Jahvid Best

Jahvid Andre Best (born January 30, 1989) is a track and field Olympian athlete, and former American football running back.

In his junior year in 2005 he had 1,495 rushing yards on 138 attempts with 20 touchdowns as Salesian won the North Coast Section championship to conclude a 12–1 season.

In his senior year, Best ran for 3,325 yards and 48 touchdowns, both Bay Area single-season records.

Salesian once again made it to the NCS finals, but lost in the final game to St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School of Vallejo.

At the 2006 CIF California State Meet, he finished third in the 200 metres behind Bryshon Nellum and Devin Mays.

As a senior, he won the Arcadia Invitational 200 meter dash with a time of 21.40 seconds.

Also during his senior year, Best won the CIF California State Meet 100 meters with a discounted wind assisted (2.4 m/s) time of 10.31, ahead of Charles Saseun and Randall Carroll.

In the 200 metres, Best was runner-up (20.65) to Nellum (20.43), both far ahead of the competition.

Best received scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, California, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, USC, and Washington among others, before ultimately committing to California in 2006.

Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, Best was listed as the No. 9 running back in the nation in 2007.

Best ran track as well, participating in the Arcadia Invitational in his junior and senior years.

As a junior, he won the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.36 seconds with an injured foot.

As a true freshman in 2007, Best was the primary backup to Justin Forsett.

On only 29 carries, Best had 221 rushing yards, and two touchdowns.

Best also caught 13 passes for 174 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Best was selected as the team's Most Valuable Freshman as well as the team's J. Scott Duncan Award (Most Valuable Special Teams Player).

Best quickly got the nation's attention in the season opener against Michigan State on August 30.

Best had 111 yards on 24 carries including a touchdown.

His breakout game came on September 6 in a 66–3 Cal win against Washington State, having two touchdown runs of 80 and 86 yards, respectively.

Best finished the game with exactly 200 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

Best struggled the following week against Maryland.

This was mostly due to California falling behind early, therefore limiting Best's touches, due to a change in game plan by the Bears.

Although he returned to form against Colorado State, he dislocated his elbow and would miss the next game against Arizona State.

He returned for the Arizona game, and dashed for a 67-yard score that put the Bears ahead in the second quarter.

He recorded 140 all purpose yards against the Wildcats.

After two more impressive outings against UCLA and Oregon, where he averaged over six yards per carry, Best was held to only 30 yards against the USC Trojans.

Best also led the Pac-10 in total rushing yards in 2008.

Following a 201-yard rushing game against the Stanford Cardinal in the 2008 Big Game on 19 carries, Best became the seventh consecutive 1,000 rusher for Cal since Jeff Tedford became head coach in 2002.

During the last game of the regular season versus Washington on December 6, Best became the first Cal player to rush for over 300 yards in a game and ended the regular season as the Pac-10's leading rusher, beating out Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers.

A 186-yard, two touchdown performance in the 2008 Emerald Bowl earned him Offensive MVP honors for the game.

Best finished the 2008 season with 1,580 rushing yards, an 8.1-yard per carry average, and 15 touchdowns.

This was followed up by foot surgery on January 23 to relieve irritation that was caused when Best bruised his foot halfway through the 2008 season.

On January 15, 2009, Best underwent surgery to tighten a ligament that had been injured when he dislocated his left elbow against Colorado State on September 27, 2008.

He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

He played college football for the California Golden Bears, setting several school records, including most all-purpose yards in a single season and most rushing yards in a single game.

Best finished his senior season with personal bests of 10.31 and 20.65, the 5th and 2nd fastest times in the nation respectively.

Best competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics, representing Saint Lucia in track and field.

He later became head football coach of the Saint Mary's College High School Panthers in Berkeley, California, for one season.

Best attended Salesian High School in Richmond, California, where he played for the Salesian Chieftains high school football team.

Best ran in the 100 meters at the 2016 Olympics in Heat 7 of the first round, losing to eventual (three time) gold medalist Usain Bolt, former silver medalist Richard Thompson, European champion James Dasaolu and world youth record holder Yoshihide Kiryū.