One of the most dominant and versatile running back prospects to ever enter the NFL Draft, Garrison Hearst’s NFL career was marred by injuries, but when healthy was among the most productive players in the league.
By his sixth NFL season in 1998, Hearst had produced three 1,000-plus yard rushing seasons and rushed for 14 touchdowns. However, his career can best be described by its second act and the injury that likely cost him the chance to translate his bountiful potential out of the University of Georgia into an all-time great career.
Hearst suffered a fractured ankle in a San Francisco 49ers playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons in January 1999. This wasn’t a run of the mill ankle injury, though, as he developed a rare circulatory condition in the aftermath of surgery to repair his shattered ankle that previously ended Bo Jackson’s playing career.
Unlike Jackson, Hearst was able to overcome his condition thanks to a medical procedure that essentially rebroke his ankle and grafted cartilage from other parts of his body to piece it back together. The condition did, though, cost Hearst two seasons in the prime of his career.
Upon returning, Hearst immediately reascended to the top of the 49ers’ running back depth chart and rushed for 1,206 yards and four touchdowns en route to winning Comeback Player of The Year in 2001.
Hearst’s productivity declined over the final three seasons of his career, and he was ultimately forced to retire in 2004 after suffering a broken hand.
If Hearst had just two more years in the prime of his career in the midst of exceeding 1,000 yards in three of four seasons, perhaps he winds up as a top-25 all-time rusher.
- Career stats: 1,831 carries for 7,966 yards and 30 touchdowns, 229 receptions for 2,065 yards and nine touchdowns
- 1998 Second-team All-Pro
- Two-time Pro Bowler
- 2001 Comeback Player of the Year