Update: The Vikings plan to use Gerhart as a tailback and not as a fullback. Chris Cook will be used as a corner and not at safety.
Vikings trade up, take Gerhart
The Vikings made a trade with Houston to move up in the second round and selected Stanford fullback Toby Gerhart.
By judd zulgad
The Vikings drafted Stanford running back/fullback Toby Gerhart on Friday night in the second round after making a trade with the Houston Texans to move up to the 52st pick.
The Vikings gave up the 62nd pick in the second round and also traded their third-round pick (No. 93) to Houston. That means unless the Vikings make a trade to get back into the third round they are done for the evening. Rounds four through seven of the draft will be on Saturday and right now the Vikings have six picks on the draft's final day.
Gerhart, 6-0, 231 pounds, won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back and was the Heisman runner-up last season after amassing 1,871 yards on 343 carries with 28 touchdowns and adding 11 receptions for 157 yards in 13 games (all starts). He rushed for more than 200 yards per game against ranked teams and also played three seasons of baseball as an outfielder at Stanford.
In 2008, Gerhart earned second-team All-Pac 10 conference honors after establishing a single-season Cardinal record by rushing for 1,136 yards in 12 games. That broke the previous mark of 1,084 yards set by Tommy Vardell in 1991.
Gerhart came off the bench to rush for 140 yards on 12 carries with one touchdown before suffering a torn PCL in his left knee and missing the remainder of the 2007 season. That performance ranked as Stanford's best rushing effort of the season. He had played in 12 games and made one start (vs. UCLA) as a freshman in 2006. Gerhart finished as Stanford's second-leading rusher with 375 yards on 106 carries.
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Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.