swear he's made of bronze.

Here are some of the comment made by fans. Lately the idiotic comments such as "fullback," "not explosive," "bad defenses," "Ingram is better," seem like they are being outnumbered 3 to 1!

"Toby Gerhart is what College football needs. That kid gets my vote for President, he's a true hard #### and shows it week in and week out vs. the PAC 10. Notre Dame was no match for this one man wrecking crew.
If this kid doesn't win the Heisman, then the whole award is a sham. McCoy, Tebow, Ingram all pale in comparison to Gerhart. Betcha he goes alot further in the NFL than any of those three guys.
I think Woody, Bo, Bear are sportin a woody watching this kid. TOBY FOR HEISMAN!!!
BTW, I'm an Ohio State fan. "

"Give it to Gerhart! Or, line up any other "contender" on the field and let them play a little one-on-one - Toby is the real deal! His new Pac-10 ALL-TIME record beats the records set by several other Heisman winners, eh?"

"Gerhart is an animal."

"In a realistic sense, the only person who should even give Toby some sort of competition in winning the Hesiman Trophy should be McCoy. At the end of the day though, it's Toby's to take home. The Heisman Trophy is given to the best player, not the best player on the best team, or the most hyped team, etc. Mark Ingram pales in comparison to what Toby has done all year.. I look forward to seeing you in NY man."

"Toby sure is special, pulling for him to win it."

"the only way i could see toby not winning it, is if ingram plays really well against florida, and they win, obviously. even then, toby has been outstanding this year, and it would be a shame if he didn't win it."

"Toby Gerhart has been the most outstanding player in college football this year up to this point. He has literally carried this team by running through, over, and around some of the best defenses in the nation. Stanford wouldn't be where they are this year if it wasn't for him. He's got my Heisman vote right now. And who ever disagrees with me needs to get an eye exam!"

"If any player other than Stanford's #7 wins the Heisman trophy, I will lose a lot of respect for the voters and the integrity of the great award."

Of course there are some haters. Always have been, always will be. That doesn't matter, it comes with the territory!

 

[FootballDad]

Just got the 11/30/09 issue of SI in the mail, and the cover piece is on Mark Ingram. On the page just before his gigantic puff-piece is an article about "Roaring Success" C.J. Spiller. Although I haven't been able to stomach reading either article, in skimming them (or the entire issue so far) I can't find even a MENTION of Toby Gerhart. I guess we know who S.I. is pulling for, as if it were ever a mystery.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

FootballDad, take a closer look at your SI and you should find this: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1163298/index.htm

Granted, there should be a lot more, but its better than nothing.

 

[jacknyc]

Here's an interesting article about Gerhart, referencing the fact that being a white RB could hurt his chances to win the Heisman and make it in the NFL.
It's nice to see some truth about this in the mainstream media
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Frantz-Odds-are-stacked-against-Gerhart-78114292.html

Here is the text from the article in the SF Examiner:

Frantz: Odds are stacked against Gerhart
By: Bob Frantz
Special to The Examiner
November 30, 2009
Stanford running back Toby Gerhart leads the nation in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, and he's in the running for the Heisman Trophy. (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO â€" Shortly after Stanford's thrilling 45-38 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night, I engaged several friends and acquaintances in a Facebook conversation in response to the following post by a colleague: "I wish that announcers could actually say that Toby Gerhart might have a hard time in the NFL draft because he is a white running back. And can he please be compared to someone other than John Riggins? Please?"Â

I initially glossed over the Gerhart issue and asked my buddy to list his top five white tailbacks in NFL history. As more friends joined the discussion, scanning their collective memories and search engines for names to be included, it occurred to me just how impossible the question was to answer. The reason? There haven't been five top-flight white tailbacks worth mentioning in the history of the league.

Riggins was certainly an exception to the rule, having rushed for more than 11,000 yards in his Hall of Fame career, and scoring over 100 rushing touchdowns, but he was more of a fullback than a tailback. He did line up at the running back spot for part of his career, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Similarly, former Dolphins great Larry Csonka was a feature back in the Miami offense, but he too was a fullback. It was Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick sharing the halfback duties for Don Shula back in the 1970s. You have to go back to the 1960s to find Packers' Hall of Famer Jim Taylor, a six-time All-Pro who ran for 83 TDs and nearly 9,000 yards, but once again â€" a fullback.

