Why Not Toby?
Answer: There is no reason.
Toby...should..."be"...the 2009 Heisman winner.
We will soon learn
whether the Heisman voters' collective recognition of Toby Gerhart's
outstanding, remarkable 2009 season overcomes the triple challenges
of long-established regional bias, pre-season hype requirements, and yes,
even stereotyping.
If he wins, #7 will have done it the
old-fashioned way, he will have earned it! In the last few days,
polls appear to be favoring running back Mark Ingram of Alabama,
who admittedly had a terrific year for a tremendous, talent-laden
12-0 Crimson Tide team, but when the dust settles, it will be
mighty tough for anyone to deny that Toby Gerhart of the Stanford
Cardinal, a unheralded team picked prior to the season to finish near the bottom
of the Pacific 10 Conference, was the most consistently outstanding player
in the nation. With his finest performances against the most
difficult competition, Gerhart brought it all to the table:
performance, statistics, signature plays, stamina, competitiveness, toughness,
relentlessness, leadership, character and perhaps above all, program-raising
ability, his contributions to his team's success. A true student-athlete who did
it all on the field while getting it done in the classroom, a kid who added
humilty, humor, and respect for his coaches, teammates and opponents, just for
good measure.
Did I see every game in which each of the 2009 Heisman candidates played? No. Would I have if I had a Heisman vote? Yes, I would have tried to have.
We all know one thing, whatever happens. Toby "The
Juggernaut" Gerhart is certainly "deserving" of the Heisman Trophy. We all know it, not only in our hearts as fans, but in our minds as
observers. Does that mean "Nwhathisnameung" Suh wouldn't deserve it if he
won? No, dude is a stud, although Suh wouldn't be close if he hadn't had a conference
championship appearance advantage over Gerhart). Does that mean McCoy
or Ingram wouldn't deserve it? Uh...yes! McCoy should be judged on his
performance this year, which means he shouldn't win. Ingram. C'mon. Let's keep
it real. Let Alabama win its national title to honor its team
accomplishment, let's not simply give a Heisman because they are 12-0, or 18-0 or whatever they are.
Should he become Stanford's second Heisman Trophy winner (and he should!), he would follow in the footsteps of quarterback Jim Plunkett in 1970. We are not jinxing anything here folks, the votes are already in. The results of the 2009 Heisman race are about to be
"revealed" at 8:00PM ET, not "decided".
What will happen tonight, who knows? This is a strange world we live in. No Country For Old Men won
the Best Picture Oscar in 2007. U.S. President Barack Obama won a Nobel Peace
Prize, one he openly acknowledged he had done little to deserve. Stanford OL Steve
Jubb made honorable mention All-Coast in 1971 without even having played
football that year.
Regardless of what happens, win or lose, we all want
to thank Toby and his Cardinal teammates for a very special 2009 season,
one that has brought Stanford Football back to national relevance and made
it exciting fun to be a Stanford fan again.
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