Garrison Hearst
Teams
Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals (1993-1995)
Cincinnati Bengals (1996)
San Francisco 49ers (1997-2003)
Denver Broncos (2004)
Playoffs
Appearances - 5 (1997,1998,2001,2002,2004)
Conf Champ Games - 1 (1997)
Super Bowls - 0
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
Comeback Player of the Year - 1 (2001)
Pro Bowl - 2 (1998,2001)
All-Time Ranks
Rushing Yards - #55
Yards per Rush - #64
Rushing Yards per Game - #73
League Leads
Rushing Yards (#3-1998, #10-2001)
Yards per Rush (#1-1998, #4-2001, #9-1997)
Rushing Yards per Game (#3-1998, #10-1997)
Scrimmage Yards (#4-1998, #10-2001)
Yards per Touch (#3-1998)
Garrison Hearst rushed for 1547 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior, finishing 3rd in voting for the Heisman Trophy, then decided to leave school at Georgia a year early to enter the NFL Draft, where he was selected 3rd overall by the Phoenix Cardinals.
Hearst struggled with knee injuries in his first two seasons, hardly seeing the field and gaining less than 500 yards combined between those two years. When he was finally healthy enough to play consistently, he had his first 1000 yard season, though he only averaged 3.8 yards per carry, and the Cardinals decided to release him before the 1996 season.
He signed with the Bengals for that season, and his production was similar to that of his final season with Arizona, and as a result he was not asked to stay around after the season. He was picked up as a free agent by the 49ers, and that is when his career started to take off.
He rushed for over 1000 yards with the 49ers in 1997, but it was the 1998 season that made him a star and put him on this list. He set team records for rushing yards and scrimmage yards, with 1570 and 2105, both of which were broken by Frank Gore in 2006. He also led the entire league by averaging 5.1 yards per carry, and was named to the Pro Bowl.
In that season's playoffs, he rushed for 128 yards in the Wild Card round, but on the very first play of the Divisional Round, his foot got caught in the turf, and he suffered a gruesome ankle injury that was considered to be career-threatening. After surgery, he had circulatory problems that led to avascular necrosis, or the death of his ankle bone due to lack of blood supply. It was the same thing that ended Bo Jackson's career.
He spent 2 years rehabbing, and was miraculously able to return to the 49ers for the 2001 season. He started all 16 games that year, gaining 1206 yards and scoring 4 touchdowns, an being named the Comeback Player of the Year, which was well-deserved. The 49ers had missed the playoffs in the two seasons that he missed, but they went 12-4 and returned to the playoffs with his return to the field.
He remained with the 49ers for 2 more seasons, but saw his usage slowly drop off before he was released after the 2003 season. He signed with the Denver Broncos, where he was used sparingly for one year before his retirement.
Hearst's 1998 season was absolutely great, and it's sad that he nearly lost his career as soon as he began to hit his prime, but his return from the horrific injury, and his high level of play in that comeback season are extremely impressive, and he belongs on the list of the greatest to ever play the game.
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