April 23, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Toby Gerhart, the 2009 Doak Walker Award winner as the nation's top running back and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, has been selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the NFL Draft, being conducted at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.
Gerhart was the 51st overall pick in the draft. He is the first Stanford player to be drafted since 2007 and the first Cardinal running back to be selected since Casey Moore was drafted in the seventh round by the Carolina Panthers in 2003.
The last time Minnesota selected a Stanford player in the draft was in 2001, when the Vikings tabbed defensive tackle Willie Howard in the second round. The Vikings also selected Stanford players in 2000 (Troy Walters) and 1998 (Kailee Wong).
Gerhart, who played in 38 career games at Stanford from 2006-09, rushed for a school-record 1,871 yards and a nation-leading 28 touchdowns this past season, helping the Cardinal to an 8-5 overall record and an appearance in the Brut Sun Bowl. He led the Pac-10 Conference and finished second nationally in rushing average with a 143.9 per game mark. Gerhart also led the all Football Bowl Subdivision players in scoring with 172 points (13.23 per game).
A consensus first team All-America selection by Associated Press, the Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America, to name a few, Gerhart finished second to Alabama's Mark Ingram in the Heisman Trophy balloting by just 28 points in the closest balloting in the 75 year history of the award. He was named the Pac-10 Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Stanford player to win the award since Troy Walters in 1999.
Gerhart ran for 100 or more yards in 11 of Stanford's 13 games this season, including each of the last seven contests. He rushed for 200 yards on more on three occasions, against No. 24 Washington (200), No. 7 Oregon (career-high 223) and Notre Dame (205), becoming the first Stanford back to collect multiple 200-yard games in one season.
Gerhart ran for 100 yards or more in 20 of his final 26 career games, averaging 121.0 yards during that stretch.
His 28 rushing touchdowns led the nation and set new Stanford and Pac-10 single-season records. Gerhart finished the 2009 season with 172 total points, which was the seventh highest single-season mark among NCAA FBS scoring leaders.
The Norco, Calif., native finished his career with school-record 44 touchdowns (all rushing) and his 264 career points rank second on Stanford's all-time career list. Gerhart rushed for two or more touchdowns 13 times in his career, including five games with three TDs or more.
He averaged 175.4 yards a game over Stanford's final four contests of the 2009 season against Oregon (223), USC (178), California (136), Notre Dame (205) and Oklahoma (135).