Long Live The Legacy Of Jahvid Best

Long Live The Legacy Of Jahvid Best

I believed that Jahvid Best was every bit of the running back that Reggie Bush was in college.

Maybe he went to Cal instead of USC. Maybe he wore #4 instead of #5. Maybe he didn't get the attention and notoriety that many believed he deserved. It doesn't matter. The time that Jahvid Best spent toting the rock as the Cal Bears runningback was some of the best tailback play I'd ever seen. Those cuts. Those open-field runs. That sprinter speed. Good grief could this guy go.

Then the concussion happened.

You see it happen in real time and sometimes you just know its not going to end well. When Best's helmet literally exploded off of his neck after scoring a miraculous touchdown against Oregon State in 2009, I was scared that his head would still be in said helmet. I'd never saw anything like that before, and I was terrified. Best was diagnosed with having a concussion, and he would never play another game for the Cal Bears football team His time recovering would be partially spent recovering from the horrific concussion along with preparing for the 2010 NFL Draft, a draft in which the Detroit Lions would call on him to be the next future star running back of an emerging franchise.

Best would never recover from that concussion though, as a second concussion was suffered during his second season in the league, and the man who would be called upon to follow Barry Sanders as being the next great Lions back would never play another down for Detroit. Best was released by the Lions organization on Wednesday, as Best has been suffering from post-concussion symptoms for over two years now, and Detroit felt that it was best if they moved. You can't blame Detroit for making that decision, and you can't help but wonder "what if" with Best's career if he was fully healthy.

I'll still remember the back who wore #4 for Cal a few years ago, the man who I thought could be everything Reggie Bush was. That's funny though, because now Reggie Bush is the new starting running back for the Detroit Lions. At the age of 24, Best could be done in the league, virtually blackballed because of lingering concussion issues. I hope the man can get healthy and return to this great game, but if he can't, then that's fine too. We'll remember, the Youtube clips will be replayed, and maybe someone will say, "Do you remember when Jahvid Best was what that was?" (I know I will.)

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