NCAA Football Ncaa Fb Injuries

Cal's electric tailback Jahvid Best, once a Heisman Trophy candidate was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a serious spill against Oregon State Saturday night. Midway through the second quarter, Best rose high into the air to hurdle Oregon State safety Cameron Collins on the way to a touchdown, but fell onto his back and neck and was left immobile from the play.

Best's helmet flew off from the impact with the ground and his arms immediately went stiff.

The running back was carted off the field on a stretcher and transported to a local emergency room for observation. According to Cal spokesman Herb Benenson, Best had feeling in all his extremities but suffered a concussion.

Best suffered what the team called a "mild concussion" last week against Arizona.

But coach Jeff Tedford said all other tests were negative.

"He's in good shape," Tedford told the media.

Video of the play after the jump.

Breathe easier, America: the Iowa Hawkeyes' luck finally ran out. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi was injured just before halftime of today's 17-10 loss to Northwestern in Iowa City. Stanzi was tackled in his own end zone by Northwestern's Corey Wootton. He sprained his right ankle and fumbled the ball. Northwestern recovered the fumble for a touchdown.

Stanzi did not return to the game. Redshirt freshman James Vandenberg, who holds most of the state of Iowa's high school passing records, replaced him. Vandenberg's first pass was intercepted by the Wildcats.

ESPN cameras showed Stanzi on crutches and in a protective boot during the second half.

Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says junior quarterback Austen Arnaud is ready to return to the Cyclones starting lineup this week when they take on Oklahoma State.

Arnaud, a two-year starter for the Cyclones, has been sidelined the last weeks with a bruised throwing hand. He was injured during the Oct. 17 win over Baylor.

Rhoads says Arnaud was close to returning to the lineup last Saturday at Texas A&M but that his velocity just wasn't there so he stuck with redshirt freshman Jerome Tiller for one more week.

It's the great mystery in Norman, Okla., right now.

Is quarterback Sam Bradford's career over at Oklahoma? Will the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner opt for surgery to repair the sprained AC joint in his right shoulder? Could he play again this season or next?

Those are all burning questions that Sam Bradford was supposed to address following Wednesday's Oklahoma Sooners practice, but he called off a scheduled press conference. Oklahoma associate athletic director for media relations Kenny Mossman told FanHouse that Bradford wants to gather more information. There is no rescheduled date set and that Bob Stoops will not be taking any questions on Bradford after practice.

Whether or not Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford returns to the Sooners this season, or if he has indeed played his last college game, seems to be anybody's guess.

Sam Bradford at times looked a little rusty, and he and his receivers seemed out of synch, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback returned after a nearly one-month layoff to lead the 19th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to a 33-7 win over Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla.

Bradford, who had missed three games after spraining the AC joint in his (right) throwing shoulder in the first half of the season opener, passed for 389 yards and a touchdown in a relatively easy Big 12 opener. The real test comes next Saturday when the Sooners take on No. 2 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry in Dallas.

"It's extremely gratifying just to get back out on the field," Bradford said. "Just to be out there with the guys that I have put in so much work with in the offseason and just the simple things like handoffs. Everything out there, it's just exciting to be back."

SOUTH BEND, Ind -- The first and last plays of last Saturday's Washington-Notre Dame contest had something more in common than being the bookends of one of the most entertaining games waged in South Bend in years.

Each play featured a jarring hit that left one player with a concussion ... and those two concussions were only half the total the game rendered on its participants.

After two weeks of will he or won't he, Oklahoma announced Friday that Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford will return to the lineup for Saturday's Big 12 opener against Baylor.

Bradford, a junior, has missed the Sooners' (2-2) last three games and has been sidelined since the end of the first half of their season-opening loss to BYU (Sept. 5) with a sprained A-C Joint in his right throwing shoulder. There had been some speculation Bradford might return last week for the Miami game when he started throwing with the team for the first time, but it was determined the shoulder wasn't quite ready.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford seems like he wants to return to the field with the Sooners after being sidelined since the season opener with a Grade 3 sprain of the A-C joint in his throwing shoulder.

The burning question is when?

Bradford began throwing with the team for the first time last week, leading to speculation he might return in time for last Saturday's non-conference showdown at Miami. Soreness in his shoulder as the week progressed caused the coaching staff and Bradford to nix that plan even after doctors cleared him to play.

Now there is speculation the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback will give it a shot during Saturday's Big 12 opener against Baylor if all goes well in practice this week. That would seem most ideal with the rivalry game with Texas coming up on Oct. 17 in Dallas.

Its a simple headline but the implications are immense. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow returned to practice -- albeit in a limited manner -- Tuesday. This more than a week after a concussion against Kentucky left him a physical, hospitalized mess on national television. Florida has yet to publicly name Tebow's backup John Brantley the starter ahead of this week's game against LSU.

Its probably head games, but even if Tebow is 'cleared' Florida would have to be insane to play him. Head injuries are no joke and Tebow has well earned that baby rhinocerus nickname. Mix in his all-out style with LSU's terrific hitting and its an easy call: sit him. LSU is prepared for either quarterback and delaying only makes Meyer look desperate while potentially undermining Brantley before his first career start.