Toby Gerhart for President, er, Heisman
Written by MC Homer, Saturday December 05 2009
Instead of posting my monthly NCAAF recap, I am going to tell you why Stanford running back Toby Gerhart should win the Heisman Trophy. The problem is, I am in the minority. The chances of Gerhart winning the coveted trophy are about the same as me winning a Pulitzer. Although a trip to New York should be guaranteed for the senior running back, not playing Saturday all but nullified his chances of bringing home the most prestigious amateur award in the world.
Before I begin my pro-Gerhart national campaign, you must know that I am not a Stanford fan. This is not one of those convoluted “the best player on my favorite team should win the award because I am a big fan” opinions. Nor is it a “I'm a West Coast guy and the East Coast sucks” point of view. Forget his numbers for a second. I've seen Gerhart play more than a handful of times, and let me tell you, he is the best back in the nation, bar none. With all due respect to the Mark Ingram's and CJ Spiller's of the world, Toby Gerhart is in a class of his own.
Colt McCoy has had an amazing season, but where would he be without his favorite target Jordan Shipley, or Wes Welker, Jr. as I like to call him? So has Alabama running back Mark Ingram, you know, minus his no-show against rival Auburn. Tim Tebow has been the same old Tim Tebow you've all grown to love, only with half the stats of his two previous campaigns. Personally, I'm not a fan of Tim's, but I still acknowledge his abilities. All three are virtually guaranteed to be first round selections come April 22nd (Ingram a year from then, since he is only a sophomore). None have had the impact on their team that Gerhart has had. But remember, this is not a team award.
I am not going to pollute your brain with the other Heisman candidates numbers because they are so easily accessible. So are Gerhart's, but it is not just about the numbers with this kid. He is a throwback. In today's game that features nothing but slashers and speed freaks, Gerhart is more like Larry Csonka, only faster. Like John Riggins, he always falls forward for an extra yard or two.
This is the boring paragraph. Numbers, numbers, and more numbers. He leads the nation in rushing TDs (26) as well as rushing yards (1,736), and is second in yards per game (144.7). He also happens to be quarterback Andrew Luck's fourth favorite receiver, catching 10 balls for 149 yards. The 6'1”, 237-pound bruiser out of Norco, California does it all. He is big and strong enough to stonewall blitzing linebackers and athletic enough to get to the corner blitzers. His vision is uncanny. Oh yeah, and he has not fumbled the ball all year. Twice he was held under 100 yards and only once did he fail to score a touchdown. Toby has eclipsed 200 yards three times, and accounted for at least three touchdowns five times. FIVE (that's 18 points for those of you counting at home). This horse has even carried the ball 20+ times in all but one game; week two at Wake Forest when he had 17 carries for 82 yards (also a game with zero TDs). What else could this guy do to sway voters?
Over the course of Stanford's 12 games, they have faced five of the nation's top-40 run defenses (Ingram has not faced a single one, until Florida). In those five games, Gerhart has averaged better than 140 yards a piece, totaling 12 scores. Of course, unless you are Barry Sanders, the offensive line deserves a ton of credit, but the holes still have to be found and tackles still have to be broke. No one on the country does either one better than Gerhart.
Against ranked opponents, Toby has been even better. Only true superstars step up their game as the stakes rise. In those three games, he averaged just over 200 yards a piece. Everyone knows who is getting the ball when they play Stanford, yet no one can stop him.
I know academics are not a part of the voting process at all, but there may not be a school with a higher academic standard than Stanford. He keeps a 3.25 GPA, majoring in Management Science and Engineering, earning him All-Academic honors in the Pac-10 for 2009. With his studies and football, one would think he has no time for anything else. Well, one would be wrong.
Gerhart is not only the best player in college football, he is also a top outfielder for the Cardinal baseball team. Hes has been a two-sport star for three full seasons at Stanford, and has a big decision to make after Stanford's bowl game. Will he choose to get ready for the NFL combine or play his senior season on the Sunken Diamond?
None of this Heisman chatter matters however, because the media is infatuated with everyone outside the Pac-10. Call it East Coast favoritism or SEC love fest, whatever. I call it the anti-Pac-10 bias. Because he plays in a conference that gets less love than an ugly, fat girl at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Gerhart has little chance of bring home Stanford's first Heisman since Jim Plunkett in 1970. And it is a crying shame.
Toby Gerhart is an upstanding young man. He is soft-spoken, and is more about his teammates and the “team” mentality, than his own successes. He is exactly the type of player you want on your team. He is a world-class athlete and an even better human being. You won't find him getting DUIs on a monthly basis. He is not going to be out at 3am getting in trouble. Substance abuse is a foreign term to him. He is the epitome of blue collar.
Stanford's senior running back will enter the draft in April. He will be a top 10 pick. Barring injury, he will go on to have a successful NFL career, wherever he lands. He will make his millions and leave his heart on the field every day. The NFL will be lucky to have an employee like Toby Gerhart. But this isn't about the NFL or the future of Mr. Gerhart. It is about the here and now.
