Sports

TUCSON - Football players often are judged by their times in the 40-yard dash. Stanford tailback Toby Gerhart is judged by how many opposing players are left on the ground after trying to tackle him.

There are usually plenty.

"He brings that physical presence. I don't know his speed; he is a power running back," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "He likes to run downhill and break tackles. That is his strength."

The 6-foot-1, 232-pound junior will be charging straight ahead against Arizona when the Wildcats play at Stanford on Saturday.

Don't look for a lot of fancy footwork or the use of the quick cutbacks upon which UA tailback Nic Grigsby relies.

Gerhart will use his strength to break free for extra yardage.

"I don't have a 40 time on Toby, but there are times when he is breaking from a dead start and pulling away from people," Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He is pretty light on his feet for somebody with such a thick lower body. I would not say he is slow by any means."

Gerhart ranks fourth in the Pac-10 in rushing yards per game at 87.5. He has 525 yards and six touchdowns.

And that's despite missing time against Washington on Sept. 27 with a mild concussion.

Stanford was counting on Gerhart heavily a year ago. Those plans changed when he tore ligaments in his left knee in the second game.

He began his comeback with 147 yards and two touchdowns in a 2008 season-opening victory over Oregon State, whose run defense was stout enough to hold Southern California to 86 yards less than a month later.

In last week in a 28-21 loss at Notre Dame, Stanford had to abandon much of its running game after running up a large deficit early in the second half, but Gerhart still rushed for 104 yards on 13 carries.

"He is a special, special athlete," Harbaugh said.

Said Stoops: "He understands who he is. He doesn't try to do anything other than that. He is a physical running back. We are going to have to make sure of our tackling."

The last physical back the Wildcats faced was New Mexico's Rodney Ferguson. He broke several tackles while rushing for 158 yards.

Arizona has done better against the run lately, giving up 115 yards to UCLA and 63 to Washington the past two games.

"We are a different team (since facing Ferguson)," said UA defensive end Ricky Elmore.

"We have the chip on our shoulders. Our defense is playing physical, and we are making a lot of tackles at the line. It is redemption for us. He is another big back, so we can get after him."