BUSH IS OUR MAN FOR THE HEISMAN.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI PASADENA - From the kickoff to the final tick of the Rose Bowl clock in the 74th USC-UCLA football game Saturday afternoon, Reggie Bush Reginald "Reggie" Bush, birth name: Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985 in San Diego, California), nicknamed 'The Human Highlight Reel' and 'The President', alluding to President Bush, is an American football player who plays for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. did whatever was superhumanly possible - cutting, spinning, even somersaulting - to avoid the grasp of larger men. Then, with the 29-24 victory by top-ranked USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. over a tough rival in the books, Bush had a change of heart. Sprinting to the Trojans' rooting section behind the north goal posts, the kid who'd just racked up 335 total yards glad-handed his way through family and friends and into the arms of a bearded presence wearing a cardinal jersey with a gold No. 5 and the name Dad. ``He told me he loves me and it was a great game,'' Reggie said after the embrace with Lamar Bush of San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . Lamar came away from the hug talking proudly of his 19-year-old son, reborn as a Heisman Trophy Heisman Trophy Annual award given to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the U.S. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by New York City's Downtown Athletic Club and was officially named the following year for the club's first athletic director, the player-coach contender on the last day of the Trojans' perfect regular season in a game in which he rushed for 204 yards and two long touchdowns, caught passes for 73 yards, and returned kicks and punts for 58. ``Of course, I think he deserves it,'' the elder Bush said of the Heisman, grinning at his obvious bias. ``He doesn't really talk about it. If he wins it, he wins it. He just wants to go to the ceremony. He's never been to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of .'' Give that young man an airline ticket. While we're at it, give him the Heisman. Let's hope the voters were watching Saturday as the most exciting player in the game showed all of his talents (right down to his gift for the ill-timed fumble). Reggie Bush comes at defenses such as UCLA's with runs shaped like a question mark. He'll slide one way, cut back the other way, then make a straight line for the end zone. His 2,181 all-purpose yards this season, the most by a Trojan since Marcus Allen's 2,683 as the 1981 Heisman winner, don't include the hundreds he covers from side to side. Today, the question mark punctuates the final argument for Bush's Heisman candidacy. ``Why not?'' The national consensus, after the Trojans' rout of Notre Dame Notre Dame IPA: [nɔtʁ dam] is French for Our Lady, referring to the Virgin Mary. In the United States of America, Notre Dame last week, was that Matt Leinart's five touchdown passes had made the USC quarterback the front-runner for college football's top individual honor. The Web site heismanprojection.com, sort of an exit poll for balloting that closes Wednesday, had Leinart on top this week, followed by Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson Adrian Peterson may refer to:
An espn.com ``experts'' poll made it Leinart ahead of Peterson, White, Smith, Texas running back Cedric Benson and Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Then Bush. ``I think I shook loose some Heisman votes (against UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX ),'' Bush said as darkness fell on the Rose Bowl. He thinks he has ``as good a chance as anybody'' but really doesn't expect to win the trophy, which will be awarded next Saturday in Manhattan in a televised ceremony attended by however many top vote-getters are invited. He's only a sophomore, notes the 6-foot tailback from San Diego's Helix High. Besides, he expressed surprise when the Pacific-10 Conference made him its co-player of the year with Leinart. ``He and Matt are friends,'' said Lamar Bush, who walked out of the stadium with an orange in his right hand, a symbol of USC's all-but-official berth in the Jan. 4 Orange Bowl game for the national championship. ``If Matt wins, he'd be real happy.'' Leinart is even more magnanimous mag·nan·i·mous adj. 1. Courageously noble in mind and heart. 2. Generous in forgiving; eschewing resentment or revenge; unselfish. , saying Bush should get the Heisman. ``He's the best player in college football,'' Leinart said after failing to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 26 starts at USC. ``He's like (former Trojans wide receiver) Mike Williams - he can change the game with one touch of the ball.'' Bush got 25 touches and averaged 13.4 yards Saturday as the Trojans beat the Bruins for the sixth year in a row. His 204 yards rushing were the most by a Trojan since Shawn Walters' 234 against Stanford early in the 1994 season. Faking out linebacker Justin London and cornerback Trey Brown and outrunning corner Matt Clark in the second quarter, he completed an 81-yard touchdown run that was the longest by a Trojan since LaVale Woods' 96-yarder against Oregon State in 1996. That was his less spectacular run on this chilly afternoon. On the game's second play from scrimmage A play from scrimmage is the activity of the games of Canadian football and American football during which one team tries to advance the ball or to score, and the other team tries to stop them or take the ball away. , Bush started right, cut left and beat safety Ben Emanuel and finally Clark. Hearing footsteps, Bush launched himself over the goal line and ended up somersaulting into the end zone. He was flagged for a debatable unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. The highlight-reel play may have relaunched his Heisman bid. ``This is my first time. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what you have to do to win a Heisman,'' Bush said. ``I just want to go (to New York) and enjoy the experience. I love to travel. I love to shop for clothes and shoes. I hear they have some nice stores there.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: USC's Matt Cassell (10) recovers an onsides kick in the final minutes to preserve USC's victory over UCLA on Saturday. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer |
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