Golden Bears running back Jahvid Best took flight in the second quarter as he attempted to reach the end zone. At his apex, it looked as if Best was at least seven feet in the air, with his back parallel to the ground and his legs pointed skyward.
While Best landed in the end zone, capping a seven-yard run-and-vault, it came with a steep price.
Best was knocked unconscious for several minutes, and he was ultimately taken off the field strapped to a board wearing an oxygen mask.
Fortunately for Best, he has movement in all extremities, but he was diagnosed with a severe concussion.
Needless to say, it was a frightening string of events for the football program.
"Unbelievably scary," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "There's always great concern for any player on the field like that. Our prayers go with him overnight as a team to make sure that he recovers fine."
"I looked at Jahvid's face and it was kind of a blank stare," Cal quarterback Kevin Riley said. "Anybody goes down like that, it's not a good situation. It was a scary picture. His eyes were just a blank stare, and he was trying to breathe."
As I understand it, Jahvid sustained a concussion just eight days earlier. So, WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING ON THE FIELD THIS WEEK?!
I blame Urban Meyer for having for having the best player in the country on the field when it was like 50 to nothing and getting him hurt but at least he had two weeks to get over it.
I thought there would be some standard for this situation in college, but I guess this too is a business and not about the saftey of the players. Also, why are all these helmets being knocked off in both leagues?
Urban Meyer coaches Florida. Different guy completely.
I agree with the sentiment as stated above in the comment. If Best had sustained a concussion eight days earlier, he shouldn't be playing football.
Players should not take flying leaps on the football field. You are risking a lot when you do that, because your head is that much farther from the ground. Was Jahvid Best coached to do that? Did he do it on his own?
Now that he has been knocked unconscious for several minutes, he should be done playing for the California Bears. He nearly died right on the gridiron. He might never play football again. If he does, he'll enter the draft.
Leatherneck, I agree, they should not be taking the flying leaps, especially with the way athelets can get up in the air these days. That was really scary to see how rigid his whole body was. It reminded me of when Don Bebe got blasted several years back. I also agree that he should be done for the year.
With the Urban Meyer statement, that was to illustrate the Tim had two weeks to get evaluated and I did the dual duty of questioning why he was even in the game at that point. I know running up scores helps the votes overall, but again, you have to question it when your best player gets hit like that.