UW Football
USC's Bush could run for Heisman

By Bud Withers
Seattle Times staff reporter

DOUG BENC / GETTY IMAGES Reggie Bush is perhaps the nation's most dangerous player, capable of breaking big plays by running, catching, returning and even throwing.

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LOS ANGELES — A few weeks after Reggie Bush had scored three touchdowns to bring down Virginia Tech, longtime Hokies coach Frank Beamer was asked if Bush reminded him of any other player.

Beamer mulled it for a few seconds and responded, "If he could throw, probably Michael Vick."

Done, Frank.

As if on demand three days after Beamer's observation, Bush took care of that gap in his résumé, throwing his first career touchdown pass, 52 yards to Dwayne Jarrett in USC's 45-7 strafing of Arizona State.

This week at the Los Angeles Coliseum, he's Washington's problem. Like the Huskies didn't know. A year ago against them in Seattle, he averaged almost 7 yards a rush and caught five balls for 132 yards and two scores — one when he was criminally open in the secondary.

With Bush, it can happen. Washington State coach Bill Doba, whose team gets the Trojans next week, noted yesterday how difficult it is for defenses to match up with a player USC is now using more at wide receiver with the injury loss of Steve Smith.

"If you've got a linebacker covering him," Doba said of Bush, "you might as well start singing the fight song."

There is little doubt that 14 months into his college career, the 6-foot, 200-pound Bush is the most dynamic player in the nation. He may not win the Heisman Trophy this year, or ever, but voters ought to think long and hard if defenders' broken ankles, Bush's gasp-inducing cuts and spinning, serpentine dashes matter.

Bush averages 5.8 yards per rush, just as he did last year. His 32 career catches come at 17.5 yards per.

Bearing down on November, Bush is piling up endorsements that a certain namesake incumbent for the White House can only envy. In fact, teammates dubbed him "The President" when George Bush cracked a joke about him during USC's visit to the White House last March.
 
"I can't believe he's only a sophomore," said Colorado State coach Sonny Lubick, whose team USC whitewashed, 49-0. "The thing that makes him so darned good is he's such a confident young guy and he's never out of the play — no matter how bleak it looks, no matter how much you have him surrounded."

Hyberbole hangs around sports like Gary Payton's entourage; somebody is always the best, fastest or most talented. But Bush's swiveling runs trim the credibility gap and make it believable when the USC media guide says his 4,995 high-school rushing yards worked out to 12 a carry.

Bush's exploits in 19 games as a Trojan have vaulted him to No. 2 prominence among graduates of Helix High near San Diego. At least for now, the top spot belongs to Bill Walton, ex-UCLA and NBA basketball great.

Bush said he took official visits only to USC and Washington. Rick Neuheisel, then UW's coach, coveted him like a 10-year contract.

Huskies linebacker Scott White and offensive tackle Khalif Barnes, both from Bush's area, were Bush's primary hosts.

"I thought Washington was a great school," Bush said. "It was a good visit, but it was the first trip, so I wasn't completely sold. I wanted to see what I had in front of me. The USC fit turned out really good."

Of Neuheisel, Bush said, "I thought he was a good guy, a good coach. It seemed like he had a lot of plans for Washington."

What a red-letter day it was for USC football when in January 2003, at an all-star game in San Antonio, the Trojans heard two announcements.

"We committed on the same day," said LenDale White, the co-starter in the USC backfield with Bush. "I called that morning, and he did it on TV.

"We knew it was a competition thing, hoping we can get each other better. I decided if I wanted to be one of the best, I had to come play with the best."

Bush ran 10.42 in the 100 meters, fastest time among California high-schoolers in 2002, but only infrequently does flat speed convert to football ability. Combine that straight-line speed with Bush's lateral explosion and you get somebody like ...

"Gale Sayers," said USC athletic director Mike Garrett, a contemporary of the Chicago Bears great. "Gale was a little smoother, a very accomplished runner. Reggie's getting there. He has tremendous upside."

Hardly anybody has bottled up Bush. In a narrow USC victory over Stanford, Bush had a killer, pinball 33-yard punt return to set up the winning score. Cal shackled him from scrimmage, allowing only 29 yards, but he unspooled an 84-yard kickoff return after fumbling twice upon receiving the ball near the pylon.

Even in the gilded realm of the Trojans, Bush is a stickout. The presence of him and others illustrates an underrated aspect of their pre-eminence.

With the talent level so high, USC players regularly go against the very best in practice.

"With guys like him and LenDale, and Matt Leinart throwing the ball," said defensive tackle Mike Patterson, "you can only expect to get better."

In Bush and Leinart, the Trojans have two top-shelf Heisman candidates. With Leinart two years older than Bush, it's likely USC would front Leinart over Bush for the award later in the season.

"It's obvious how good he is," Leinart said. "I'd pump up Reggie for the Heisman every week. Obviously, there's buzz and everything and we hear it, but I'm a team player and Reggie's a team player. We just kind of let our play do the talking."

With Bush, it's more than a statement. He's a scream.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com