Sep 4, 2008

Trip to Tempe, Ariz., a Gerhart family affair

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

Sun Devil Stadium will be like the Gerhart family reunion when Stanford visits Arizona State Saturday at 7 p.m.

Toby Gerhart, fresh off a 147-yard rushing day in a victory over Oregon State, will be in the backfield for the Cardinal. Younger brother Garth Gerhart is a backup center for the Sun Devils. The rest of the Gerhart family will be in the stands, including triplet sisters Teagan, Kelsey and Whitley. Teagan, a standout softball pitcher at Norco High, will join Toby at Stanford next year, toiling on the mound for John Rittman's Cardinal softball team. T-shirts have already been created for the Gerhart family that will designate a half and half support for ASU's Garth and Stanford's Toby.

"It's neat for the Gerhart family to, not only to have one boy playing in the Pac-10, but to have two," Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. "How proud would you be? The dad is a football coach in a football family. Their kids are in the limelight. I'm sure their dad is boring the heck out of the neighbors. The neighbors must be getting very bored hearing all about the Gerhart kids."

Garth, a redshirt freshman, and Toby, a junior, won't square off against each other on the field because they both play offense. But, they have had a sibling rivalry forever in the Gerhart household.

"We've wrestled around a lot, but sometimes, one doesn't know that it's not OK to hit each other in the face," Toby said. "You got to know when to stop."

On paper, the wrestling match might be one-sided now. Garth is 6-foot-1, 305-pounds. Toby is the same height, but listed at 228 pounds.

"He's been bigger than me since I was 3," said Toby of Garth.

Toby Gerhart's effort against the Beavers was the most yards gained by a Stanford back since J.R. Lemon rushed for 162 yards in a game against Washington in 2004.

"Toby has great vision," Cardinal tackle Ben Muth said. "He hits the hole hard."

"I told my offensive line before the season started that I had confidence in them," Gerhart said. "They came out and hit Oregon State in the mouth and opened some big holes. Our tight ends and wide receivers made blocks, too. So did (quarterback) Tavita Pritchard."

Gerhart's explosion last Thursday, which included a 46-yard touchdown run, has caught the attention of ASU coach Dennis Erickson. In addition, Gerhart had a 36-yard run and what looked to be about a 25-yard scamper called back because of a holding penalty.

"Gerhart was unbelievable," Erickson said. "He's big, physical, with great speed. He's deceptively fast and makes a lot of things happen. He's faster than people think. He broke tackles, got to the outside and was hard to catch."

Harbaugh is leading the Toby Gerhart bandwagon, comparing him to a former Washington Redskins great known for his hard-running, straight-up rushing style.

"Toby brings back memories of John Riggins," Harbaugh said. "That's like the way Toby is running right now. Toby is one of the premier backs in the Pac-10 and in the country after Week 1. We should be talking about Toby Gerhart. That was an excellent performance by him. He's a very talented young man. Get the word out on Toby. He's pretty darn good."

Toby Gerhart had an interesting conversation with Garth over the summer.

"He told me we have (three) warm-up games before they play Georgia," Toby said. "I was a little mad because he was calling us a 'warm-up game.' After we beat Oregon State, Arizona State is going to have more respect for us and prepare accordingly."