Gerhart On 2023 HOF Ballot

IRVING, Texas – Legendary Stanford running back Toby Gerhart is on the 2023 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced on Monday. Gerhart is one of 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision on the ballot, along with 96 players and 33 coaches from the divisional ranks. Gerhart aims to become Stanford's 20th inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame after Andrew Luck gets inducted later in 2022.
 
Winner of the Doak Walker Award and runner up for the Heisman Trophy in 2009, Gerhart was a unanimous first team All-American after rushing for 1,871 yards and 29 touchdowns. He earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year honors and is Stanford's all-time leader in career rushing touchdowns, with 44.
 
After beginning his career 1-11 in 2006, Gerhart led the turnaround at Stanford and guided the Cardinal to the 2009 Sun Bowl and an 8-5 record. The eight wins were the most for Stanford since 2001 and the bowl appearance was the first since that 2001 season. Gerhart was truly instrumental in setting the tone for the best decade (2010s) in program history.
 
His 1,871 rushing yards in 2009 was a school record at the time (now ranks third), while his 3,522 career rushing yards ranked second at the time of graduation (no ranks fifth). Gerhart had three 200-yard rushing games during that 2009 season and twice scored four rushing touchdowns in a single game. He totaled 11 100-yard rushing games in 2009 and 20 for his career, both still second-most in school history.
 
In addition to his Doak Walker Award and Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors, Gerhart was twice named All-Pac-10 and earned the Conference's Tom Hansen Medal in 2009. Nationally, he earned the Archie Griffin Award, Jim Brown Trophy and was CBSSports' National Offensive Player of the Year.
 
A 2010 graduate with his bachelor's degree in management science and engineering, Gerhart returned to The Farm to earn his master's of business administration from Stanford in 2020. A two-time All-Pac-10 Academic Team honoree, Gerhart earned the 2010 Al Masters Award from Stanford, given to the Cardinal athlete attaining the highest standards of athletics performance, leadership and academic achievement. Gerhart was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2010 draft and played with the Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars through 2015.
 
The announcement of the 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be made in early 2023, with specific details to be announced in the future.
 
The 2023 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 5, 2023, and permanently immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. They will also be honored at their respective schools with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2023 season.
 
The criteria for Hall of Fame consideration include:

• First and foremost, a player must have received First-Team All-America recognition by a selector that is recognized by the NCAA and utilized to comprise its consensus All-America teams.
• A player becomes eligible for consideration by the Foundation's Honors Courts 10 full seasons after his final year of intercollegiate football played.
• While each nominee's football achievements in college are of prime consideration, his post-football record as a citizen is also weighed. He must have proven himself worthy as a citizen, carrying the ideals of football forward into his relations with his community. Consideration may also be given for academic honors and whether the candidate earned a college degree.
• Players must have played their last year of intercollegiate football within the last 50 years.* For example, to be eligible for the 2023 ballot, the player must have played his last year in 1973 or thereafter. In addition, players who are playing professionally and coaches who are coaching on the professional level are not eligible until after they retire.
• A coach becomes eligible three full seasons after retirement or immediately following retirement provided he is at least 70 years of age. Active coaches become eligible at 75 years of age. He must have been a head football coach for a minimum of 10 years and coached at least 100 games with a .600 winning percentage.
• Nominations may only be submitted by the current athletics director, head coach or sports information director (SID) of a potential candidate's collegiate institution. Nominations may also be submitted by the president/executive director of a dues-paying chapter of the National Football Foundation.