Tonight, barring any unforeseen developments, Jameis Winston will be awarded the Heisman. And with it being the first Saturday without college football since August, why not drown sorrows in a collage of Reginald Alfred Bush, Jr. highlights – or simply as he was known at the University of Southern California, “Mr. President.”
In fact, I hold these truths to be self-evident when speaking of the man who has had a successful post-Kardashian career (an accomplishment which should not go under-appreciated).
1. Barry Sanders at Oklahoma State was that deal, but I admittedly had to appreciate his collegiate days in hindsight seeing as how my first memories of Barry were in Detroit. With that being said, the two best college football players I’ve seen with my own two eyes? Peter Warrick and Reggie Bush.
2. Basketball players getting in a zone with the threat of scoring the ball each time they touch the rock is a legit possibility. But that’s not supposed to happen in football. Yet, that was exactly the feeling many got watching Bush become a USC legend with an unique penchant for making opposing defenses resemble scrimmage teams. Whether it was rushing, catching out the backfield or returning kicks, Bush was a threat to score at a moment’s notice. Even non-USC fans (like myself) tuned in to watch Reggie. He was that captivating in college.
In fact, there’s an argument to be made Reggie Bush was the most exciting athlete in American sports for a window of time. Because he was.
3. Reggie played in three of the most exciting college football games ever, and did so in the same season. Fond memories exist of watching USC/Notre Dame in 2005 with my buddy Will in our dorm room. Being from Texas, his allegiances were with Vince Young – and to this day, he still says Bush stole Young’s Heisman – but even dished out props to Reggie for his 15 carries, 160 yards and three touchdowns. And, of course, one Earth-shattering assist in #TheBushPush.
Single-handedly carrying USC a month later – 23 carries for 294 yards and two touchdowns is considered “carrying” – in a 50-42 thriller over Fresno State proved to be the perfect game to watch high with friends.
The third game? Well, that was only the greatest college football extravaganza ever – the 2006 Rose Bowl versus Vince Young and Texas.
Long live USC Reggie Bush. Despite the NCAA’s wishes, some of us won’t soon be forgetting.
Photo: Getty