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An insider’s take on new Saints' RB Bush

From 2001-04, south Louisiana’s own Ed Orgeron was the recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach at the University of Southern California.

Orgeron, along with USC head coach Pete Carroll, did a great job in putting together a draft class that brought 11 players into last week’s NFL draft.

But this past week, "Be-Be" just couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for the New Orleans Saints’ first-round choice, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush.

"Being from Louisiana and growing up a New Orleans Saints fan, I was just thrilled that the Saints were able to select him," said Ole Miss’ second-year coach. "For whatever reason or reasons the Houston Texans passed on him, I feel strongly that the Saints got the best player in the country. In my opinion he is the best college football player since O.J. Simpson. He is going to do a lot for that franchise. He is a tremendous running back and he will have a huge impact in the NFL."

Orgeron said USC wasn’t Bush’s top choice when he was coming out of Helix High School in San Diego.

"To be honest, we (the Trojans) probably were his third or fourth choice leading into the December recruiting period. Rick Neuheisel at the University of Washington and Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame recruited him hard and they had the lead with Reggie early on. He came in December and really enjoyed his visit at USC and that changed things around. The turning point came between our practices for the Orange Bowl and our victory against Iowa in the 2003 Rose Bowl. He saw that Pete (Carroll) had USC back on track and he wanted to be a part of our program. I guess you can say the rest is history."

Orgeron said Bush was an excellent high school player, but he really worked hard to make himself into the player he is today.

"Reggie was not our highest ranked player we recruited back then, wide receiver Whitney Lewis from St. Bonaventure High School in Oxnard, California was," Orgeron said. "Reggie was considered a scatback/wide receiver and we really didn’t know he would turn out to be this type of runner.

"This guy worked tremendously hard in the weight-room to get himself ready for the college game and to take the pounding a feature back gets in the college ranks," Oregeron added. "I would tease him and say that with that skinny frame you aren’t going to be a fulltime back here. He took everything in stride and worked like the devil to be become physically stronger. He has the work ethic of a guy I coached at Miami, (defensive tackle) Warren Sapp. He really does have the blue-collar dedication and work ethic of a lineman in the weight-room. That is the one image I will always have about Reggie and that is just how hard he worked in the weight-room. He was a tireless worker. People don’t realize how tough a player Reggie Bush is. "

The former South Lafourche High School star lineman said it didn’t take long to see that Bush was a special college player.

"It took about one practice," Orgeron said with a laugh. "He was a freshman and we had a really talented and experienced defense and he left them cemented into the ground. His ability to start and stop, and hit top speed again was just incredible. As a runner he has great balance and a tremendous burst of speed and power to pull away from defenders in traffic. I had never seen anything like that in my college coaching career.

"Once we started playing the games you could really see how much he meant to our team," Oregeron continued. "When you put him in the slot as a receiver, no one could cover him. Defensive coaches were scrambling on gameday to find a way to slow him down, as both a runner and a receiver. He was so elusive no one could get a clean shot at him and if you miss him once, you aren’t getting a second shot. And I haven’t even mentioned the impact he had for us on special teams. Every time he touched the ball he took your breath away, that’s how good a player he is."

Despite allegations that Bush’s parents had a rent-free condominium last year, and had early connections with a talent agent, Orgeron said Bush comes from a good family.

"I really don’t know all the details of what is being alleged, but I can say that in my years at USC, Reggie’s mother and stepfather were very supportive of him and you could see he had come from a strong family background," Oregeron said. "They were always there for him and constantly encouraging him to do well academically and athletically.

"I want to say that in all my years coaching I can’t remember being around a better person than Reggie Bush," Oregeron added. "He is very talented, but he is just as good a person as a he is a player. He is very humble and he appreciates the people around him."

BIG BOOST FOR DEUCE

According to Orgeron, the player who should be the happiest about the selection of Bush is running back and and former Ole Miss star Deuce McAllister.

