As of 2024, Reggie Bush may still be a Heisman Trophy recipient, but for a decade and a half, he remained the only player who had to part ways with that trophy in the history of college football. This week, on the Outta Pocket with RCIII podcast, he spoke about what he went through when he didn’t know how to fight back.

“It changed my life because it was taken from me,” Bush revealed on the show. “Then I was blamed and labeled as something that I wasn’t…when all this was going on, I didn’t know how to fight back. I didn’t know anything about courtrooms and attorneys and everything that the NCAA does…I had no idea how do I fight back. Like, what do I do?”

In the history of the Heisman Trophy, no award ever ended up being taken away from a player. Bush initially won that award for his blockbuster season with the USC Trojans, where he amassed 1,740 rushing yards, almost 500 receiving yards, and scored five different types of touchdowns.

This even led to him being picked second overall in the 2006 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints. But his performances were never the issue. In 2010, an NCAA probe looked into the benefits that Bush had received.

The investigation confirmed that thousands of dollars had been received in cash, alongside accommodation for which he never paid rent. Other findings were also revealed in the form of luxury goods and travel gifts.

Ironically, when the trophy was taken from him back then, the running back had just won a Super Bowl with the Saints a few months ago. In that 2009 season, Bush even had one rushing touchdown in his three playoff appearances.

While the pain of it did last for a long time, as he mentioned on the podcast, April 2024 brought with it good news for Bush. By this time, Bush had already played an entire NFL career, suiting up for five NFL teams, totaling 5,000+ rushing yards and 36 touchdowns in his eleven years.

Thanks to the NIL revolution, allowing college athletes to profit after a Supreme Court ruling in 2021, the Heisman Trophy was officially reinstated in Bush’s name approximately 14 years after the running back himself had to surrender it.

Not just Bush, but USC too received the replica that had been taken away. The running back also received a formal invitation for all future Heisman ceremonies.