Reggie Bush was viewed as a can’t-miss prospect coming out of USC, where he was the best player in college football. But as Bush wraps up his eighth season in the NFL, he’s viewed not as a great player but merely as a good one. Which in Bush’s mind is not good enough.
Bush said on Jim Rome on Showtime that it’s disappointing to him when he compares what he has accomplished to what he thought he would accomplish in the NFL.
“I don’t feel like I’ve met all the expectations,” Bush said. “Nobody sets higher standards for myself than me. When I was coming out of college, I thought I’d be winning Super Bowls every year, I’d be in the Pro Bowl every year, competing for MVPs every year. It’s been a very humbling experience since the day I set foot in the NFL.”
Forget being a Pro Bowler every year, Bush has never been to a Pro Bowl. And his numbers have been fine, but far from spectacular: He averages about 600 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards a year.
However, despite missing two full games and parts of others with injuries, Bush has a good chance of setting career highs in both rushing yards and yards from scrimmage this season. And he likes his chances of continuing to contribute for several more years.
“I still feel like I have a lot left to give this game and we’re still hacking away,” Bush said. “But I would say my career has been OK. It’s been good but not great. I feel like there’s a lot left in me to give this game, so I look forward to the years to come and I’m going to ride this thing until the wheels come off.”
Bush’s college career was rewritten by others, when his stats were erased from the record books and his Heisman Trophy was taken away because of NCAA rules violations. But the 28-year-old Bush still has a chance to rewrite his NFL history himself, starting now. If big games from Bush lead the Lions to the playoffs, and to their first playoff win since Barry Sanders was in Detroit, Lions fans will remember him as a major success.