Reggie Bush’s exploits were undeniable and while the unfortunate revelations of “lack of institutional control” dampened his legacy, he remains one of the great college football players of all-time.
The Helix High School (La Mesa, California) product terrorized opponents and unassuming, helpless coaches for three long seasons while at USC. He routinely made 5-star All-Americans look foolish and blatantly abused other overmatched defenders to the point where then-NCAA President Myles Brand seriously considered banning him from the game.
Seriously? No, not seriously.
As we sit in the midst of just over one decade since Reggie Bush fluttered around the Pac-12 stadiums like the lovechild of Bo Jackson and Barry Sanders, most people don’t care to recognize his legacy. Yes, the star running back’s decision to accept lavish presents from two sports agents was idiotic and the institution paid more severely for the crime than him. However, Reggie Bush’s success at Southern California must be celebrated because quite simply he was unreal, something his former coach Pete Carroll is fully aware of.
He’s such a special player, a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He’s a game-changer with his speed, instincts, vision and competitiveness. It took me only about five days into training camp before I was breaking out the films of Gale Sayers.
He left USC with the 10th-most all-purpose yards in NCAA history (6,541) despite only starting 14 of a possible 39 games over three seasons (2003-2005). Bush twice attended the Heisman ceremony, winning once (2004), although it appears that no one care about that one any longer. The guy averaged a whopping 8.7 yards per carry in 2005 and found the endzone nearly once every 10 carries.
While he packed box scores on many occasions he might be best known for a 513-all purpose yard performance against Fresno State, during which he did this:
He also conducted the infamous push of QB Matt Leinart, propelling the Trojans to a win in South Bend:
Reggie Bush helped bring two national titles to back to Los Angeles before departing to the NFL, where in a shocking development at the time, was passed by the Houston Texas at No. 1 overall in favor of North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams.
As Bush has proceeded to enjoy an adequate NFL career, he will be forever known as the dude that helped destroy a lot of football hope at USC instead of the human joystick that dominated college football for three seasons. Fair or not, just for one day enjoy the terror that he brought to beleaguered defensive coordinators faces while repping the cardinal and gold.
I cried a little when the ND game was on i remember that day, i literally shed tears when it was happening