NFL's Toby Gerhart May be Facing Race-based Judgment | IXGAMES

Toby Gerhart, also known as “Pac-10” among his fans, is a muscular six-footer NFL player that has been a topic of discussion among NFL fans, players, and league executives. At first impression, Toby Gerhard can be compared to Iron Man because of his bulky built and impressive height. However, despite this some have regarded Gerhart as a player who is strong and tall but doesn’t have the right skills to succeed as a professional NFL player. What Toby Gerhart has to say According to Gerhart, he’s trying his best to get rid of the perception that he is just a big guy on field playing football. He wants to prove to fans, fellow players, and NFL executives that he has what it takes to succeed in the field. Gerhart is frustrated by the fact that some people have claimed that he is slow or that he isn’t going to break tackles at a higher level. In college, Gerhart was able to play against Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing, a couple of guys who made it to the pro bowl as NFL rookies. Gerhart also stated that he was able to play against these tough guys and broke through their tackles. Race as a factor behind Toby Gerhart’s evaluation It seems that his race (being a white guy) has an effect on how other people see him as an NFL player. This is because Toby Gerhart is a white guy trying to enter the league as a feature back, something that is becoming rare nowadays. Of course, race shouldn’t be a factor when evaluating the capabilities of a player, but Gerhart believes that his race has clouded other people’s judgment about him. In one interview, Gerhart was asked what it feels like to be a white guy running back. He was asked if he considers himself as a poster child for white players running back or if he feels entitled to do so. Gerhart replied that he doesn’t really think about this things. He just wants to play football and do his best out in the field. One NFL scout also claimed that because of his (Gerhart) skin color, he might be prevented from getting drafted in the coming game’s first round. Gerhart is also sometimes judged as the next Mike Alstott or John Riggins. Some have even claimed that he is a better version of Tommy Vardell, another Stanford-based star who had an unimpressive career after getting drafted in 1992. Several personnel executives has also expressed their negative views on Gerhart’s chances of building a successful career as a professional NFL player. The other side of the coin Despite such negative comments however, Gerhart is getting positive feedback from David Razzano, an NFL scout. According to Razzano, Gerhart is fast, has a quick feet, and is elusive. David Razzano has also stated that Gerhart is doing great in the red zone. Gerhart’s defenders have also wished that he was typecast as a fullback during his college years. Plus, former USC coach Pete Carroll had actually tried to recruit Pac-10 out of high school as a fullback.