Written for KNBR.com…
Jahvid Best will not be donning the blue and gold of the California Golden Bears football team next season. Instead, he has traded in his senior season in Berkeley for a chance to be drafted into the National Football League this coming April. The player whom fans affectionately call “Jahvid the Jet” reached his decision following a disappointing season, both on a personal level, and for the team as a whole. The question is not if the former Cal running back will be selected, but how high number 4 will be selected. Wherever he plays at the next level, Best will join fellow former California athletes now working on Sundays, including DeSean Jackson, Alex Mack and Aaron Rodgers.
Best, who was an early favorite to contend for the Heisman Trophy before the Bears’ decline, did not play in 
the team’s final four games (including the Poinsettia Bowl loss to Utah in San Diego). After sustaining a slight concussion against Arizona State on October 31, Best played against Oregon State at home the next week. With just over six minutes remaining in the second half, Best leaped over an OSU defender into the corner of the endzone, hitting the back of his head extremely hard. Despite the season-ending injuries, Best still amassed impressive numbers for a shortened season, with 867 yards and 12 touchdowns on 141 carries. That does not even include four receiving scores.
There are arguments to be made against Best declaring for the Draft. Those who believe he should not try his hand at the next level point mainly to his injury-prone college career. The two concussions were only the most recent misfortunes that befell California’s star offensive player. In each of his three seasons playing for the Golden Bears, Best has been hurt and as a result, he has missed at least one contest each year. In 2007, Jahvid was hampered by a hip injury, which forced him to be sidelined for the final three games. In his sophomore campaign, Best sustained what originally appeared to be a serious elbow injury against Colorado State, but he only missed one game and helped the Bears defeat the Miami Hurricanes in the Emerald Bowl.
Among the off-the-field points made regarding his decision is whether Best will finish his degree after his football career is over. In a teleconference held on January 2, Best indicated that he planned to return for his academic senior year in Berkeley following his time in the NFL. (As a quick side note, this is by no means unheard of in professional sports. While still an active player in the NBA, Vince Carter went back to the University of North Carolina and obtained his degree.)
It is perfectly understandable why Best has made his decision, and he has many supporters, both in the Cal fanbase and on the Golden Bears’ coaching staff. 
Jeff Tedford indicated that he believes that “like anybody else, Jahvid needs to improve some” but also said that the program “supports him 100 percent”. Given his injury history, it seems that Jahvid figured that he did not want to risk further trouble in that regard on the college level, and instead have confidence that his overall statistics and intangibles are enough to be selected. Rather than exhausting his collegiate eligibility, such as Tim Tebow and Matt Leinart both did, Best has chosen a similar route to that of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford injured his throwing shoulder in the Sooners’ first game this year and decided quickly to prepare for the upcoming draft.
In sports today, the most influential factor for the majority of players is money. If Best believes that he could lose a potentially large contract by playing in Berkeley for the 2010 season instead of Dallas or Denver or anywhere with a professional franchise, he would be mistaken to return. Add in the fact that California was only 8-5 overall and 5-4 in a competitive Pac-10 this season, and the choice to jump to the pros makes even more sense.
Over the course of his time playing for the Golden Bears, Best accumulated 2,668 yards rushing with 29 career touchdowns on 384 total carries. He recently tied a school record for touchdowns in a single game when the Bears played Minnesota this season, when he accounted for all five of the team’s scores. Also, before you start worrying about 
the running game for Jeff Tedford and running backs coach Ron Gould for next season, consider the fact that dating back to the days of J.J. Arrington, California has recruited extremely high-quality talent at that position. Arrington had over 2,000 yards and fifteen touchdowns in 2004. After Arrington, Marshawn Lynch ran for more than 3,200 yards in three years and had 29 total touchdowns on the ground and Forsett had over 1,500 yards and 15 scores in his senior season. In 2009, Shane Vereen proved to be more than a capable backup to Best, and stepped in nicely against schools like Arizona and Stanford, gaining a combined 352 yards in those two games.
In short, the Bears and their fans might be hurting now as a result of Jahvid Best’s decision to turn pro this April. But time heals all wounds, and both Best and his former team hope that this adage holds true through the upcoming NFL Draft and beyond.
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