Reggie Bush 'Always Felt' He'd Eventually Get Heisman Trophy Back, Is 'Excited'

Reggie Bush said he "always felt" like he would receive his 2005 Heisman Trophy again after forfeiting the award in 2010.

"When I first got the news, I was excited, obviously, because this was a fight that we'd been fighting for a very long time," Bush said Friday on the Pat McAfee Show. "I'm happy that the Heisman Trust made the right decision, did the right thing, got the trophy back.

"I always felt like I was going to get the Heisman Trophy back. Always. Just didn't know how long it was going to take. And it didn't matter to me how long it took... I'm just happy that it happened now."

The Heisman Trust announced the reinstatement of Bush's trophy Wednesday.

Bush gave up the trophy after an NCAA investigation into the benefits he received during his career as a running back at USC from 2003 to 2005.

Bush initially received the 2005 Heisman after recording one of the best seasons by a running back in college history.

He rushed for 1,740 yards while adding 478 receiving yards for 18 total touchdowns during his junior season with USC.

The Heisman Trust cited "fundamental changes in college athletics" that consider paying student athletes "an accepted practice" in their reinstatement of the trophy, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Bush will now get back the trophy he previously held for five years.

USC will also receive a replica of the trophy, and Bush will be invited to Heisman Trophy ceremonies, Thamel reported.

Despite the trophy reinstatement, Bush's fight against the penalties levied against his college career is not over.

Bush is still proceeding with the defamation lawsuit he filed against the NCAA in 2023, according to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit regards a 2021 statement by the NCAA in which the organization described Bush's career with USC as a "pay-for-play arrangement."

"It was more of being labeled a cheater," Bush said about continuing the lawsuit, per the AP. "The trophy ... being taken away from me [was painful], but being labeled a cheater was far worse, because I've never cheated, and there's no proof of that, that I've cheated."

In addition to being stripped of the Heisman, Bush and USC faced NCAA penalties including 14 vacated victories and the removal of Bush's name from NCAA record books.

Both of those penalties still stand, which Bush is hoping to change with his lawsuit, the AP noted.