[NYCGOBEARS]

Rodgers for the wins and the hope for greatness.

Best because everytime he touched the ball you thought that something extraordinary might happen and often it did.

DJax because when he made plays, they were electric.

Mack because he punished people.

Follett because he really did bring the pain.

[HoopDreams]

1. Rodgers
2. Best
3. Desean
4. Lynch

[Cal Panda Bear]

Originally Posted by Cal88

In terms of raw talent, DeSean Jackson was the most gifted player in the history of our program. Perhaps the greatest punt returner in the history of the NCAA.

Dont disagree with you. It was (and is still) an embarrassment seeing the resentment some people on this board had/have for Desean...all because he said "Long Beach Poly" instead of "California" on his SNF Introduction.

[sycasey]

Originally Posted by okaydo

During the Marshawn Lynch era, we went 28-9 (76% winning percentage).

We lost as many games with 3 years of Lynch as we did this past season -- and that's despite having 4 different starting QBs.

Maybe, possibly, Lynch was the lynchpin of the Tedford era.

Yes, and the Lynch season with the best winning percentage was the one that overlapped with Aaron Rodgers, hmmm . . .

[Big C_Cal]

Bigelow's first TD run against Ohio St was probably the greatest run from scrimmage I've ever seen by a Cal player... and I saw Chuck Muncie, Marc Hicks, Russell White, Lynch and Best pull some great ones.

[Cal Panda Bear]

Originally Posted by Big C_Cal

Bigelow's first TD run against Ohio St was probably the greatest run from scrimmage I've ever seen by a Cal player... and I saw Chuck Muncie, Marc Hicks, Russell White, Lynch and Best pull some great ones.

Best's 93 yard TD run was pretty crazy too.

[Nastybear]

Aaron Rodgers

[AirOski]

Originally Posted by Davidson

Hands down, Erin Rogers

Errrr, this may be a booth, but did you mean Aaron Rodgers?

[AirOski]

Originally Posted by Cal Panda Bear

Best's 93 yard TD run was pretty crazy too.

Sorry, but Chuck Muncie was better. He was a behemoth. A beast. But I'll give you that he was not as fast as Best.

[Bobodeluxe]

Originally Posted by AirOski

Sorry, but Chuck Muncie was better. He was a behemoth. A beast. But I'll give you that he was not as fast as Best.

When he showed me that, I knew he was the All Time Greatest.



Zach was a close second.

[Sebastabear]

I just loved watching Jahvid run. I think the reason I'm so excited about Bigelow is because he has shown some of the same stuff. No one ever ran Jahvid down from behind - ever. He was just so much fun.

[boredom]

best is a tough thing to define. Most productive or most talented? At their peak or over the entire career? Arrington was probably the most productive at his peak, Lyman or Best would win the most talent that didn't lead to a huge amount of career long productivity.

Rodgers should be the winner hands down but he only played 1.5 years here. To me that opens it to other players. Offensive guys who could challenge imo would be Lynch, Mack, and O'Callahan. Defensive guys are Mebane, Hughes (the only conference dpoy we've had has rarely been mentioned for some reason), and maybe Bishop.

[rathokan]

I'd have to say DeSean Jackson then Aaron Rodgers.

DeSean just had that crazy "it" factor. It's like every play was an explosion waiting to happen and that freak athleticism would just show itself and would just make defenders look silly. Aside from the obvious Tennessee, Oregon, and UCLA returns, I remember one TD against Oregon in 2007 where he was on the right sideline w/ the ball w/ a defender closing on him... he flashed a quick change of pace to get the defender to let up for a split second and just accelerated untouched into the end zone:

http://youtu.be/rp9MZ_AUKiM?t=3m6s

Just great instincts and a swagger that drove the other team insane.

[Calntheplay]

Originally Posted by rathokan

I'd have to say DeSean Jackson then Aaron Rodgers.

DeSean just had that crazy "it" factor. It's like every play was an explosion waiting to happen and that freak athleticism would just show itself and would just make defenders look silly. Aside from the obvious Tennessee, Oregon, and UCLA returns, I remember one TD against Oregon in 2007 where he was on the right sideline w/ the ball w/ a defender closing on him... he flashed a quick change of pace to get the defender to let up for a split second and just accelerated untouched into the end zone:

http://youtu.be/rp9MZ_AUKiM?t=3m6s

Just great instincts and a swagger that drove the other team insane.

It's unfortunate Rodgers never had an opportunity to throw a pass to Desean in College. That would have been one of the most lethal combinations in recent memory.

[Calntheplay]

Originally Posted by HoopDreams

1. Rodgers
2. Best
3. Desean
4. Lynch

It was hard for me to put Lynch behind Best and Desean. I cannot remember a time when Marshawn was ever shut down. He was always the most respected and feared offensive Weapon in the Pac-10. It was known that teams would always have 8 in the box when Marshawn was on the field, and he still gained his yards and left people diving at his ankles.

Best on the other hand would usually exploit poor defensive teams and inflate his numbers due to his speed. Often times when he went against quality defensive teams, he was shut down. He just never had the lower and upper body strength to carry people, and break tackles in the way that Lynch did, nor did anyone ever expect him to.

Desean was also shut down in several games. Often times this was due to poor QB play and teams bracketing him. Not to mention no team would ever punt to him. But he just never brought the consistency that Lynch brought to every game.