He's No Mere Poser

By David Wharton

Dec. 11, 2005 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

As Reggie Bush stood before a national television audience and accepted the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, at least one question was settled.

The best player in college football this season? The answer -- officially -- was Bush. The USC tailback won over teammate Matt Leinart and Texas quarterback Vince Young by a landslide.

But the lineup of previous winners standing behind him on stage in New York, a who’s who that ranged from Tony Dorsett to Billy Sims to Eddie George, begged another question.

Where does Bush rate historically?

People in and around the game, having already sent a good number of superlatives his direction this fall, use different measuring sticks.

Terry Bowden, the former coach and current television analyst, places Bush in the rarified company of Barry Sanders and Michael Vick.

“One of the best I’ve ever seen,” Bowden said. “You put him on a field with other athletes and he makes them look unathletic.”

Coach Mike Stoops, whose Arizona team faced USC earlier this season, calls him “one of the greats,” and says: “A very good player can make a tackler miss ... he can make a whole team miss.”

Or, you can use Pat Haden’s refrigerator test.

“I’ve watched a zillion games and been bored by a lot of them,” said Haden, the former USC quarterback and current Notre Dame broadcaster. “But when Reggie Bush goes back for a punt, I think, ‘This could be interesting.’ I don’t go to the refrigerator and I don’t change the channel.”

In pure numbers, Bush won the Heisman by rushing for 1,658 yards and leading the nation with 217.6 all-purpose yards a game.

Perhaps more important, he produced a season’s worth of made-for-television highlights and performed best in big games. Three touchdowns at Notre Dame, 513 all-purpose yards against Fresno State and 260 yards rushing against UCLA.

Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis called him “the reincarnation of Marshall Faulk.” Washington State Coach Bill Doba, whose team limited Bush to a comparatively tame 156 all-purpose yards, said: “In the open field, I don’t think I have ever seen anybody better, and I have been doing this a long time.”

Slippery moves, breakaway speed, the ability to stop on a dime and change directions -- it seems that different facets of Bush’s game evoke different associations.

When Bush arrived at USC as a freshman in 2003, Coach Pete Carroll immediately showed him old films of Gale Sayers. John Mackovic, the former coach and television commentator, watches Bush run and draws another parallel.

“I had the chance to coach Tony Dorsett with the [Dallas] Cowboys,” Mackovic said. “Tony was a flash runner like Reggie is. They have the ability to see an opening and just race right through it and make those cuts against the grain.”

Bowden agrees but is more likely to mention Bush’s elusiveness.

“Reggie looks like he’s going 45 rpm and everyone else is going 33,” Bowden said. “That’s the way I used to describe Barry Sanders.”

Comparisons aside, Stoops has been impressed by what he considers a transformation in the tailback’s game. Last season, he thought of Bush as a gimmick player, a wide receiver coming out of the backfield.

But during spring and summer, Bush worked to get stronger, determined to prove he could be an every-down back, running between the tackles. Once the season began, the USC coaches showed an equal willingness to use him that way.

His receptions decreased as his carries rose from 143 in 13 games last season to 187 in 12 games so far this season.

“There’s a little bit of a misconception that he’s not a power runner,” California defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. “But when you study the film, he can bang it up in there. He’s a put-together guy, he’s got big arms and good legs.”

Any discussion of Bush’s historical standing must include his rank within a USC program that has now produced seven Heisman winners, five of them tailbacks.

Craig Fertig, a former USC quarterback, handed off to the first of those winners, Mike Garrett.

“It’s hard to compare players from different decades,” Fertig said. “Mike had toughness. He could run the ball inside.”

Fertig eventually became a coach, working with O.J Simpson, and that’s where he sees the most similarity.

“Your great runners have great eyes, the ability to see different things on the field,” he said. “You only get a few of them in your lifetime.”

Haden, who played for USC in the early 1970s, hails from an era that produced Heisman winners Charles White and Marcus Allen. He sees a clear distinction between Bush and those who came before, the ones who played for John McKay and John Robinson.

“Coach McKay and Coach Robinson handed the ball to the tailback 30 times a game, a lot more touches but in a confined space,” he said. “Those guys ran tackle to tackle. Now, players are used in a completely different way. Reggie can do so many things.”

Like Bowden, Haden says that Bush reminds him of Sanders. Like Fertig, he believes it is treacherous to single out any player as the greatest in college football history.