"All I can say to opposing defenses is that they will have their hands full trying to match up against Deuce McAllister and Bush," Oregeron said. "I have never seen a player put so much stress on defenses that Reggie Bush did at the college level. There is just not enough manpower on defense to fill the gaps that Bush creates when he is in the lineup. As a runner he likes to take plays to the edge and he seems to be able to squeeze through the smallest cracks to run through.

"I have seen guys with great angles of pursuit just totally lose their advantage on him because of his speed and his ability to change directions without warning," Oregeron continued. "When you put him in the slot as a receiver, you have to immediately get into a nickel-package and that will open up some running lanes for Deuce that he hasn’t seen in the past.

"In the past most teams just lined up seven or eight men in the box and tried to take away the running game and forced quarterback Aaron Brooks to beat them," Oregeron added. "Now with Bush in the lineup, teams can’t get away with that sort of defensive set-up and they will have to account for him on every play. If you watched USC closely the pressure points Bush put on opposing defenses opened up the inside running lanes for LenDale White in the same manner. Lendale did a great job as an inside runner and short-yardage specialist, but in this game of matchups it was really the presence of Reggie Bush that forced defenses to move around and create open areas for White to run through. Deuce is a tremendous back and he will have those same opportunities."

OH, BOYKIN

Orgeron, a long-time defensive line specialist, felt the Saints may have picked up a pretty prospect in undrafted free-agent defensive tackle McKinley Boykin from Ole Miss.

"I wish I could have had McKinley for three seasons," Orgeron said. "McKinley is a talented kid, quick and real strong, probably stronger than Mike Patterson, who I coached at USC and was a 1st round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005, but he struggled early on because he was coming off of an off-season knee surgery and we were teaching new techniques to the defensive linemen. He played real well down the stretch for us. I think some teams were scared off a bit because of the knee problems he had, but there is no doubt in my mind he has the physical talent to play at the next level. He is a real disruptive inside player."

LOUISIANA TO BALTIMORE

When the Baltimore Ravens selected Georgia Tech safety Dawan Landry in the fifth round of last week’s draft, he became the Hahnville High School player to ever be picked in the NFL draft.

"It seems strange because we have won six state championships (1949, ’68, ’72, ’92, ’94 and 2003), but Dawan is the very first and we are so proud of him and what he has meant to this school," Hahnville coach Lou Valdin said. "What makes this even stranger is that next year his brother, LaRon, (who is the considered the top senior safety in the 2007 draft) will get his shot in the NFL also. Those two players were terrific for us and I am like a proud papa when I see these guys get a chance to play in the NFL."

What makes this situation even a more interesting is that Dawan will come along with another River-parish draftee for Baltimore, former Lutcher High School and Northwestern State cornerback David Pittman, who the Ravens selected in the third round.

The Ravens also signed LSU cornerback Ronnie Prude to a free agent this past Monday. Prude, who was the most improved player on the LSU defense last year, surprisingly was not drafted.

Landry, Pittman and Prude join an ever-growing list of Louisiana products in Baltimore. The Ravens’ roster includes former Destrehan star safety and 2004 NFL defensive player of the year Ed Reed, former Louisiana-Monroe fullback Alan Ricard, running back/return specialist B.J. Sams from McNeese State, and veteran kicker Matt Stover from Louisiana Tech.

Part of the reason so many former Louisiana standouts are in Baltimore may be traced to the fact the Ravens’ national scout is former Nicholls State running back Lionel Vital.

CENTER OF ATTENTION

The list of schools trying to recruit Bobby Hebert III, better known as "T-Bob," continues to grow.

T-Bob, the son of former South Lafourche High School and New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, is considered one of the top offensive centers in the Deep South. The Greater Atlanta Christian High School star center is being heavily pursued by LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, and Georgia Tech.

Florida coach Urban Meyer has recently jumped into the race to land Hebert, along with Hawaii, whose coach, June Jones, coached the elder Hebert when he was the Atlanta Falcons’ coach.

While Hebert has reportabley been offered a scholarship by Ed Orgeron and Ole Miss, indications are that the 6-4, 280 pound T-Bob is leaning heavily toward playing for coach Les Miles at LSU.

Courier correspondent and NFL analyst Mike Detillier is based in Raceland.

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