LOOK ALL-AROUND: BUSH IS THE BEST.Byline: STEVE DILBECK The superlatives have been all used. The awards stack up like books on a dusty shelf. The comparisons are in rarified rar·i·fied adj. Variant of rarefied. Adj. 1. rarified - having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the rarefied mountain air" rarefied, rare air. How then do we finally evaluate the amazing 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. ? He eludes specific description just like another tangle-footed cornerback, slips past common measurement like another befuddled defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a football team in the National Football League or college football who is in charge of the defense. This position aids the head coach a great deal in many ways by delegating play calling to other coaches and allowing the head . He is a wonderful receiver, dynamic punt and kickoff returner In American and Canadian football, a kick returner (KR) is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. , a frightening running back. Has a new 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 to testify to his greatness. It has even been suggested that USC's Bush is the greatest college running back ever. Yet with a heritage of Mike Garrett Michael Lockett Garrett (born April 12, 1944 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American football player who won the 1965 Heisman Trophy as a tailback for the University of Southern California Trojans. , O.J. Simpson, Anthony Davis Anthony Davis can refer to:
None of those great USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. backs, however, put up the kind of numbers Bush has amassed in his three seasons for the Trojans. None averaged more than White's 5.44 yards per carry for their career. Bush has averaged 7.4 yards per carry. This season alone, he averaged a difficult to image 8.9 yards per carry, best in the country. ``It's unbelievable,'' said former USC quarterback and current broadcaster Paul McDonald Paul McDonald (born February 23, 1958 in Montebello, California) is a retired American football quarterback in the NFL. He was the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback in 1984. College Career McDonald was a 1979 All-American at the University of Southern California. . ``That's almost a first down every time he carries the ball. It's insane. ``If I was playing quarterback, I'd want that guy in the backfield with me. Because I want to be looking at second and one. You can win a lot of games that way.'' Bush is listed as 6 feet and 200 pounds, though he is probably a tad shy of both. He is at his best in open space but - after bulking up the past offseason - has proved this year had can also run between tackles. But never has he been utilized like a traditional USC tailback, rushing the ball 30-plus times a game. At USC, he shares time in the backfield with LenDale White. He has averaged 15.6 carry per game this season, making tailback comparisons difficult. ``You can't gauge him as a pure runner, but you can gauge him as an all-around purpose player,'' Davis said. ``He didn't run the ball the way Simpson, Garrett, White, Marcus and myself did. ``But I would rank him the best all-around, all-purpose player the school has ever had. As far as everything he did, he did the best that anybody's ever done.'' It is his versatility that sets Bush apart. He has 2,611 all-purpose yards this season, needing just 72 more overall yards in Wednesday's Rose Bowl to break Allen's USC and Pac- 10 record - that's 10.3 yards per touch. For his career, he has averaged a touchdown once every 15 touches. And he has done it with flair, with a spectacular quality that has deflated de·flate v. de·flat·ed, de·flat·ing, de·flates v.tr. 1. a. To release contained air or gas from. b. To collapse by releasing contained air or gas. 2. opponents and tongue-tied sportscasters. There is his stunning acceleration, coupled with the ability to come to a stop like a motorcycle hitting a block wall, only to jet out again. He has great hands, superb vision, lighting quickness. But USC running backs coach Todd McNair, a former NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga player and coach, said there might be something even greater Bush possesses. ``He has a Jordan-esque ability to focus his life on what he's doing,'' McNair said. ``He has a keen understanding of who he can be. That's the biggest thing for him, that's what's going to push him to greatness.'' It is difficult to compare a quick and explosive running back like Bush to powerful backs such as Jim Brown, Earl Campbell or Bo Jackson - different style players, used in different offenses, in different eras. ``All you can really do is look at their productivity,'' McDonald said. ``How productive is this guy every time he touches the football? If he's not at the top, he's going to be way up there. ``Then look at what he did in the big games. What were his numbers against the ranked teams, against the best opponents? That's when you have to get your guns, your big stars to do their thing. That's why he's one of the best who's ever played, maybe the best. He delivers.'' In the five games USC played against ranked teams this year - Oregon, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Fresno State and 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 - he averaged 198.8 yards rushing, 302.2 all-purpose yards and scored 10 touchdowns. ``Different guys to different things, but he's done some stuff I haven't seen before,'' McNair said. ``That's not to take anything from Tony Dorsett and Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk and all those guys. ``But if Reggie were in a different situation, with not as good a team that had as many weapons, and he was the featured guy like some of those cats, it could have been real ugly.'' Bush has been at his best when it has been most needed. That's what great players do. It's a big reason why USC has won 34 consecutive games and is searching for a record third consecutive national title against unbeaten Texas. Davis said Bush's combined talents make him the best college football player he's ever seen. ``I haven't seen anybody do what he's done in college football - period,'' he said. ``He's done everything in every position better than anybody I've ever seen - catching it, special teams and running from scrimmage.'' Greatest college running back ever? The case can be made. Greatest all-around running back? Hand it to Bush. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) USC great Anthony Davis says Reggie Bush, pictured, is ``the best all-around, all-purpose player the school has ever had.'' Getty Images (2) In the five games USC played against ranked teams this year, Reggie Bush gained an average of 302.2 all-purpose yards. Steven Georges/Staff Photographer |
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