Jahvid Best is LeBron James, if LeBron Played Football

Last weekend I watched the Cal-Minnesota game to see Jahvid Best. It was my first time seeing him play, but he looked strikingly familiar.

It was a great game to see him in, too. He scored all five of Cal’s touchdowns as part of 131 yards on 26 carries. If you do the math, that means he was in the end zone once for every five times he took a handoff.

After the game I pulled up some highlight clips on YouTube to see more of what this guy can do. And after seeing him juke, double juke, triple juke a poor Washington defender, I realized that I’d seen him before.

He’s LeBron James.

There’s been a lot of speculation on what would have happened if LeBron James had chosen to play football instead of basketball. I have to think a player like Jahvid Best would be the result.

It’s in the way they move. They have a sureness of motion, a physical confidence that speaks of their singleness of purpose—the basket for LeBron, and the end zone for Best.

They share an unbeatable ability to see, as well. When either one has the ball it’s as though they know, without looking, where every other player is and what their best path through the traffic is going to be.

See for yourself.

On the left we see LeBron throw a defender with jab step right, then left, then he goes right—actually fairly tame for the dancing LeBron sometimes does on the perimeter. On the right we see the previously-mentioned clip of Best torching a Washington Huskies defender with some similarly fancy footwork.

Here’s a couple more:

Coast to coast, for both of them. Notice how they both split defenders without any problem. It’s like everybody else is wearing ankle weights.

If LeBron had decided to play football, I have to think this is what he’d look like. This is the kind of dominance that LeBron James, with his superlative physical skills, might have had in college football.

James played both basketball and football in high school, and while we know mostly about his basketball background, he was no slouch on the gridiron.

He was an all-state wide receiver as only a sophomore at St. Mary-St. Vincent High School in Akron, Ohio. Wearing jersey #9, he racked up 700 yards receiving, though the team only went 4-6 on the season.

The next season was even better, with James amassing 52 receptions for over 1,00 yards and 15 touchdowns. The team did better as well, going 7-4 and making the playoffs – losing in the state finals while James played with a broken finger.

With his combination of size, quickness, and top speed, he could have surely played Division I football.

Speaking of size, it’s true that James and Best couldn’t be more different physically. James is 6’8″, and a beefy 250 lbs. Best is very much a shrimp in comparison, standing 5’10″ and weighing in at 195 lbs.

Best is, of course, a running back, and it’s unlikely that LeBron ever would have lined up in a backfield. While he played wide receiver in high school, he now has a build closer to that of an NFL tight end (Tony Gonzalez is 6’5″, 251; Antonio Gates is 6’4″, 260).

Ultimately, I’ll admit it’s a strange comparison to make. One’s a big NBA small forward, and the other is a 10 inches shorter, 55 pounds lighter college running back. They’re far from identical, and perhaps what they have most in common is the rush of exhilaration I get when watching them play. It doesn’t happen with everybody.

If nothing else, it speaks to the potential of Jahvid Best.

His physical prowess really is remarkable. He was a terrific back last season, averaging an unreal 8.1 yards per carry on his way to 1580 total rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

But this season? Wow. He’s already amassed 412 yards and 8 touchdowns in three games—if he were able to keep that standard up for the entire season, that would mean 1,648 yards and 32 trips to the end zone.

I don’t get a vote for the Heisman, but if I did Best would top the list. Nobody in the league is playing with the same electricity as this guy, and he’s likely having a greater individual impact on his team than any of the other Heisman front-runners, including Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy.

I expect we’ll be hearing his name for plenty of years to come. He’s a junior at Cal this year, but looks to be an immediate impact player in the NFL—think Adrian Peterson, or what Reggie Bush was supposed to be.

If you haven’t seen Jahvid Best play, make a point of doing so.

Or at least watch LeBron James.