Mantles Are Full For The Two Sport Stars
By Collegebaseball360.com Editor Sean Stires
Notre Dame wide receiver Golden Tate and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart have capped their 2009 award hauls by being named Consensus All-Americans on the football field. The Associated Press named both first-team All-Americans on Wednesday.
Gerhart leads the nation with 26 rushing TDs.
Both Tate and Gerhart earned first-team status on the five All-American teams that comprise the consensus designation: The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), The Walter Camp Football Foundation, and The Associated Press.
Gerhert is Stanford’s first consensus All-American since Troy Walters in 1999. Tate takes the first consensus honors since Shane Walton did it in 2002.
Tate won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver, while Gerhart hoisted the Doak Walker Award as the top running back in the country. He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
Tate recently capped off the best receiving season in Notre Dame football history. He finished with 93 receptions for 1,496 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns in 2009. Tate added two rushing touchdowns, one punt return for a score and totaled 1,915 all-purpose yards, second
Tate had 8 school records in 2009.
most in Irish single-season history.
Tate equaled or surpassed eight school records this year, including most catches and receiving yards in a season, tied for most touchdown catches in a season, most receiving yards in a career, most 100-yard receiving games in a season and career, most receiving yards per game in a season and tied for most consecutive games with a touchdown reception.
Gerhart ranks second in the nation in rushing, averaging 144.7 yards per game, and he leads the nation in scoring (13.33) and touchdowns (26). He has rushed for 100 or more yards in 10 of Stanford’s 12 games this season, including three games in which he rushed for 200 yards or more. He has also carried the ball 10 or more yards, 50 times this season, according to ESPN, the nation’s highest.
Tate hit .329 for ND last spring.
He was at his best down the stretch, as he averaged 185.5 yards a game and scored 13 touchdowns over Stanford’s last four contests against No. 7 Oregon (223), No. 11 USC (178), California (136) and Notre Dame (205). The Cardinal posted a 3-1 record in those games to finish the regular season with an 8-4 overall record, its most wins in a single-season since the 2001 campaign.
Gerhart and Tate have also been college baseball players at their respective schools. Gerhart played for three seasons on the diamond for the Cardinal baseball squad, helping the team to the 2008 College World Series. Tate played
Gerhart hit 7 home runs in 2009.
baseball for two years for the Irish, batting .329 last season.
Tate has already announced his plans to enter April’s NFL draft. Gerhart has not officially announced his plans, but he is expected to enter the draft as well (he has a 5th year of football eligibility and one season of baseball eligibility left). Both could also still be selected in the June MLB draft.
Gerhart and Stanford face Oklahoma in the Brut Sun Bowl on Dec. 31. Tate and Notre Dame will not play in a bowl game.
Tate and Gerhart have been among more than 35 college baseball players who have been included throughout the fall in the exclusive Collegebaseball360.com Two Sport Reports.