Unfortunately, the Cardinal did not play this weekend while McCoy, Ingram, and Tebow all have Conference Championship games. The last impression Gerhart left was a week ago, accounting for four TDs against Notre Dame, including a passing score. He has done everything possible to finish at the top of the ballot, but because of the sports media's extreme ardor for everything not West Coast, guess who will be getting the short end of the stick? If he does not win the Heisman Trophy, it will be a travesty. Like the BCS, the Heisman Trophy will favor whoever performs better in their conference championship, mostly because those games raked in millions of dollars for the NCAA.
He will never admit it, but Toby Gerhart deserves the trophy. If you are a numbers freak, he has the best ones in the nation. If you prefer on-field performance, he wowed every week. If you like next-level potential, no one has more. If you haven't seen this kid run with the football, check him out on YouTube. A little Nirvana anyone?
Toby Gerhart should win the Heisman. I won't stop campaigning until he is screwed out of it, because let's be real, that is what's going to happen.
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27 comments
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I tell you what,I trust my two year-old niece to make more sense then you at times.
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You're pathetic Bama. It's bad enough that you don't read the article and think that commenting on the title alone will make it okay, then you shrug off a bad game by a Heisman candidate (which they do not have), finally, you resort to what if's and but's. You're like a damn 2 year old.
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My thing is all you guys are so pro Gerhart because he had 1700 yards. Do you honestly think he would do that in the SEC? I Doubt it. I would love to see his stats and how he got those 1700 yards. I bet Diamonds to doughnuts most of those yards he got, didn't come against quality defenses in the country unlike Ingram. Ingram could have had 2000 yards himself if he didn't A)share the ball with Trent Richardson who had 600 yards himself and B)if he wasn't in a balance offense. I heard Gerhart got the ball what 30-40 times a GAME? Seriously? Homer you are like a dog with a bone about that Auburn game. He had ONE bad game. ONE. Herbstret just said that other then that game, Ingram has been consistent all year and put up great numbers against some of the best defenses in the country including the Florida Gators, so if the kid does win it, he EARNED it. If you going to judge people on one bad dau, then Homer you'd be in trouble because you've been more wrong about things then you are right and yet you still are writer here aren't you?
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hey bama Ingram finished the year with 1,542 rushing yards and 15 rushing TD's, Gerhart finished the year with 1,736 yards with 26 TD's those numbers are #1 in the nation! the Heisman is an individual award and Gerhart has the better numbers therefore he deserves it over Ingram cuz it dosent matter how far your team got. I hope the Heisman voters get this right and vote for Toby cuz he derserves it. MC good article
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Great article. Gerhart should win or at minimum finish second but either way it's nice to see that they're considering someone who doesn't play for a top ten big name school.
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Again Bama, if you had bothered reading my article I said that Gerhart SHOULD win but WON'T. As for Ingram playing the other USC and VA Tech... They have good defenses overall, not necessarily great run defenses. I could run on a great secondary. Child please. Why don't you claim to know what you're talking about a little bit more as crap continues to flow from your lips. You might be on to something if I was the only person who had that opinion about you, but I'm clearly not, DOLL. You are so caught up with the "experts" opinions, even considering yourself one. Why don't you look at facts instead of letting others tell you what to think? Ingram hasn't been consistent, he disappeared against Auburn. Or did you forget already? Randolph is absolutely right, its a popularity contest and as long as the East Coast bias and the ridiculous SEC obsession are shoved in our faces, it won't change. You live in the East and you're an SEC fan, and that's fine, but don't pretend the bias is nonexistent, it makes you look foolish. The BCS is great for college football too, isn't it?
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I'm hoping Gerhart wins the Heisman because he's an underdog and as a white running back, he's a near-extinct breed. But we know the Heisman voting is a popularity contest. Being on a top-five team all year long and getting the stage to perform in prominent games gave Ingram and McCoy an advantage over Gerhart. That and the lack of SportsCenter-like highlights probably will doom Gerhart. If he had more 70-yard TD runs, facked or steamrolled more defenders to make him look cooler, he'd have a better chance than two dozen five-yard scores. People pay to watch race horses, not clydedales. I wish Gerhart or Suh would win, but I don't see it happening.
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Oh and another thing he has going for him, is that the University of Alabama has NEVER had a Heisman winner and a lot of voters are going to lean giving him the trophy based on not only his play, but that fact alone. Playing on a national stage and doing well didn't hurt him last night.
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Homer seriously, how many times am I going to have to set you straight before you actually understanding I know of what I speak? Lakers? Bama? Heisman? Your boy is not going to win it PERIOD. I didn't say you couldn't make a case for him, but I actually watched ESPN tonight when they did their BCS special and Toby was mentioned ONCE, Ingram twice and McCoy one time. And if you actually stopped bitching about my bias about the SEC for minute and pay attention you'd understand that Ingram just didn't do this against the number one defense in the country last night doll, He put damn near 300 yards against the 15th best defense in the country in South Carolina, He put almost 100 against the 17th best defense in Tennessee, he bashed Va. Tech's vaulted defense in the first game of the year with a 150 yards and he beat and outplayed a FORMER Heisman winner in Tebow on the national stage last night. Ingram has been consistent throughout the year and he has put up some great numbers against some of the best defenses in the country. I'm just pointing out the facts that this will come down to McCoy and Ingram.
