Sacramento Bee: Bush provides Cal unique challenge

Stopping the versatile USC back is critical should the Bears have hopes of an upset.
By Joseph D'Hippolito
Friday, November 11, 2005
LOS ANGELES - Genius expresses itself in various ways. Stephen Hawking has the stars. Rembrandt had oil and canvas. Beethoven used notes and scales.
College football's Einstein exploits speed and agility to a level of brilliance that's overwhelmed opponents, and helped keep defending national champion USC undefeated for nearly two seasons. Reggie Bush, USC's junior tailback, can enhance his position in the pantheon of the gifted - as well his chances to win the Heisman Trophy - when the Trojans risk their 31-game winning streak Saturday at Cal. Bush, fifth in Heisman voting last year, is averaging 193.2 all-purpose yards this season. He has rushed for 1,022 yards and 11 touchdowns on 123 carries and caught 27 passes for 311 more yards and two touchdowns. The numbers may not be out of this world, but Bush's explosiveness, elusiveness, versatility and ability to score on limited opportunities casts him as the most exciting player in generations.
"Reggie Bush is in a different league," said Stanford coach Walt Harris, who saw Bush rush for 113 yards on 12 carries, including a 42-yard touchdown in the Cardinal's 51-21 loss last Saturday. "Those who watched the game in person may have seen one of the greatest athletes and football players that may ever play the game.
"He's not only gifted as much as you can expect somebody to be gifted, but he also loves it. He wants to hit. He wants to block for his teammates. How great is that?"
Cal coach Jeff Tedford is only slightly less effusive in his praise of Bush. "If there's a better player in America, I haven't seen him," Tedford said. NFL scouts consider Bush the potential top pick in the next draft should he decide to skip his senior year. USC quarterback Matt Leinart, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, called him the team's best player. Whether running, receiving or returning kicks, Bush - compared by some analysts to NFL great Gayle Sayers and former USC star O.J. Simpson - comes at defenses from seemingly every direction. He has returned 15 kickoffs for 244 yards and 16 punts for 162 yards and a touchdown while demonstrating his talent in a unique way. "It's a chance for me to go out there and show everybody what type of playmaker I am," Bush said. "There's no set play; you just go out there and make something happen. It's almost like art work." USC coach Pete Carroll, who has 31 years of experience in the collegiate and professional ranks, considers Bush one of the most unusual players he has coached. "I've had guys who've had seasons like Reggie's had," Carroll said. "But guys who are like Reggie, who have this magic about them? No. "He can make moves that very few guys could ever do. Guys play miles off him for the most part. He's got great speed and he's got great ability to change directions at top speed. Those two characteristics separate him from most guys." The Bears hope to keep Bush from separating himself from them.
"The best way to contain Reggie Bush," Cal linebacker Ryan Foltz said, "is to tackle him with four, five, six guys - and it's a matter of tackling him with the right leverage." Behind Bush's accolades and statistics is a disciplined intensity that defines him. "I've always wanted to be the best, and I've been playing since I was 8 years old," Bush said. "I've always loved it and had a passion for it. I don't think you can ever be satisfied. It's always good to stay hungry, to keep wanting more."
Bush expressed that passion during the offseason with a rigorous conditioning program. "I prepared myself to carry the ball more this year," he said. "I worked on being more explosive and stronger, and I focused more on running between the tackles. I just want to let everybody know that I'm a complete running back, not just a finesse running back." Teammates notice that conscientious approach. "You want to be like that," said LenDale White, himself an elite runner. "For all the success he's had and everything that's put in front of him, he still works hard. When you've got somebody on your team who works that hard, it just makes you elevate your game." Bush displayed the same traits at Helix High School in La Mesa, near San Diego. A teammate of the 49ers' Alex Smith, Bush not only made several prep All America football teams, but also excelled in track and earned academic honors. Bill Dickens, veteran prep writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, recalled one particular game. "I think he broke a wrist the second game of his senior season and he played the whole game," Dickens said. "Carrying the ball with a broken wrist isn't really the easiest thing to do." Yet Bush seems to make everything look easy, propelling his sinewy 6-foot, 200-pound body over 40 yards in less than 4.3 seconds.
Bush pays tribute to his hometown by wearing its 619 area code in his eye black "just to say 'Hi' to everybody back home," he said, "and show that I'm not forgetting where I come from." Within the smaller confines of a football field, Bush has certainly been hard to forget.