Jahvid Best (Salesian, Richmond; Cal)

Jahvid Best

Hometown:
Vallejo, CA

High School:
Salesian HS

Height / Weight:
5-10 / 195

Position:
TB

Birthdate:
01/30/1989

Experience:
2007-09

Major:
Undeclared

PRONUNCIATION: (JAH-vid)

CAL CAREER: Played three seasons from Cal from 2007-09 before declaring for the 2010 NFL Draft on January 2, 2010 ... a first-team All-Pac-10 choice in 2007 and '08, and a second-team selection in 2009... has 31 career games played and 18 starts ... ranks among Cal's all-time leaders in 200-yard games rushing (3, No. 1), rushing touchdowns (29, No. 3-T), rushing yardage (2,668, No. 7), all-purpose running (4,045, No. 5) and scoring (210, No. 9) ... added career totals of 844 yards in kick returns on 32 tries (26.4 ypr) and 533 yards receiving and 6 TD on 62 catches (8.6 ypc) ... recorded 50 plays of more than 20 yards (25 rush, 3 receiving, 22 kick return) ... totaled 34 career touchdowns and 210 points, adding five receiving TDs to his 29 on the ground ... only Cal player in history with more than one 200-yard rushing contest (3) ... 13 games of 100 or more rushing (No. 6 all-time at Cal) ... posted seven consecutive games of 100 or more rushing yards that included the final four contests of 2008 and the first three games of 2009, totaling 1,228 rushing yards and 17 TDs on the ground on 126 carries (9.7 ypr, 175.4 ypg) during the span ... posted 34 career rushes of 20+ yards, to go along with 11 of 60+ yards and four of 80 or more ... missed spring football in both 2008 and 2009 after a hip injury following the 2007 campaign and foot and elbow surgeries after the 2008 season ... missed the final four contests of 2009 after sustaining an injury following a seven-yard touchdown run vs. Oregon State.

2009: (Game-By-Game Stats) A second-team All-Pac-10 selection and Phil Steele 2009 Postseason All-Pac-10 Second-Team Offense choice, leading team in rushing and touchdowns scored despite missing the final three games of regular season ... co-recipient of team's Bear Backers Offensive MVP Award ... rushed for 867 yards on 141 carries and scored 16 touchdowns (12 rushing, 4 receiving) in nine games ... his 16 touchdowns (12 rushing, 4 receiving) are one shy of Cal's modern-era record and two short of school's all-time mark ... averaged 10.67 points per game to rank second in the Pac-10 and No. 3 nationally at the conclusion of the regular season but did play in the minimum 75% of the team's games to qualify for the final statistics ... wasa also fourth in the conference in rushing (96.33 ypg) at the conclusion of the regular season ... the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19 after rushing for 131 yards and a school-record-tying five touchdowns on a career-high 26 carries in win at Minnesota ... injured against Oregon State on a seven-yard touchdown run, after which he was transported to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he stayed overnight ... entered season as one of the nation's top candidates to win the 2009 Heisman Trophy, ranking as high as No. 5 (CBSSports.com, HeismanPundit.com) on current candidate lists ... also was listed at No. 6 on the ESPN.com Experts Poll and No. 7 by SI.com ... reached the top spot on the CBSSports.com and SI.com, as well as No. 2 by ESPN.com and HeismanPunt.com after the third game of the season at Minnesota ... on watch lists for the Doak Walker Award, Maxwell Award, College Football Performance Awards Overall Performer and Running Back of the Year, and the Walter Camp Award ... the only player in the nation honored by the College Football Performance Awards in each of the first three weeks of the season, winning the CFPA's Performer of the Week in Week 3 and the organization's Running Back of the Week in both Weeks 1 and 3 ... entered the season as the nation's leading returning rusher and was recognized as one of the preseason 2009 Heisman Trophy favorites by Athlon, Lindy's (No. 4), Phil Steele (No. 6), NationalChamps.net (No. 9) and Sports Network, among others ... selected as a first-team preseason All-American by Athlon and Lindy's, as well as second-team choice by Phil Steele and Sporting News, and a third-team pick of NationalChamps.net ... named by Sporting News as the nation's top returning running back and the seventh-best player in the country ... a first-team preseason All-Pac-10 choice of Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele and Sporting News ... Lindy's also picked Best as the Pac-10's 2009 preseason Most Valuable Player ... added second-team preseason All-Pac-10 kick returner mention from Athlon and third-team according to Phil Steele ... Lindy's and Rivals.com list Best as its their top running back nationally, while he also checks in at No. 2 on Lindy's list of Pac-10 NFL talents ... Phil Steele has him as the No. 4 draft eligible running back and No. 25 kick returner in the country ... Sporting News tabbed him No. 7 in the preseason on its list of the nation's top players.