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Oh Jesus Bama, here we go again. You're delirious. So now it only matters what happens in one single game? So he played the top defense in the land, one that played like caca, I might add. So what? he didn't play ANY other top-40 run defense. One game does a Heisman not make, my dear. I don't care if he was injured or any other sad excuse he might want to throw out for the Auburn game, his numbers speak for themselves in that game. Injuries are a part of football, which makes players who don't get hurt, like Gerhart, all the more impressive. Set your bias aside or get the hell out of this conversation.
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Gentleman here is the point: Raise your hand if the candidate of your choice beat the number one defense in the country with the number one player in the country who is a former Heisman winner on it? Anybody? Ingram had a hip pointer by the way and that's the reason he didn't play against Auburn. If it's just the numbers guys, there are other kids just as deserving as the one as Toby, but you got to show me something. Ingram went up against some of the top defenses in the country and with the exceptional of the AU game, he was constant in all of them. Putting up almost 200 yards on the number one defense in the country last night, in my opinion, sealed it for him. It's either going to be him or McCoy.
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MC, oh yeah, I agree with the notion that it shouldn't necessarily go to the best player on the best team, and I agree that Gerhart should be a contender for it. Just seems the PR the teams and players have are all for Tebow, Ingram, or McCoy, and of those three, I just think Ingram was the MVP based on the numbers. In fact, I'd love to see someone less popular with better numbers get the award, any day.
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Thank you for solidifying my point Greg. His team didn't need him to win. Doesn't sound like an MVP to me. Besides, since when is it a team award? He did nothing to help his team win the game. Look at baseball, at least the voters don't have their heads up their own asses. Lincecum and Greinke both won Cy Youngs, neither's team made the playoffs. These awards, including the Heisman, are PERSONAL awards, not team awards; that's what rings are for. Being the best player in college football should have ZERO bearing on how your team does. Players can't help who they play or who is on their team. That is a sad argument Greg. I'd have more respect for the "well, Ingram had 51 total yards in his worst game and Gerhart only had 72 in his" argument. The problem is, the voters are swayed by team accomplishments. Not that it surprises me to see people affiliated with the NCAA have clouded judgement, but it sucks to watch deserving people passed over year after year, like McCoy last year. Bama, did you even read the article? Tell you what, go back and read the article, and then come at me with the pathetic, and ultimately ignorant, stance of "the problem is Gerhart didn't so (do) it against the best defenses in the country; Ingram has". Thanks for playing though. Like Nolan said, even Spiller deserves it more than Ingram. Clemson may have gone 0-fer if not for CJ.
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MC, if the Tide had lost that game, I would agree with you, but it's difficult to blame Ingram for a less than fantastic game when for once the team simply did not need to lean on him so much for the win. McCoy and Tebow were essentially non-factors in their games last night--who would you like to see crowned with the Heisman?
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Ingram had a good game against Florida, but Heisman Trophy winners don't take weeks off like he did against Auburn. What, 16 rushes for 30 yards and 21 receiving yards? AND he sat out nearly the whole final drive? IN A RIVALRY GAME ON THE ROAD. Doesn't much sound like an MVP to me...
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Thank you Greg, that's my point.
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Ingram showed tonight that he is in fact the MVP of NCAA BCS Division 1 football. McCoy finally faced a formidable opponent and once again had to depend on his defense (and the officials) to bail him out. His three interceptions left his team in desperation and his clock management was sad and would have cost the team the victory in the days of no official review. Too bad Gerhart is not really even going to be in the picture. Tonight though, Tebow and McCoy faced tough competition and folded. Ingram, faced tough competition and he and his team excelled.
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Well Ryan if that's the case, it should be Spiller hands down. He has scored at least one TD in every single game this season, has a TD rushing, receiving, passing, on a punt return and a kickoff return. If you are going by yards alone, Gerhart has 1885 total yards, Spiller has 2244. In retrospect Ingram had 1675 total yards. Spiller has done it all offensively.
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All I have to say is I thought the Heisman was an individual award. To the best player in college football. As far as I'm concerned how good your team does should not be as big of an influence. Gerhart should not get punished for being on Stanford. You can't help the conference you play in all you can do is perform at your best every game. That is to me what separates Gerhart. EVERY game he plays in he excels. He is the most consistent running back in all of college football and that's why he should win. The problem is that no one gives anyone besides USC and their players any credit on a national scale and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.
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BUT he lost. :) It'll be close but Ingram will win, McCoy will be second, Tebow third, Spiller fourth and Gerhart fifth.