General

Toby Gerhart Taking His Rage To The NFL

Dec 9, 2009, 9:25 PM UTC

â†µOne of the few downsides to being able to run through brick walls andâ†µNotre Dame cornerbacks ...â†µ

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â†µâ†µ... is that eventually you break yourself doing it. NFL running backsâ†µhave notoriously short shelf lives, especially when they’re the varietyâ†µof running back that would rather punch a hole in your chest instead ofâ†µgo around you. And anyone who’s tracked Michigan tailback Brandonâ†µMinor’s career -- spent alternately doing Gerhart-like things to Penn Stateâ†µsafeties and looking on from the sideline with various bits of hisâ†µanatomy in a sling -- knows that guys like Gerhart often don’t get pastâ†µcollege without a series of injuries that kill their NFL draft stock.â†µ

â†µâ†µSo Toby Gerhart’s decision to enter the NFL draft is noâ†µsurprise to anyone except, apparently, Toby Gerhart: â†µ

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â†µâ†µâ‡¥“I’m going to start training here shortly, get ready for the (NFLâ†µâ‡¥Draft) Combine.”â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥Host Greg Papa then asked if that meant Gerhart had decided to enterâ†µâ‡¥the draft.â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥Seemingly flustered - like he realized he said something he shouldn’tâ†µâ‡¥have - Gerhart stumbled for a second ... then talked briefly aboutâ†µâ‡¥makingâ†µâ‡¥a decision after the Sun Bowl ... then added:â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥“But it’s looking like that’s the way it’s going to go.”â†µâ†µâ†µAh, well. Gerhart is the exact sort of player who should get out ofâ†µcollege football immediately. Every thunderous hit he delivers alsoâ†µimpacts various portions of his tree-trunk limbs, and that takes a toll.â†µSince he’s not going to get faster or shiftier next year, there’s zeroâ†µupside to staying in school, just a reduced signing bonus when the NFLâ†µrejiggers its salary cap and he gets another year of wear on his tires. Gerhartâ†µgoes to Stanford: he’s not dumb. â†µ

â†µâ†µAs far as Stanford itself goes, it’ll obviously be a blow to lose theâ†µschool’s first serious Heisman candidate since John Elway, but Jimâ†µHarbaugh installed redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck this yearâ†µand saw his team improve radically; chances are the offense will beâ†µfine. The defense figures to recede from its general Stanford-nessâ†µslightly, and Stanford folk will probably spend next year hoping thatâ†µRich Rodriguez turns it around at Michigan.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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