BY DI STAFF | DECEMBER 15, 2009 7:30 AM

Toby Gerhart

This was not the year of the quarterback.

And in turn, it was obvious this year’s Heisman Trophy would not go to a signal-caller.

That automatically ruled out Florida’s Tim Tebow and Texas’ Colt McCoy, vaulting Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, and Stanford running back Toby Gerhart into the national spotlight — the brightest of those three stars being the 6-1, 235-pound running back from Stanford.

The Doak Walker award winner ran for the most yards (1736) and touchdowns (26) in the Football Bowl Subdivision, more than qualifying himself as the best player in the country.

Part of the Heisman process is deciding the effect a player has on his team. No one had more of an effect than Gerhart.

Coming into the Cardinal roster as a freshman, Stanford was a one-win team without much of a personality.

This year, that group of losers defeated No. 9 USC, No. 8 Oregon, and No. 24 Washington.

The Heisman meant to be given to the singular best player in the country, no matter how the team does. In giving the award to Ingram, the committee lost sight of individual performance and instead focused on the performance of a team.

Gerhart might well be one of the highest-drafted running backs in next April. It’s just too bad the team didn’t go undefeated.

— by Jake Krzeczowski