SB Nation's Minnesota Vikings blog, Daily Norseman, recently had the opportunity to sit down with their backup running back and former Stanford Cardinal standout Toby Gerhart, and discuss everything from current Cardinal QB Andrew Luck to Brad Childress and the Vikings struggles. Gerhart is having a fairly quiet rookie season, rushing 24 times for 86 yards and hauling in 13 receptions for 139 yards. Of course, backing up Adrian Peterson will do that to a player sometimes.
After the jump, we've got a couple of Gerhart's more insightful comments. Make sure and head over to Daily Norseman to read the entire interview.
On whether Andrew Luck will leave early for the NFL Draft:
I really don't know. Every time I try to ask him about it he just blows it off, laughs about it and says he's just gonna focus on the rest of this season. But he's a heck of a quarterback. Me personally, being selfish I think he should. He's a great player and I think he's ready. He's definitely the top quarterback in the nation so I'd like to see him leave.
It's not surprising that Luck is being coy even with his ex-teammate. I'd imagine Luck goes pro but given that he does have a choice in the matter, there's no way we get an answer before Stanford's bowl game. And if the Cardinal come up Roses then we won't hear anything until after the New Year.
On what he's learned playing behind Adrian Peterson and from his various coaches:
I've definitely learned from Coach EB [Running Backs Coach Eric Bieniemy]. He's an in-your-face, loud, intense guy. I've learned a ton from him but Adrian has been great as well. Starting the first day of camp, you hear all these horror stories as a rookie that the veterans aren't going to help you or steer you in the wrong direction. Here, it was the exact opposite. Since the first day, if I made a mistake, it was "you might want to start doing your footwork this way" or "make sure you keep your head up when you block that backer". Different things like that. It's really helped me understand the scheme and not get down on myself when I do mess up. Overall, it's been positive.
While Bay Area fans have their preference for Tom Rathman, any running back coach with some solid playing experience has to be an interesting coach to play under. It's good to know that the Vikings are treating Gerhart right and helping him improve his game.