Toby Gerhart

Running back | Stanford University

6’1’’ | 235 lbs.

Toby Gerhart’s got talent, there’s no doubt about that. A lot of people had him as last year’s Heisman winner, including me. Well, let me re-phrase that, I continuously said that he SHOULD have won last year’s Heisman Trophy, not necessarily the one who WOULD win it. It was like that for a lot of people that I talk to.

Gerhart isn’t going to amaze you with his speed or athleticism. But his toughness and love for contact is certainly refreshing in a day and age in the NFL where speed runners are getting all of the credit for a team’s running success.

He’s a very smart runner, always on the lookout for his blockers and possible cutback zones. Unfortunately he doesn’t exactly have excellent change of direction ability.

He does however have a competitive spirit and a motor. Coupled with no off the field issues and you’ve got a class act all around that just enjoys the game of football. Oh, and hitting people’s one of the man’s best features.

His lack of running back ‘moves’ isn’t necessarily a downfall when you consider that his workload in the NFL is going to consist of mainly short yardage situations. His skill set of not moving laterally and his ability to keep his feet churning upon contact is going to come in handy at the next level.

The problem with running him consistently at the next level is that in college he was playing against smaller linebackers with bad technique. In the NFL he’ll be dealing with the cream of the crop and you can be sure that they’ll be going for his most powerful aspect – his legs.

Reading up on Gerhart, there are two comparisons that I’ve seen that at least kind of fit.

One is former Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis, and this is the one that I absolutely disagree with. Bettis had speed and more than just a stiff arm, but I can see how and why he would draw this comparison. But, you’ll see this one from mainly Stanford fans and others that have proclaimed the running back as the next great thing to hit the NFL.

The other is LaDell Betts who currently suits up for the Washington Redskins. This one is the better of the two simply because when comparing him to Bettis, people put nearly insurmountable odds on the young runner who has foregone his final year of eligibility to declare for the NFL Draft.

Gerhart’s not going to be a franchise back for any team; if he starts it will most certainly come as an injury replacement. He will, however, see a lot of looks on the goal line and in short yardage situations and has a chance to be absolute money in that role.

Gerhart will still be on the draft board come the third round, pending a great showing at the NFL Combine he could get to the top of the third, but more than likely will be a later pick in that round.