COMMENTARY

By Matt Hayes

updated 12:05 a.m. ET April 20, 2006

Matt Hayes

Reggie Bush isn't the best player in this draft. He's not even the best running back — his overweight if-he-ever-gets-his-Little-Debbie-eating-butt-in-shape teammate LenDale White is.

Every scout and personnel man and fantasy football geek will tell you Reggie Bush is the next Barry Sanders. He has speed and moves and strength and blah, blah, blah.

Did these guys watch the Rose Bowl?

Look, I'm no NFL talent evaluator, but I've got two eyes. When the teams' talent levels were the same in the Rose Bowl, when the defense had as much or more speed as the Southern California offense, suddenly Bush didn't look so untouchable, so incredible, so undeniably the best back in decades, as so many scouts have unequivocally claimed.

Bush had 13 carries for 82 yards and one score in the national title game. LenDale White had 20 carries for 124 yards and three touchdowns. And when the Trojans needed 2 yards, when the game was on the line and needed to be salted away, White got the ball. An NFL scout told me that night that the USC staff gambled by not putting the ball in the hands of their best player, the guy who had the best chance to pick up the first down.

NFL DRAFT Draft HQ: Round-by-round, pick-by-pick recap   Video: top storylines from draft Borges: Jets get top grade; Bears, Bills blow it Opinion: Broncos put Plummer in tough spot USC's Leinart, Bush, White all fall in draft Second day for converted quarterbacks Notebook: Bloom hopes to blossom Texans happy to draft 'special' player Saints swoop quickly to nab Bush at No. 2 Titans thrilled to take Young | End White's slide Fans cheer when Jets pick Ferguson at No. 4 Leinart has 'no regrets' | Fall to hurt colleges Vote: Who had best, worst drafts? Vote: Which QB will start first?

I told him they did.

Watch the Rose Bowl again. Watch the USC offense try to stretch plays outside to create space for Bush. Watch how utterly fruitless it was. The Texas defense could run, and its front seven had fantastic lateral speed. And, in case you haven't heard: NFL defenses can run. Really fast.

USC obviously had rushing success against Texas, but the Trojans did so by running between the tackles. Bush (5-foot-11, 202) is not a between-the-tackles guy. He needs space to allow his moves and speed to take over.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

And enough with the Gale Sayers comparisons. I'm too young to have watched Sayers, but I know that D-linemen in the NFL in the 1960s were 240 pounds and ran 5.4 40s. D-linemen these days weigh nearly 300 pounds and run 4.7 40s.

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