Gerard Garrison Hearst (born January 4, 1971) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

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(NFL) for ten seasons. He played

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for the

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, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. A first-round pick by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, he also played professionally for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the NFL. He ran for 1,000 yards or more in four different seasons. He was named the

NFL Comeback Player of the Year A number of NFL Comeback Player of the Year awards are given to National Football League (NFL) players who have demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity by overcoming illness, physical injury or other circumstances that led them to miss p ...

in 2001. In 1992, Hearst finished in third place in the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

voting after rushing for 1,547 yards and 19 touchdowns. When he left Georgia, he was the second-leading career rusher. Hearst was the number 3 overall pick in the

1993 NFL draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

. He played 12 years for the NFL.

Early life

Garrison Hearst was born in Lincolnton, Georgia. He attended Lincoln County High School in Lincolnton, where he was an all-state running back and broke several records.

College career

Hearst attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, and played for the

Georgia Bulldogs football The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Georgia Bulldogs, Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

team from 1990 to 1992, leading the nation in touchdowns (21) and in scoring (11.5 points per game) in his junior year. During his career, he established new school and

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) records for points scored in a season (126), total touchdowns (21), rushing touchdowns (19), and average yards per carry (6.8)*. Hearst was a consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection, the

Doak Walker Award The Doak Walker Award honors the top running back in college football in the United States. Established in 1990, it is named in honor of Doak Walker, a former running back who played for the SMU Mustangs from 1945 to 1949 and in the National Foot ...

recipient,

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's ESPY Winner for Outstanding Collegiate Athlete and SEC Player of the year in 1992. He finished third in the

voting. Hearst finished his college career second on the Georgia records list in rushing yardage (3,232), all-purpose yardage (3,934), and 100-yard rushing games (16); trailing only

Herschel Walker Herschel Junior Walker (born March 3, 1962) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He was also the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election ...

. He also finished third in career rushing touchdowns (33). Regarded as an excellent prospect, he was taken in the

third overall by the

. In 2022, it was announced that he was nominated for the 2023 College Hall of Fame ballot.

College statistics

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Hearst was selected by the Phoenix Cardinals in the

. In Hearst's first two seasons with the Cardinals, he was used sparingly due to knee injuries. In 1995, he broke out as a pro player, rushing for 1,070 yards. This came with one touchdown and also 12 fumbles, the most for any non-quarterback. The Cardinals however felt it was needed to sign Simeon Rice to go with Leeland McElroy moving forward in the run game. As such, Hearst was cut by the Cardinals in the 1996 training camp.

Cincinnati Bengals

Hearst was then claimed off waivers by the

. He played there one season, gaining 847 yards, but was then picked up by the

San Francisco 49ers

Hearst's best years came with the

. In his first year, 1997, he ran for 1,019 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the 49ers' first 1000-yard rusher since 1992 ( Ricky Watters). The four touchdowns were more than he had scored in his entire pro career before 1997. Hearst's true coming out, however, occurred in 1998. He ran for 1,570 yards and 7 touchdowns while averaging 5.1 yards per carry. His total rushing yards placed him third in the NFL, behind only

Terrell Davis Terrell Lamar Davis (born October 28, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2001. He is the Broncos all-time leading rusher and ...

and Jamal Anderson. Hearst set a then franchise record for rushing yards in a season, breaking the former record held by Roger Craig (1,502 yards in 1988). The record held until 2006 ( Frank Gore). His 535 receiving yards gave him a combined 2,105 yards on the season, another franchise record previously held by Craig (2,066 yards in 1985), also now held by Frank Gore (2,180 yards in 2006). Against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

late in the season, he set a then single-game franchise record of 198 rushing yards, which was later broken in 2000 by Charlie Garner. He also had the longest running play in the NFL earlier in the season, when he ran 96 yards for a game-winning touchdown in overtime on opening day versus the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. The play was later featured on

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as one of the best two running plays in NFL history. Following the great season by Hearst, he rushed for 128 yards and caught 3 passes for 15 in their wildcard win over the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. The 49ers next faced the

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in the Divisional Playoffs. On the first play from scrimmage, Hearst suffered a gruesome ankle break when his foot was caught in the

Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a Stadium#Types, domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown Atlanta, downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of th ...

turf and twisted severely as he tried to spin away from Falcons' defensive end Chuck Smith. Doctors said he might not play again, even though the 49ers kept him on their roster as an inactive player. Hearst ran into complications following surgery as circulatory problems choked off the blood supply in the area, leading to

Avascular Necrosis Avascular necrosis (AVN), also called osteonecrosis or bone infarction, is death of bone tissue due to interruption of the blood supply. Early on, there may be no symptoms. Gradually joint pain may develop, which may limit the person's abilit ...

, causing the

talus bone The talus (; Latin for ankle or ankle bone; : tali), talus bone, astragalus (), or ankle bone is one of the group of Foot#Structure, foot bones known as the tarsus (skeleton), tarsus. The tarsus forms the lower part of the ankle joint. It transmit ...

in his foot to die.

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football, football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-star#Sports, All-Star in Major professio ...

suffered this same condition in his hip and was forced to retire from football. After over two years of rehabilitation, Hearst played football in 2001 and became the first player in NFL history to come back to football after suffering avascular necrosis. He had an excellent season as well, rushing for 1,206 yards on a 4.8 average. The 49ers, who were 10–22 in 2 seasons without Hearst, went 12-4 that year. He won the

award. Hearst remained with the 49ers for two more seasons, but was used less often, the focus of the 49ers' running game shifting to Kevan Barlow. Hearst still ran for 972 yards and 768 yards in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Hearst was released during the 49ers' offseason after the 2003 season.

Denver Broncos

In March 2004, Hearst signed with the

. He was considered a "third down specialist" who had eight first downs, and 81 yards on 20 attempts with one touchdown (4.1 yards/carry) before being placed on IR with a broken hand, which was the end of his football career.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Hearst is married and has four children. He resides in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Gay slur controversy

In 2002, Hearst made inflammatory anti-gay comments to the ''

Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's ...

'' after Esera Tuaolo admitted he was gay. "Aww, hell no! I don't want any faggots on my team. I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that's a punk. I don't want any faggots in this locker room." Three weeks later, Hearst apologized for his comments.Hearst owns up to slur - Why did it take 3 weeks for this story to spread?
/ref>

References

External links

A video of Hearst's 96 yard touchdown run from NFL.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hearst, Garrison 1971 births Living people All-American college football players American football running backs Arizona Cardinals players Cincinnati Bengals players Denver Broncos players Georgia Bulldogs football players National Conference Pro Bowl players People from Lincolnton, Georgia Phoenix Cardinals players Players of American football from Lincoln County, Georgia San Francisco 49ers players NFL Comeback Player of the Year winners