More recent white running backs of note include Craig James, who starred with Eric Dickerson at SMU as part of the "Pony Express,"Â and who had one 1,000-yard rushing season in the NFL. Merrill Hoge, as a Facebook friend reminded me, led the Steelers in carries for a couple years, as did the Tampa Bay Bucs' all-time leading rusher, Mike Alstott. Both were fullbacks.

One online poster tried to throw Darryl "Moose" Johnston into the mix, but Johnston was the prototypical fullback of the modern day, plowing holes for Emmitt Smith in the Dallas Cowboys' championship years of the 1990s â€" a guard lining up in the backfield.

The point here, returning to my friend's expressed desire to hear broadcasters discussing the (white) elephant in the room, is that Gerhart will never be considered as a possible feature back in the NFL; and yes, his skin tone will play a large role in that evaluation.

The sad truth is that no one would ever dare to suggest racism in the fact that there are no starting, let alone star, white running backs in the NFL â€" which they did when black athletes were once judged to be incapable of playing the quarterback position. And keeping a tally or putting a quota on the number of white backs, as they've done for black QBs and head coaches? Not a chance.

I'd like to wish Toby Gerhart all the luck in the world in the Heisman race and in his future in the NFL. He's going to need it.

Sports personality Bob Frantz is a regular contributor to The Examiner. E-mail him at bfrantz@sfexaminer.com.
Edited by: jacknyc

 

[Electric Slide]

Gerhart leads in CBS Sports Heisman experts poll!!!

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/heisman

Toby Gerhart, RB
School: Stanford
Class: Sophomore
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 237
Comment: Gerhart definitely has a chance to win the Heisman after his 205-yard performance against Notre Dame. Gerhart has 26 total touchdowns on the season to go along with 1,736 yards rushing and is in everybody's Top 3 right now.

note: Listing Gerhart as a sophomore was their mistake, not mine!

 

[sport historian]

Here's an interesting article about Gerhart, referencing the fact that being a white RB could hurt his chances to win the Heisman and make it in the NFL.
It's nice to see some truth about this in the mainstream media
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sports/Frantz-Odds-are-stacked-against-Gerhart-78114292.html

Here is the text from the article in the SF Examiner:

Frantz: Odds are stacked against Gerhart
By: Bob Frantz
Special to The Examiner
November 30, 2009
Stanford running back Toby Gerhart leads the nation in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, and he's in the running for the Heisman Trophy. (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO â€" Shortly after Stanford's thrilling 45-38 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night, I engaged several friends and acquaintances in a Facebook conversation in response to the following post by a colleague: "I wish that announcers could actually say that Toby Gerhart might have a hard time in the NFL draft because he is a white running back. And can he please be compared to someone other than John Riggins? Please?"Â

I initially glossed over the Gerhart issue and asked my buddy to list his top five white tailbacks in NFL history. As more friends joined the discussion, scanning their collective memories and search engines for names to be included, it occurred to me just how impossible the question was to answer. The reason? There haven't been five top-flight white tailbacks worth mentioning in the history of the league.

Riggins was certainly an exception to the rule, having rushed for more than 11,000 yards in his Hall of Fame career, and scoring over 100 rushing touchdowns, but he was more of a fullback than a tailback. He did line up at the running back spot for part of his career, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Similarly, former Dolphins great Larry Csonka was a feature back in the Miami offense, but he too was a fullback. It was Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick sharing the halfback duties for Don Shula back in the 1970s. You have to go back to the 1960s to find Packers' Hall of Famer Jim Taylor, a six-time All-Pro who ran for 83 TDs and nearly 9,000 yards, but once again â€" a fullback.

More recent white running backs of note include Craig James, who starred with Eric Dickerson at SMU as part of the "Pony Express,"Â and who had one 1,000-yard rushing season in the NFL. Merrill Hoge, as a Facebook friend reminded me, led the Steelers in carries for a couple years, as did the Tampa Bay Bucs' all-time leading rusher, Mike Alstott. Both were fullbacks.

One online poster tried to throw Darryl "Moose" Johnston into the mix, but Johnston was the prototypical fullback of the modern day, plowing holes for Emmitt Smith in the Dallas Cowboys' championship years of the 1990s â€" a guard lining up in the backfield.

The point here, returning to my friend's expressed desire to hear broadcasters discussing the (white) elephant in the room, is that Gerhart will never be considered as a possible feature back in the NFL; and yes, his skin tone will play a large role in that evaluation.

