Despite Heisman Burden, No Beating Around This Bush

By: Dick Weiss, Daily News sports columnist

LOS ANGELES - Texas coach Mack Brown still salivates when he talks about Reggie Bush. The Texs Longhorns, who signed Ricky Williams out of San Diego , recruited Bush four years ago when he played for Helix High in nearby La Mesa , Calif.

It took only one peek at Reggie Bush's high school highlight reel to see he was the real deal.

"When I worked for coach (Barry) Switzer at Oklahoma , he would say there's a three-play guy and a five-play guy," Brown said. "If I watch a guy for five plays and I don't see whether he's good enough, turn it off. Reggie is a one-play guy.

"I thought Gale Sayers was one of the greatest players to ever play, and there's been some comparisons of him and Gale Sayers. He just jumps sideways and then he's full speed when he hits. He's fun to watch."

Reggie Bush has been the darling of college football this year, the star of a top-ranked 12-0 team who averaged 8.9 yards per carry. He'll be the first or second pick in the NFL draft if he declares. Bush has been deflecting questions about his future, but last Sunday's game between the league's two worst teams - the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans - was dubbed the Bush Bowl.

The speculation about Reggie Bush turning pro has been building since before he won the Heisman Trophy by a landslide last month.

It was a nice moment, but Reggie Bush never got a chance to enjoy it before he was enveloped in controversy. Shortly after the presentation, an ESPN commentator asked Texas quarterback Vince Young, who finished a distant second, how he felt.

Young went off about how disappointed he was that he couldn't bring home the trophy for his family, his hometown, his school and his teammates, intimating he would use it as motivation for tonight's national championship game at the Rose Bowl.

"He's already made it clear he wants to make it a platform," Reggie Bush said.

Reggie Bush is the third Heisman winner from USC in four seasons, the others being quarterback Carson Palmer in 2002 and Matt Leinart in 2004.

Both played well in bowl games. Palmer passed for 303 yards and one touchdown as the Trojans defeated Iowa , 38-17, in the Orange Bowl. Leinart threw for 332 yards and five touchdowns as USC defeated Oklahoma , 55-19, in last year's Orange Bowl to win its second straight national title.

They each handled the hype well.

But they have been the exceptions. The Heisman has been a curse for several past winners. Miami quarterbacks Vinny Testaverde and Gino Torretta, Florida State Seminoles quarterback Chris Weinke and Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch have all bombed in showcase postseason games, fattened up by all those rubber chicken award dinners and bogged down by intense media scrutiny that attaches itself to college football royalty.

USC coach Pete Carroll admits he had heard that popular theory, but he doesn't buy it, claiming if a great player plays like he is capable, it shouldn't be an issue.

"Winning the Heisman could get to you, but it's my job to make sure that doesn't happen," Carroll said.

Reggie Bush has the potential to ravage a defense by himself because he can line up in so many different spots on the field, at running back or slot receiver. Oklahoma made the mistake of using a spy on him last year and the USC receivers went crazy in one-on-one coverage.

"I think some teams want to know where No. 5 is on the football field because he's such a threat receiving the ball, running the ball and on specials, everything," Leinart said. "Maybe you want to double him or maybe you want to in-and-out him with linebackers. I don't know how defenses approach him. I just know how we use him and we try to get him involved in as many ways as we can."

March
•Reggie Bush Vows to Focus on Football

February
•Bush teams with Shaq to host All-Star charity event
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat
•Boonton man scores big with Super Bowl tickets
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat

Super Bowl Weekend
•OK!'s Guide to the Super Bowl Parties
•"Hannah" primed to claim Super Bowl weekend
•Paris Hilton, Ludacris party alongside 50 Cent at pre-game Super Bowl concert

January
•Reggie Bush Engaged to Kim Kardashian?

December
•Eagles vs. Saints Preview 12/23/07
•Bush Hoping to Play Against Eagles 12/18/07
•Cardinals 24, Saints 31
•Bush Out For the Year 12/12/07
•Falcons 14, Saints 34 12/10/07
•Falcons vs. Saints Preview 12/10/07
•Buccaneers 27, Saints 23 12/02/07
•Buccaneers vs. Saints Preview 12/02/07


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