King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Reggie Bush's easy decision: Turn pro and become a millionaire, or risk everything for free.
Read more: Sports, University of Texas, Football, NFL, College Football, King Kaufman, Sports Daily
Jan. 12, 2006 | Heisman Trophy-winner Reggie Bush was scheduled to announce his decision about entering the NFL draft Thursday at 10:30 a.m. PST on the USC campus. As I write this the announcement hasn't been made, but here's a preview: He's going.
Yes, there's the occasional Matt Leinart, surprising everyone by returning for his senior season even though he could have been a top pick. And let's remember that a big part of Leinart's decision to stay at Southern Cal last year was that he needed elbow surgery and had what turned out to be a sports hernia. He didn't want to face the draft combine and rookie camp as damaged goods.
But for the most part, if you're an underclassman who's projected as a high draft pick, your decision is easy: Go to the pros.
That's why it was so funny to listen to all the speculation about whether Texas quarterback Vince Young was going to declare for the draft or return for his senior season. Young needs a lot of work on his throwing mechanics before he can become an effective NFL quarterback, the pro-return thinking went, so he'd be better off working on that for another year at Texas.
Young gave that idea all the consideration it deserved and declared for the draft.
Let's look for a second at the options Young faced and then we'll get back to Bush.
If Young turns pro he can work with NFL coaches whose interest is in developing him as his team's quarterback for the future. If he stays in college he works with the same college coaches -- that is, minor-league coaches -- who have failed to correct his mechanics over the four years he's spent in Austin already.
The priority of coaches at a big-time program like Texas, where a single loss can scuttle a season, is to win every game, at whatever cost. Vince Young's future means nothing to them. If running him on endless naked bootlegs is the Longhorns' best bet to win one Saturday, they'll run him out there on play after play.
And if he gets smeared and is lost for the season? They weren't going to win the championship without winning that game anyway. And if he hangs in there and just takes a yearlong pounding that damages him for the future? Hey, he's somebody else's problem after the bowl game.
If he turns pro he can learn from the other, more experienced quarterbacks on the team, and work with and against NFL-caliber players in practice, in exhibition games or even in real games, if he doesn't have the luxury of a full year of learning, as Carson Palmer did in Cincinnati. If he stays in college he's the best quarterback around, and he can beat college defenders with pure athleticism.
If he turns pro he gets a seven- and maybe even an eight-figure signing bonus and will become eligible for the potential big money of unrestricted free agency one year sooner than if he played his senior year at Texas.
Next page: An injury in college can cost a player millions. Plus: What about the rookie salary cap in 2007?