Bears Injury Update (10/13)

The Bears come rested off their bye week as they prepare for their game at Arizona on Saturday. Here’s a quick injury update for our Bears’ boo boos.

The biggest question is whether Jahvid Best will be ready to go for Saturday, coming off his dislocated elbow injury. The news is looking more and more optimistic, although nothing is set in stone. Best is about where he should be in his rehab, as he was able to lift weights on Saturday and catch a few passes in non-contact drills on Sunday. Best even fell to the turf a few times, even on his injured elbow, and didn’t seem too phased by the injury.
"I was a little worried at first, but falling didn't hurt, so that will help with the mental aspect," Best said.

The biggest part of coming back will probably be the mental rehabilitation for Best, as he will have to get back used to play his usual explosive self, without worry of reinjuring his elbow. Of course, if there is a chance that Best won’t be 100%, Coach Jeff Tedford has maintained he won’t risking playing Best.

Cal fans who saw Shane Vereen in action against ASU won’t have much to worry about after seeing Vereen’s performance, although it would be nice to be able to have both back for what will be a big game against the Wildcats.

Also, Nate Longshore is again injured, but not in the way many Cal fans would initially suspect.


Longshore slipped a disk in his back after lifting weights and was held out of practice on Sunday, although he should be good to go for Tuesday’s practice. Although both Tedford and Longshore stated that Nate could have played, Tedford didn’t see too much reason to reaggravate the injury for Sunday’s non-contact drills, and felt it was better to just “give it another day to settle down.”

Longshore had a similar injury during his record setting 2006 sophomore campaign, and prior to opening the season against Tennessee in 2007.

(Nate Longshore. Age 6)

Rulon Davis continues to sit out with his undisclosed injury (a broken foot from what I gather). Davis is predicted to be healed by mid-November, but with rehab and conditioning, it’s not a stretch to assume that Davis is pretty much done for the season, at least as a starter. We may be able to see him back for Stanford or Washington, but with the way Cameron Jordan and Tyson Alualu, Cal will most likely be in no rush to hurry Davis back and risk further injury. A sad prognosis for the oft-injured senior.

Wide receiver Marvin Jones is back to practicing after going down with knee injury during Cal’s previous bye week, and signs look good that Jones could take the field on Saturday. I haven’t hear anything just yet that would indicate otherwise, but I’ll keep you all posted if I do.

Michael Calvin continues to try and heal his sprained toe that has hampered him for most of the season. Cal patiently waits for the toe to fully heal so they can get the level of production they had hoped for from Calvin, who still can ultimately prove to be the Bears’ best receiver this season. Tedford insists that Calvin will “absolutely” still be a big part of the offense’s game plan as Calvin plays through his injury.

Finally, no new word on Left Tackle Mike Tepper. No one is talking too much about it, but it’s looking more and more like Tepper, like Davis, may be done for the season. Even if Tepper were to return, it’d be a bit of a quandary as to where to fit him back in to the line. I can’t imagine that he would replace Mitchell Schwartz on the left side of the line considering how the well Schwartz has performed there. No word also as to whether Tepper would apply for a medical redshirt, and a 6th year of eligibility.

Alright, keep it locked in for more updates on the team, and a few sprinkles of actual analysis as we rev back up for Saturday’s game.