Dec. 8, 2005

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - USC junior running back Reggie Bush (Spring Valley, Calif.) has been selected as the 2005 Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year. Foundation President Allen Jackson made the announcement tonight during ESPN's 6:00 p.m. edition of SportsCenter.

The 39th recipient of the Walter Camp Player of the Year award, Bush is the fifth USC player (O.J. Simpson, 1967 and 1968; Charles White, 1979; and Marcus Allen, 1981; and Matt Leinart, 2004) to capture the honor. The Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, who is voted on by the nation's 119 Division I-A coaches and sports information directors, is strongly viewed in the college football world as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, which will be presented on Saturday evening in New York City.

Other finalists for the award included Leinart, Texas quarterback Vince Young, Notre Dame Brady Quinn, and Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk.

"We are extremely pleased with the selection of Reggie Bush as our Player of the Year," Jackson said. "His all-around offensive dominance for the top-ranked Trojans has been impressive and worthy of this prestigious honor."

The 6-foot, 200-pound Bush has rushed for 1,658 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, averaging 8.9 yards a carry. In addition, he has 31 receptions for 383 yards and three more touchdowns. Bush is averaging 217.6 all-purpose yards per game this season for the undefeated and top-ranked Trojans, who have won 34 straight games. USC (12-0) will play second-ranked Texas in the Rose Bowl on January 4, 2006 for the national championship. The leader of a Trojan offensive unit that averages a remarkable 50.0 points a game, Bush was named the PAC-10's Offensive Player of the Year. In his final two games of the regular-season, Bush accumulated 554 rushing yards, including a career-best 294-yard effort in a win over Fresno State on November 19. In that game, Bush totaled a Pac-10 record 513 all-purpose yards.

Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp - a former Yale University athlete and football coach - is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation - a New Haven-based all-volunteer group - was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.

Bush and the members of the 2005 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization's national awards banquet on February 11, 2006 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. Tickets ($250) are available by calling (203) 288-CAMP.

Walter Camp Player of the Year Recipients (1967-2005)
2005 - Reggie Bush, USC
2004 - Matt Leinart, USC
2003 - Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh
2002 - Larry Johnson, Penn State
2001 - Eric Crouch, Nebraska
2000 - Josh Heupel, Oklahoma
1999 - Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
1998 - Ricky Williams, Texas
1997 - Charles Woodson, Michigan
1996 - Danny Wuerffel, Florida
1995 - Eddie George, Ohio State
1994 - Rashaan Salaam, Colorado
1993 - Charlie Ward, Florida State
1992 - Gina Torretta, Miami
1991- Desmond Howard, Michigan
1990 - Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame
1989 - Anthony Thompson, Indiana
1988 - Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
1987 - Tim Brown, Notre Dame
1986 - Vinny Testaverde, Miami
1985 - Bo Jackson, Auburn
1984 - Doug Flutie, Boston College
1983 - Mike Rozier, Nebraska
1982 - Herschel Walker, Georgia
1981 - Marcus Allen, USC
1980 - Hugh Green, Pittsburgh
1979 - Charles White, USC
1978 - Billy Sims, Oklahoma
1977 - Ken MacAfee, Notre Dame
1976 - Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh
1975 - Archie Griffin, Ohio State
1974 - Archie Griffin, Ohio State
1973 - John Cappelletti, Penn State
1972 - Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska
1971 - Pat Sullivan, Auburn
1970 - Jim Plunkett, Stanford
1969 - Steve Owens, Oklahoma
1968 - O.J. Simpson, USC
1967 - O.J. Simpson, USC