He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, earning unanimous All-American honors.

[3] Gerhart had a breakout senior season in 2009, leading all running backs in the nation in rushing yards, touchdowns, and points scored, and setting several Pac-10 and school records.

As of December 2009, Gerhart holds the third highest career total of running yards in national high school football history.

[4] He led Norco High School to the CIF Division 5 Southern Section football championship on December 9, 2005.

[5] Gerhart's high school statistics garnered him interest from many top college football programs.

In his freshman year, Gerhart backed up Anthony Kimble at the halfback position, starting one game.

In 2007, Gerhart played in only one game, against San Jose State, in which he rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Gerhart was the fifth player in Stanford history to run for 1,000 yards or more in a season, after Darrin Nelson, Brad Muster, Jon Volpe, and Vardell.

He passed up the opportunity to play professional baseball after the 2009 season to return for his senior year at Stanford.

[12] Due to his knee injury in 2007, he had a potential additional year of college football eligibility.

[17] A four-year contract was signed on July 30, and Gerhart's first career NFL rushing touchdown came in a win against the Washington Redskins on November 28, 2010.

[20] Gerhart's father, Todd, was a running back at Cal State Fullerton, played in the USFL, and coached him in high school.