But when it comes to Bush’s three seasons with the Trojans -- his dazzling runs as a freshman building toward Saturday night’s runaway Heisman victory -- Haden is certain of one thing.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Haden said. “He’s the best ever to play at USC.”

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Heisman roll call

Reggie Bush became the seventh USC player (tied with Notre Dame for the most) to win college football’s top individual award:Sources: www.heisman.com and Los Angeles Times

*--* Year Winner Pos. Class School 2005 Reggie Bush RB Jr. USC 2004 Matt Leinart QB Jr. USC 2003 Jason White QB Jr. Oklahoma 2002 Carson Palmer QB Sr. USC 2001 Eric Crouch QB Sr. Nebraska 2000 Chris Weinke QB Sr. Florida State 1999 Ron Dayne RB Sr. Wisconsin 1998 Ricky Williams RB Sr. Texas 1997 Charles Woodson CB/WR Jr. Michigan 1996 Danny Wuerffel QB Sr. Florida 1995 Eddie George RB Sr. Ohio State 1994 Rashaan Salaam RB Jr. Colorado 1993 Charlie Ward QB Sr. Florida State 1992 Gino Torretta QB Sr. Miami 1991 Desmond Howard WR Jr. Michigan 1990 Ty Detmer QB Jr. Brigham Young 1989 Andre Ware QB Jr. Houston 1988 Barry Sanders RB Jr. Oklahoma State 1987 Tim Brown WR Sr. Notre Dame 1986 Vinny Testaverde QB Sr. Miami 1985 Bo Jackson RB Sr. Auburn 1984 Doug Flutie QB Sr. Boston College 1983 Mike Rozier RB Sr. Nebraska 1982 Herschel Walker RB Jr. Georgia 1981 Marcus Allen RB Sr. USC 1980 George Rogers RB Sr. South Carolina 1979 Charles White RB Sr. USC 1978 Billy Sims RB Jr. Oklahoma 1977 Earl Campbell RB Sr. Texas 1976 Tony Dorsett RB Sr. Pittsburgh 1975 Archie Griffin RB Sr. Ohio State 1974 Archie Griffin RB Jr. Ohio State 1973 John Cappelletti RB Sr. Penn State 1972 Johnny Rodgers FL Sr. Nebraska 1971 Pat Sullivan QB Sr. Auburn 1970 Jim Plunkett QB Sr. Stanford 1969 Steve Owens FB Sr. Oklahoma 1968 O.J. Simpson RB Sr. USC 1967 Gary Beban QB Sr. UCLA 1966 Steve Spurrier QB Sr. Florida 1965 Mike Garrett RB Sr. USC 1964 John Huarte QB Sr. Notre Dame 1963 Roger Staubach QB Jr. Navy 1962 Terry Baker QB Sr. Oregon State 1961 Ernie Davis RB Sr. Syracuse 1960 Joe Bellino HB Sr. Navy 1959 Billy Cannon HB Sr. Louisiana State 1958 Pete Dawkins HB Sr. Army 1957 John David Crow HB Sr. Texas A&M; 1956 Paul Hornung QB Sr. Notre Dame 1955 Howard Cassady HB Sr. Ohio State 1954 Alan Ameche FB Sr. Wisconsin 1953 John Lattner HB Sr. Notre Dame 1952 Billy Vessels HB Sr. Oklahoma 1951 Dick Kazmaier HB Sr. Princeton 1950 Vic Janowicz HB Jr. Ohio State 1949 Leon Hart E Sr. Notre Dame 1948 Doak Walker HB Jr. Southern Methodist 1947 John Lujack QB Sr. Notre Dame 1946 Glenn Davis HB Sr. Army 1945 Doc Blanchard FB Jr. Army 1944 Les Horvath QB Sr. Ohio State 1943 Angelo Bertelli QB Sr. Notre Dame 1942 Frank Sinkwich HB Sr. Georgia 1941 Bruce Smith HB Sr. Minnesota 1940 Tom Harmon HB Sr. Michigan 1939 Nile Kinnick HB Sr. Iowa 1938 Davey O’Brien QB Sr. Texas Christian 1937 Clint Frank HB Sr. Yale 1936 Larry Kelley E Sr. Yale 1935 Jay Berwanger HB Sr. Chicago

*--*

Sources: www.Heisman.com and Los Angeles Times

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1965

MIKE GARRETT

Tailback, 1963-65

1968

O.J. SIMPSON

Tailback, 1967-68

1979

CHARLES WHITE

Tailback, 1976-79