Bush in his prime
There’s no better college football writer than Matt Hinton, and his latest article — The Ghost of Reggie Bush — is a good example of Matt’s typically thorough work. Thinking about Bush now, there’s no denying that he has failed in the NFL to deliver on his oversized hype. And while you don’t need me to count the ways, here are just a few of them:
- Bush’s best single-season performance in rushing yards is 1,086, set when he was with the Dolphins in 2011. Since he entered the league, 52 players have rushed for1,087 yards or greater in a seaseon at least one time. And that’s 52 players, not 52 player-seasons. Frank Gore, for example, has hit the 1,087-yard mark 7 times since 2006.
- Bush’s best single-season performance in yards from scrimmage is 1,512, set two years ago as a member of the Lions. Since 2006, 46 players have had at least one season with 1,513 yards from scrimmage or greater. Adrian Peterson has 5 such seasons.
- Twice, Bush scored 9 touchdowns in a season (2006 and 2009, both with the Saints), but he’s never reached double digits. There have been a whopping 113 different players who have scored 10+ touchdowns in a season since 2006 — including Earnest Graham, Marcedes Lewis, Le’Ron McClain, Lance Moore, Trent Richardson, Laurent Robinson, Visanthe Shiancoe, Steve Slaton, Beanie Wells, Reggie Williams, and even Bush’s old teammate, LenDale White. Adrian Peterson has 7 such seasons.
So yeah, Bush has failed to change the game. He hasn’t been able to do this, or this, or this (sorry, Richie), or this (sorry, Richie), or this in the pros. Bush has had some impressive returns in the NFL, but the closest he’s ever come to approximating USC Bush was this touchdown run in the playoffs against Arizona. So, other than for a few brief moments, no, Reggie Bush never became Gale Sayers.
But let’s try to paint Bush’s career in some positive lights. Consider:
- Rushing Yards: Bush ranks 19th in rushing yards since 2006, which is — not bad? He’s also one of 13 backs to rush for 5,000 yards and 4.3 YPC over the last nine seasons.
- Yards from Scrimmage: Bush ranks 21st in yards from scrimmage over the last nine years, and 11th in that metric among running backs. That’s … pretty good?
OK, those aren’t great, but what should we have expected out of Bush? In the last 50 years, there have been 21 running backs to win the Heisman, including Bush (who, you know, “didn’t win the Heisman”). Here are their NFL stats:
| Hyr | Runner | College | Pk | Yrs | G | Rush | Rush Yd | YPC | YFS | Tot TDs | AV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mark Ingram | Alabama | 28 | 4 | 50 | 582 | 2426 | 4.17 | 2714 | 20 | 18 |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush | Southern California | 2 | 9 | 116 | 1266 | 5465 | 4.32 | 8954 | 57 | 60 |
| 1999 | Ron Dayne | Wisconsin | 11 | 7 | 97 | 983 | 3722 | 3.79 | 4062 | 28 | 22 |
| 1998 | Ricky Williams | Texas | 5 | 11 | 147 | 2431 | 10009 | 4.12 | 12615 | 74 | 77 |
| 1995 | Eddie George | Ohio State | 14 | 9 | 141 | 2865 | 10441 | 3.64 | 12668 | 78 | 77 |
| 1994 | Rashaan Salaam | Colorado | 21 | 4 | 33 | 471 | 1684 | 3.58 | 1804 | 14 | 13 |
| 1988 | Barry Sanders | Oklahoma State | 3 | 10 | 153 | 3062 | 15269 | 4.99 | 18190 | 109 | 121 |
| 1985 | Bo Jackson | Auburn | 1 | 4 | 38 | 515 | 2782 | 5.4 | 3134 | 18 | 22 |
| 1983 | Mike Rozier | Nebraska | 2 | 7 | 92 | 1159 | 4462 | 3.85 | 5177 | 31 | 34 |
| 1982 | Herschel Walker | Georgia | 114 | 12 | 187 | 1954 | 8225 | 4.21 | 13084 | 84 | 79 |
| 1981 | Marcus Allen | Southern California | 10 | 16 | 222 | 3022 | 12243 | 4.05 | 17654 | 144 | 103 |
| 1980 | George Rogers | South Carolina | 1 | 7 | 92 | 1692 | 7176 | 4.24 | 7544 | 54 | 46 |
| 1979 | Charles White | Southern California | 27 | 8 | 108 | 780 | 3075 | 3.94 | 3935 | 24 | 29 |
| 1978 | Billy Sims | Oklahoma | 1 | 5 | 60 | 1131 | 5106 | 4.51 | 7178 | 47 | 58 |
| 1977 | Earl Campbell | Texas | 1 | 8 | 115 | 2187 | 9407 | 4.3 | 10213 | 74 | 68 |
| 1976 | Tony Dorsett | Pittsburgh | 2 | 12 | 173 | 2936 | 12739 | 4.34 | 16293 | 90 | 108 |
| 1975 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | 24 | 7 | 98 | 691 | 2808 | 4.06 | 4415 | 13 | 37 |
| 1974 | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | 24 | 7 | 98 | 691 | 2808 | 4.06 | 4415 | 13 | 37 |
| 1973 | John Cappelletti | Penn State | 11 | 9 | 105 | 824 | 2951 | 3.58 | 4184 | 28 | 34 |
| 1969 | Steve Owens | Oklahoma | 19 | 5 | 53 | 635 | 2451 | 3.86 | 3312 | 22 | 38 |
| 1968 | O.J. Simpson | Southern California | 1 | 11 | 135 | 2404 | 11236 | 4.67 | 13378 | 76 | 98 |
| 1965 | Mike Garrett | Southern California | 18 | 8 | 104 | 1308 | 5481 | 4.19 | 7491 | 49 | 67 |
While Mark Ingram is still in the middle of his career, there’s a good chance Bush winds up besting him in most of these categories (and Bush has some years left, too). Bush is one of just 9 of the 21 winners to play at least 9 seasons, and one of just 8 to play in 116 games. His 5,465 rushing yards puts him as the median entrant in the group, but he’ll pass fellow Trojan Mike Garrett very early in the 2015 season.
When it comes to yards per carry, Bush ranks a surprising 6th, although there’s room for him to fall off in that metric. In yards from scrimmage, he ranks 9th, although it will take a lot for him to break into the top seven. Bush ranks 10th in touchdowns and 11th in AV. He’s been basically a middle of the road to slightly above average Heisman Trophy winning running back. Which … isn’t bad?
Much of the reason Bush feels like a disappointment is because of the hype. He hasn’t come close to matching the production of Trojan stars like Simpson or Allen, and one could argue that he’s only been better than White because of the latter’s cocaine addiction. The best comp to Bush is probably Mike Garrett, who won the Heisman Trophy exactly 40 years before Bush, and won a Super Bowl exactly 40 years before him, too. Garrett was an effective utility player who never quite became a star, just like Bush.
Of course, the other column in the table — Pk — shows where each player was drafted. And Bush, as the 2nd overall pick, was expected to be pretty darn valuable. Then again, Bush produced 29 points of marginal AV over his first five years, basically exactly what you’d expect out of the number two pick. Given the length of his career, he’s going to finish with a better career than the average number two pick. But it is still going to fall far short of what we all hoped to see.