Reggie Bush named to 2023 College Football Hall of Fame class
Reggie Bush, a man regarded as one of the greatest players in college football history and a running back whose brilliance inspired generations of football players after him, has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
The former USC running back is one of 22 members of the Class of 2023. He is USC’s 46th inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame and the 35th player. Bush will be formally inducted at a Dec. 5 dinner in Las Vegas and then enshrined at the Hall in Atlanta.
𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫.
Congrats to @ReggieBush on being named to the 2023 @cfbhall Class!
Absolutely deserved. 🐐✌️ pic.twitter.com/teWgwRpv9P
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) January 9, 2023
Few have had as decorated a career as the Trojan legend. Bush was a Freshman All-American in 2003, then a consensus First Team All-American in 2004, and a unanimous selection in 2005 as an all-purpose player. He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back, and was the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the AP Player of the Year, the Sporting News Player of the Year, and the Heisman Trophy winner in 2005. Bush also finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2004, the year Matt Leinart claimed the award. He was a two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year and a three-time league champion.
During his three seasons in Los Angeles, Bush helped guide the Trojans to three consecutive national championship games, winning national titles at the 2004 Rose Bowl with a 28-14 win over Michigan and the 2005 Orange Bowl with a 55-19 victory over Oklahoma. The Trojans finished No. 1 in the final AP poll in 2003 and 2004 and No. 2 in 2005 with only two losses during the three-year span — one of which remains one of the most iconic games in the sport’s history, a 41-38 Rose Bowl loss to Texas.
Bush set an NCAA record with an astounding 7.3 yards per carry during his career, and he led the NCAA with 222.3 all-purpose yards per game, finishing fourth nationally with 133.9 rushing yards per game in 2005. His 513 all-purpose yards vs. Fresno State in 2005 stand as the second-most in a game in NCAA history.
He ranks second in league history with 2,890 all-purpose yards in 2005 and ranks fourth all-time with 6,552 career all-purpose yards, having led the league in all-purpose yards in both 2004 and 2005.
And the USC record books are littered with Bush’s name. His USC records include:
- Most all-purpose yards in a single season by a freshman (1,331)
- Most all-purpose yards in a single season (2,890)
- Fourth all-time in career kickoff return yardage (1,523)
- Sixth all-time in career punt return yardage (559)
- Sixth all-time in single-season rushing yards (1,740, 2005)
- Eighth in career rushing yardage (3,169)
Bush finished his career with 25 rushing touchdowns, 13 receiving scores, four return touchdowns (one on kickoff, three on punt) and one passing touchdown.
He was drafted second overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He’d go on to be named a First Team All-Pro in 2008, win Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints in 2010, and be inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2019.
After a decade in the league, Bush now works as an on-air college football analyst for FOX Sports during the Big Noon Kickoff show alongside Leinart.
The rest of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class is below:
- Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry
- Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop
- Syracuse defensive end Dwight Freeney
- Iowa offensive tackle Robert Gallery
- Oregon running back LaMichael James
- Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson
- Montana State defensive tackle Bill Kollar
- Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly
- Missouri wide receiver/kick returner Jeremy Maclin
- New Mexico wide receiver Terance Mathis
- Miami (FL) offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie
- Virginia Tech defensive lineman Corey Moore
- Notre Dame linebacker Michael Stonebreaker
- Florida quarterback Tim Tebow
- Wisconsin defensive back Troy Vincent
- Villanova running back Brian Westbrook
- Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams
- Monte Carter (Lakeland [WI] 1981-86, Shepherd [WV] 1987-2017)
- Paul Johnson (Georgia Southern 1997-2001, Navy 2002-07, Georgia Tech 2008-18)
- Roy Kramer (Central Michigan 1967-77)
- Mark Richt (Georgia 2001-15, Miami [FL] 2016-18)