Sports - Sports Headlines - College Sports

Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Cal tailback Jahvid Best released from hospital

| AP Sports Writer
Comments (0) |
Bookmark and Share
Add to My Yahoo! email this story to a friend E-Mail print story Print
Text Size:

tool name

close
tool goes here

California star tailback Jahvid Best was released from the hospital Sunday and will miss at least one game after sustaining a concussion on a terrifying fall in the end zone.

Best spent the night at Highland General Hospital in Oakland for observation and tests after landing on the back of his head in the end zone and being briefly knocked unconscious in the Golden Bears' 31-14 loss to Oregon State on Saturday night.

"We are relieved and thankful that Jahvid has been released from the hospital and that his CT scans and X-rays have come back normal," coach Jeff Tedford said Sunday.

Best was hurt on a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He vaulted into the air over Oregon State safety Cameron Collins and fell on the back of his head from at least 5 feet. His helmet came off on impact and he briefly lost consciousness. Best's jersey was removed and he was wearing an oxygen mask when carted out of the stadium.

His teammates went down on their knees and waited, then moved to the end zone as trainers and doctors took him away on a stretcher to go to the emergency room.

"I was scared for him," Cal cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson said after the game. "He fell so awkwardly and he just laid there. I said a prayer for him and his family."

Best sustained a slight concussion the previous week against Arizona State and missed two days of practice last week. Tedford said the team would be cautious with Best, keeping him out of this week's game against Arizona before deciding when he will play next.

The Bears (6-3, 3-3 Pac-10) have games remaining at Stanford on Nov. 21 and at Washington on Dec. 5, as well as a likely bowl game.

Best, one of the most dynamic running backs in the country and a preseason Heisman Trophy contender, has 16 touchdowns and 867 yards rushing this season. He also has 22 catches for 213 yards. He had 29 yards on nine carries Saturday.

In his absence, the Bears will count on Shane Vereen, who has rushed for 386 yards and scored eight touchdowns this season.

About comments

Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What you should know about comments on SanLuisObispo.com

SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.

Here are some rules of the road:

  • Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
  • Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
  • Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
  • Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and leave him a public message.
  • Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
  • Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
  • Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
  • Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@sanluisobispo.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

Top Jobs
Quick Job Search