The Stanford tailback, who ranks third in the nation in rushing at 139.5 yards a game, balked at the idea of the school mounting a billboard campaign to promote his exploits this season.
But he jumped on board when asked to star in a tongue-in-cheek online video playing off his status as a two-sport performer while showcasing some of Stanford's less-heralded athletes.
In the 5-minute, 21-second video on YouTube, he wears a football helmet while trying his hand at field hockey, tennis, golf and swimming, then gets lifted out of the water by synchronized swimmers before concluding that football and baseball are enough for him.
"You can't see it, but in the part where I'm in the water doing the hand motions I couldn't stay afloat without using my hands, so there's a girl behind me holding me by my hips," Gerhart said of the synchronized swimming drills. "I thought that was really funny."
Gerhart always seems to have the most fun as part of a team, and this year he's having a ball. Stanford (7-3, 6-2 Pacific-10) has emerged from seven consecutive losing seasons to challenge for the Pac-10 title, with his bruising running style a prime reason.
As the featured back in a power offense that ranks 10th in the nation in rushing (222.4 yards a game) and scoring (36.1 points a game), Gerhart has eclipsed his school season record for rushing yards, is a touchdown shy of the Stanford season mark of 20 and has forced his way into the Heisman Trophy picture.
"He's the strongest runner in our conference without a doubt," said California coach Jeff Tedford, who will try to devise a way to slow Gerhart on Saturday. "Not only does he have the speed when he gets in the secondary to make you pay, but between the tackles he's about as strong as you get."
Gerhart, who set the California prep rushing record with 9,662 career yards at Norco High, acknowledges winning the Heisman would fulfill a longtime dream. Yet he says individual achievements don't please him as much as his role in helping bring the Cardinal, 17th in the USA TODAY Coaches' Poll, back from virtual irrelevance.
This is the first season Stanford has been ranked since 2001, which was also the last year it played in a bowl game.
Under coach Walt Harris, Stanford went 1-11 in Gerhart's freshman season in 2006. Its fortunes began to turn with the arrival of coach Jim Harbaugh in December 2006. The Cardinal improved to 4-8 in 2007 and 5-7 in 2008.
Harbaugh, who likens his tailback to former Washington Redskins great John Riggins, has implemented a physical attack that suits Gerhart's running style.
"It's definitely rewarding to watch him run because it really embodies us as a team, our blue-collar mentality," offensive tackle Chris Marinelli said. "It's not always pretty, but it works."
With last week's 55-21 thrashing of then-No. 10 Southern California, a game in which Gerhart ran for 178 yards and three touchdowns, the Cardinal stayed within a half-game of conference leader Oregon (6-1).
"The legacy I want to leave is the re-establishment of the Stanford football program as a Pac-10 contender and as a nationally recognized program," said Gerhart, a senior who's also a pro prospect as an outfielder on the baseball team. "We can look back and say, 'Look what we've gone through, look what we accomplished.' "
Before that, there's the matter of pursuing a Rose Bowl bid and enhancing a Heisman candidacy that would have seemed far-fetched when the season began, even if he was coming off a school-record 1,136-yard junior season.
Gerhart ranks third on the website heismanpundit.com, behind Alabama running back Mark Ingram and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy.
USC coach Pete Carroll said victories by Stanford in its last two games — it finishes at home Nov. 28 against Notre Dame — would boost Gerhart's odds.
"Toby is definitely worthy," Carroll said. "He's a great football player, and he's the centerpiece of an excellent team. But you got to have great team success, it's got to be noted, and you have to be the guy who makes it happen. A lot of that is in place for him."
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