The sad truth is that no one would ever dare to suggest racism in the fact that there are no starting, let alone star, white running backs in the NFL â€" which they did when black athletes were once judged to be incapable of playing the quarterback position. And keeping a tally or putting a quota on the number of white backs, as they've done for black QBs and head coaches? Not a chance.

I'd like to wish Toby Gerhart all the luck in the world in the Heisman race and in his future in the NFL. He's going to need it.

Sports personality Bob Frantz is a regular contributor to The Examiner. E-mail him at bfrantz@sfexaminer.com.

You didn't have widespread use of the I formation tailback in pro football until the 1970's. Before that, teams used what was called the Pro Set, a HB and FB lined up side by side directly behind the QB. On some teams the FB got most of the carries, on others it was the HB.

 

[Electric Slide]

Sports Illustrated's Gene Menez also puts Gerhart at the top of the pack in the Heisman hunt!:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/gene_menez/11/30/week-13/index.html

In closest Trophy race in years, Stanford's RB leads the way

Story Highlights
Toby Gerhart capped a stellar season with a big performance against Notre Dame
His 305 yards and three touchdowns vaulted him to the top spot in The Watch
Many voters will favor Texas QB Colt McCoy, who posted 479 yards and 5 TDs

1. Toby Gerhart, Stanford, RB, Sr.

Last week: 29 rushes, 205 yards, 3 TDs; 1 reception, 33 yards; 1-of-1 passing, 18 yards, 1 TD in a 45-38 victory against Notre Dame

Season: 311 rushes, 1,736 yards, 26 TDs; 10 catches, 149 yards; 1-of-1 passing, 18 yards, 1 TD

Heisman-o-meter: Gerhart did not slide into the No. 1 spot because of his big night against the Irish. Nor did he jump to the top because of Ingram's subpar day against Auburn on Friday.

No, Gerhart is the one to catch because of his season-long excellence, which culminated with a Heisman-worthy performance against Notre Dame. He hammered the Irish defense (to be fair, Notre Dame ranked 80th against the run) and even threw an 18-yard TD pass on fourth down to help tie the game at 38. His most impressive play, however, came on the game-winning drive when he destroyed cornerbacks Gary Gray and Jamoris Slaughter on a 13-yard run. In the fourth quarter alone, Gerhart had 94 rushing yards, the last four of which came when the Irish allowed him to score so that they could give Jimmy Clausen & Co. the ball with some time on the clock. That begged the following question: Had Notre Dame tried to stop Gerhart on that play, would there really have been a different outcome?

The result of Gerhart's work is this: He is the clubhouse leader on this ballot. (Though my gut tells me that Colt McCoy leads the race for all the votes.) Unfortunately for the Cardinal back, he does not have a 13th game to try to sway voters while his main competition for the trophy -- Ingram, McCoy and perhaps Florida's Tim Tebow -- does. Gerhart will have to sweat this one out.

Up next: Regular season complete

Edited by: Electric Slide

 

[Electric Slide]

Toby Gerhart's girlfriend... I say Toby's doing pretty well for himself!

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/gerharts-girlfriend-speaks-hes-one-big-muscle-27042

Edited by: Electric Slide

 

[Colonel_Reb]

That's a great point sport historian. These writers don't understand how much the game has changed and that Fullbacks used to be the primary runners. Generally it is true that most people's historical perspective begins with the year they are born. What happened or the way things were before are dismissed or just never examined.

 

[white lightning]

Way to go Toby. She is a beauty. It figures he would date a fellow athlete as his whole family is athletic. Maybe they will get married someday and make alot of little Gerharts to tear it up in the future. I really wish he had one more game as well. What a season though. He rushed for more yards and more tds than Staley did when Lukc won the Doak Walker Award.

 

[white lightning]

To be fair to Luke though, he had 1596 yards rushing and 24 tds. He did this in 11 gamses which is one fewer than Toby. He also averaged a nation leading 8.1 yards per carry! I will say this though. Toby plays in a far tougher conference. They both are special players that any coach should dream about having on his team.

Please don't let the jinx that happened to Luke happen again. We need a pro bowl caliber starting running back playing on Sundays. Congrats Toby on a great year. Now it is just time to wait for the trip to NY and eventually find out who Stanford will meet in a bowl game.Edited by: white lightning

 

[Westside]

Man, now I am getting jeolous. She is a babe. Right now Toby's life is great and he deserves it. Its great following this decent/straight young man that is not intertwined with ebonics, crime, antisocial behavior, strip clubs, failing grades, drug use, and all other types of bad behavior.