2008: (Game-By-Game Stats) A first-team All-Pac-10 choice for the second straight year (special teams in 2007), as well as a second-team All-American by College Football News ... also shared the Bear Backers Award given to the Team MVP with seniors Zack Follett and Alex Mack, while taking home the team's Most Valuable Back honor ... led the Pac-10 and ranked third in the country in rushing, averaging 131.67 yards per game and finishing with a total of 1,580 rushing yards that was the second-highest ever at Cal, behind only J.J. Arrington's 2,018 yards in 2004 ... his 8.1 yards per carry was the best of any player in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with at least 125 rushes in 2008, as well as a school record ... led the Pac-10 and ranked second in the nation with 187.3 all-purpose yards per game behind Missouri's Jeremy Maclin, who was selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft ... also led the Pac-10 in kick return average (26.3, No. 21 NCAA), and tied for the league lead in scoring with an average of 8.0 points per game (No. 35-T NCAA) and scoring touchdowns with the same per game average on 16 TDs for a total of 96 points ... became the first non-quarterback to pace Cal in total offense (No. 8 Pac-10) since Gary Fowler co-led the team in 1969 and the first running back to lead by himself since John Olszewski in 1952 ... voted Offensive MVP of the Emerald Bowl after galloping for a bowl-record 186 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries vs. Miami, Fla. (9.3 ypc) ... his 15 rushing TDs tied the Cal single-season mark also held by J.J. Arrington (2004) and Justin Forsett (2007) ... a three-time Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 6, Nov. 22, Dec. 6) ... capped off the regular season with a school-record 311 yards on 19 carries vs. Washington - the fourth-highest total in Pac-10 history and the most in the Pac-10 as well as the fourth most in the nation in 2008 ... his 311 all-purpose yards against Washington were also the most in the Pac-10 in 2008 ... also had four rushing TDs vs. the Huskies, including scoring sprints of 60 and 84 yards, to tie the Cal modern era record and equal the most in the Pac-10 in 2008 with his 24 points scored, four touchdowns and four rushing TDs also matching a Pac-10 season-best ... had the two longest runs in the Pac-10; in addition to the 84-yard rush vs. Washington, went 86 yards at Washington State ... the only Cal player ever and the only Pac-10 player in 2008 to have three 200-yard games in a season (311 vs. Washington, 201 vs. Stanford, 200 at Washington State) with those ranking as three of the top four 2008 rushing performances in the Pac-10 ... had eight 100-yard rushing games to tie for first in the Pac-10 ... ran for a combined 698 yards on 58 carries (12.0 yards per rush) in Cal's last three games vs. Stanford, Washington and Miami, Fla. ... had 19 rushes of 20 or more yards and seven of 60+ yards, including three runs of 80 or more yards ... recipient of the Berkeley Breakfast Club Award for the Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the Big Game ... tied for second on the team with 27 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown ... opened the campaign with 111 yards rushing on 24 carries and one touchdown, 63 receiving yards and 103 kick return yards for 277 all-purpose yards against Michigan State ... became the first Cal player since J.J. Arrington in 2004 to open a season with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games after racking up 200 yards on the ground at Washington State in the second game of the season ... dislocated his left elbow vs. Colorado State in the fourth game of the year ... after missing the Arizona State contest, returned at Arizona and rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown ... went for 115 yards and a touchdown against UCLA and 116 yards with a score vs. Oregon State ... had two tackles.

2007: (Game-By-Game Stats) Burst onto the scene as a true freshman, seeing action at tailback, as a return man and a gunner on kick coverage ... a first-team All-Pac-10 selection as a special teams player ... named the team's Most Valuable Freshman and also received the J. Scott Duncan Award (Most Valuable Special Teams Player) ... missed the final three games of the season (Washington, Stanford and Air Force) due to a hip injury ... tallied 20 or more yards on 28.0% of his touches (16-of-57 plays) ... burst through tacklers for a season-best 64-yard touchdown run at Colorado State for his first career touchdown ... added his first career receiving touchdown against Louisiana Tech the following game with a 16-yard grab ... had four carries for 46 yards in his college debut against Tennessee ... returned 15 kickoffs for an average of 27.0 yards per effort (second in the Pac-10), including a career-long-tying 54-yarder at UCLA and added 12 others of 20 yards or more ... also a standout special teams gunner with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.

HIGH SCHOOL: A SuperPrep and Parade Magazine All-America choice ... rated as the No. 18 running back in the country by Scout.com ... selected to the All-Far West team by SuperPrep ... Rivals.com also tabbed him with a No. 9 ranking at his position and as the No. 11 prospect overall in California ... selected first-team "Best in the West" by the Long Beach Press-Telegram ... PrepStar national Top-100 prospect ... the consensus Bay Area Offensive Player of the Year ... garnered CalHiSports.com first-team All-State honors ... for his career, rushed for 6,428 yards and scored 91 touchdowns ... rushed for 3,325 yards and found the end zone 48 times as a senior, both setting Bay Area single-season prep records ... over 25 percent of his touchdowns were 50 yards or longer as a senior ... ran for 1,444 yards to go along with 271 yards in receptions and 20 total touchdowns for the 12-1 BCAL and Class A CIF North Coast Section champion Chieftains in 2005 as a junior ... had 12 carries for more than 50 yards as a senior and 10 more as a junior, when he averaged 10.4 yards per carry ... also ran track and field, winning a gold medal in the 200 meters at the 2005 USTAF Junior Olympics ... won the 2007 California State Championship in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.31 and also finished second in the 200 at 20.65.

PERSONAL: Full name is Jahvid Andre Best ... born January 30, 1989 ... parents are David and Lisa Best ... major is undeclared but considering Legal Studies.

LAST UPDATED: January 2, 2010

Courtesy Cal