Jahvid Best, Running Back, Detroit Lions

(5-10, 195)

Age: 21

Experience: 1st season

College: University of California-Berkeley

Draft Status: 1st Round of the 2010 Draft, the 30th overall selection- Detroit Lions

Jahvid Andre Best, a native Californian, was a football and track star at Salesian High School in Richmond, CA.  His name is a combination of “Jah” and the last syllable of his father's name, David.  In his junior season, the aptly named Best racked up 1,495 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground from 138 attempts, leading his team to a 12-1 record and a North Coast Section Championship.  Best amazingly topped his junior year production with an astounding 3,325 rushing yards and 48 touchdowns, both Bay-Area single season records, though team success would fall short of expectations, as Salesian lost in the championship final to St. Patrick- St. Vincent High School of Vallejo.  Best's track exploits were equally impressive, winning the 100-meter dash at the Arcadia Invitational on an injured foot in his junior year with a blistering 10.39 time.  In his final high school campaign, Best won the 200-meter dash (21.40) at the Arcadia, and won the 100-meters at the California Interscholastic Federation state championship with a wind-assisted time of 10.31, a time that would equal future Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin's personal best as a high school senior, and was better than future World Champion sprinter Tyson Gay's best marks in high school as well. Gay just recently defeated Jamaica's Usain Bolt, widely considered the world's fastest human being, in the 100 meters in Stockholm.

Best would entertain scholarship offers from California, Notre Dame, USC, Michigan, Washington, Arizona and Arizona State before choosing the University of California.  As a freshman, Best served as future NFLer Justin Forsett's (Seattle Seahawks) primary backup, parlaying a small amount of touches (29 carries and 13 receptions), into capturing the team's Most Valuable Freshman award as well as the J. Scott Duncan Award for Most Valuable Special Teams player.

In 2008, Best started to attract attention from the national college football landscape with a season-opening performance of 111 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries against Michigan State, and a breakout day of 200 yards, which included runs of 86 and 80 yards, and three touchdowns on the ground in Cal's 66-3 laugher over Washington State.  Despite several up-and-down weeks which included dramatic production swings of only 30-yards against USC to a 201-yard rushing game against hated-rival Stanford, Best ended the season as the Pac 10 conference leading rusher and became the seventh consecutive 1,000-yard rusher under Cal head coach Jeff Tedford since he took over the program in 2002.  Playing through a dislocated elbow, Best finished the season with 1,580 rushing yards (a gaudy 8.1 yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns, and led the Bears to an Emerald Bowl appearance where he earned Offensive MVP honors with 186 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.   

2009 RECAP:

Heading into 2009, Best underwent two consecutive surgeries resulting from injuries in 2008, to tighten a ligament in his previously dislocated left elbow, and to relieve irritation from a bone bruise also suffered in the prior season, causing him to miss all of spring practice as a result. His absence from team workouts didn't stop Rivals.com from naming him college football's most explosive player in the preseason.  Best started the season fast, reeling off consecutive 100-yard rushing games against Maryland and Eastern Washington.  In late September he would establish a personal best and modern era school single game record (Dickie Dunn had a 6 TD game in 1922)  with a five touchdown (and 131 rushing yards) parade against the University of Minnesota in late September, earning numerous Player of the Week accolades from several media outlets.  In October of 2009, Best would flash his trademark explosiveness again in recording his longest TD run from scrimmage (93 yards), third all-time in Cal history, and a 51-yard scoring reception in the Bears 45-26 victory over the Bruins.

In Cal's early November date against Oregon State, Best suffered a horrific-looking concussion while hurdling a defender to score a touchdown. He landed on the back of his head causing his helmet to pop off.  It was his second concussion in two weeks, effectively ending his collegiate career, and his Heisman hopes, as Cal head coach Jeff Tedford would sit him for the remainder of the regular season and the Poinsettia Bowl, and Best would soon thereafter declare his intention to enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

The Detroit Lions, smitten with his exciting body of work on game film in combination with the 4.35 forty he ran at the Indianapolis Combine, traded back into the 1^st round to select Best with the 30^th overall pick in the 2010 Draft.   

2010 OUTLOOK:

Shortly after the Draft, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz enthused, “Some people watch adult videos on their computer…I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That's what gets me going.” Clearly the Lions have big plans for Best to become an integral part of their offensive attack.  With last year's starter Kevin Smith going down to an ACL tear in 2009, he's not expected to be fully recovered Week 1, but has showed some improvement in camp. Given the injury baggage Best brings from his college days, expect the Lions to give the between-the-tackles carries to Kevin Smith and veteran Maurice Morris; while the Lions try to get Best the ball in space on runs to the outside, and as a receiver, giving the rookie additional value in PPR leagues.  Expect 12-15 carries per game with a handful of targets as a receiver, and given his explosive potential for the big-play, the rookie from Cal will make a good third back/ flex player with upside for your fantasy football lineup.  If the Lions lowly offensive line can show improvement during the season, and the defense, stocked with noticeably better players this season, plays at a higher level than previous years, Best's value will increase as the season matures.