The season is only two weeks old, but Cal tailback Jahvid Best has moved onto the fringe of early-season Heisman Trophy talk. He's ranked seventh nationally in rushing (155.5 ypg) and sixth in all-purpose yards (239.5 ypg). He has scored four touchdowns and has two touchdown runs of at least 80 yards.
Today's game at Maryland could go a long way in determining if Best will remain in the conversation. It is being broadcast on ESPN, so voters across the land will have a chance to see Best in action.
"I have been really impressed,"
said ESPN.com senior writer Ivan Maisel, who has been a Heisman voter for the past 22 years. "It's not so much the numbers. They've been quite good. But it's just the physical talent."
It just hasn't been running the ball in which Best has impressed. In the Bears' season-opening win over Michigan State, he had 111 yards rushing, 103 yards on kick returns and 63 yards receiving. He followed that up with 200 yards rushing in a 66-3 win over Washington State, a game in which he reeled off his two long scoring runs.
Although today's game is on national television, Best's best chance of impressing voters may have to wait until the level of Cal's competition improves. Washington State might be the worst team in the Pac-10 and Maryland is off to a sluggish start.
That didn't seem to matter this week. Best received so many media requests that the athletic department put him on a conference call and will limit his interviews to once per week the rest of the season. Coach Jeff Tedford, who went through this with Marshawn Lynch and DeSean Jackson, already seems to be bracing for the onslaught of attention Best could receive.
"We have to do a good job of giving him what he can handle,"
Tedford said. "Like anyone else that is kind of a focus of a program or gets a lot of media attention, we have to help him manage his time. It can get overwhelming for a guy who starts to get a lot of attention."
Best said, "I've heard (Heisman talk) a lot. I just kind of take it with a grain of salt."
"I pay attention to it a little bit, but my main focus is preparing for each game each week and just going out there and doing my job every game. I think it will be OK. I try not to focus on individual things. That's just how I've been my whole life."
