Todd Gerhart (born December 8, 1962) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
who played one season with the
Denver Gold
The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mi ...
of the
United States Football League
The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
(USFL). He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
. He was also a member of the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
and
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL).
Early years
Gerhart played
high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...
at
Norco High School
Norco High School is California Distinguished School comprehensive public high school serving over 2,000 students from grades 9-12 in Norco, California, United States. It is part of the Corona-Norco Unified School District. The current principal ...
in
Norco, California
Norco is a city in Riverside County, California, in the United States. Norco is known as Horsetown, USA and prides itself on being a "horse community," with horse trails, hitching posts, and corrals, and city ordinances requiring construction to ...
and was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame.
College career
Gerhart played for the
Cal State Fullerton Titans
The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton.
The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West C ...
from 1981 to 1984. He rushed for career totals of 867 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 46 passes for 339 yards and one touchdown in his college career.
Professional career
Gerhart was selected by the
Denver Gold
The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played their home games at Mi ...
of the USFL in the fifteenth round with the 209th overall pick of the 1985
USFL Collegiate Draft The United States Football League had two types of drafts as their main sources for player recruitment: the Collegiate Draft and the Territorial Draft. The Collegiate Draft resembled its NFL counterpart (the NFL Draft), in which teams were given a ...
. He rushed for 279 yards and two touchdowns while also recording nine receptions for 125 yards in eighteen games for the Gold during the
1985 season.
The USFL folded before the start of the
1986 season.
He spent time with the NFL's
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
during the 1986 off-season. Gerhart was released by the Vikings on August 22, 1986. He signed with the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...
of the NFL in March 1987. He was released before the start of
the regular season.
Coaching career
Gerhart was the head football coach at Norco High School in Norco, California from 2004 to 2012, posting a combined record of 85–28.
He helped the team advance to the
CIF-SS
The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...
championship game three straight years, winning titles in 2005 and 2006.
His contract was not renewed in June 2013.
Gerhart was also a physical education teacher at Norco.
Personal life
Gerhart's sons
Toby
Toby is a popular, usually male, name in many English speaking countries. The name is from the Middle English vernacular form of Tobias. Tobias itself is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew טוביה ''Toviah'', which translates to ''Good i ...
and
Garth
Garth may refer to:
Places
* Garth, Alberta, Canada
* Garth, Bridgend, a village in south Wales
:* Garth railway station (Bridgend)
* Garth, Ceredigion, small village in Wales
* Garth, Powys, a village in mid Wales
:* Garth railway station (Powy ...
have both played in the NFL. He also coached both of them at Norco High School. Another son, Coltin, played football for the
Arizona State Sun Devils
The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...
. He was also coached by Todd at Norco.
References
External links
Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhart, Todd
Living people
1962 births
American football running backs
Cal State Fullerton Titans football players
Denver Gold players
Minnesota Vikings players
Houston Oilers players
High school football coaches in California
21st-century American educators
Educators from California
Players of American football from California
Sportspeople from Riverside County, California
People from Norco, California