In a long anticipated move, senior running back Toby Gerhart entered the NFL Draft on Friday. Gerhart, who missed all but one game in 2007, had the option of applying for a medical redshirt in order to gain an extra year of eligibility in 2010.
Gerhart, the Doak Walker Award winner and runner up for the Heisman Trophy, will leave school immediately to train for the draft. A two-sport athlete, Gerhart will also not play baseball this season for the Cardinal.
“After careful thought and deliberation, I have decided to withdraw from Stanford University for the winter quarter in order to fully devote my energies towards the pursuit of my dream of playing in the NFL,” he said. “I will forever cherish the camaraderie, friendships, and memories that I forged here at Stanford with all my friends, teammates, and coaches.”
The NFL Combine, the main showcase for scouts before the draft, will begin on February 24th. There, Gerhart will have the opportunity to interview with teams, take an intelligence test, and display both his speed and strength. The draft will be held from April 22-24.
Gerhart rushed for 1,871 yards and 27 touchdowns this year and was a consensus first-team All-American. He went over 100 yards in all but two games, and topped 200 yards in three contests. His final performance was a gutsy, 135-yard outing against Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl, when the Sooners were stacking the box nearly the entire game.
“Toby will be a great pro, and we are all excited for his opportunity at the next level,” said coach Jim Harbaugh
Gerhart had previously stated that he would enter the draft if he received a favorable grade on his NFL evaluation. Either way, there was believed to be only little chance that Gerhart would return for another season; over the past month, his public statements showed a lean toward foregoing his extra year.
Gerhart finishes his Stanford career with his name littered throughout the Cardinal’s record books. He finishes second in school history in both yards on the ground (3,522) and total points (264). His 44 touchdowns are a Stanford record. In 2009, he set the Cardinal single-season rushing record (breaking the one he set in 2008) and the Pac-10 conference’s touchdown mark.
Stanford was 1-11 in Gerhart’s first year on the Farm, but he helped to engineer the turnaround that led the Cardinal, in his senior season, to an 8-5 record and the program’s first bowl appearance since 2001.
“We’ve been through a lot of adversity during my time here,” he said, “but I’m extremely proud to have been part of the class that brought Stanford football back to national prominence.”