Critical recruiting instinct nearly saw Reggie Bush not come to USC

There are often major what-if moments that occur in college sports. One of those is the story of how Reggie Bush ended up joining the Trojans. As shared on X by Nico, coach Ed Orgeron spoke recently on the series of events that ultimately led to Bush coming to Troy. Coach O explains that there was a certain level of momentum for Bush to join either Notre Dame or Washington. Believing that the Trojans are losing the chance to secure the running back, coach O gave Bush's father a call and invited him to campus for a game.

It was then, after the 2003 Orange Bowl against Iowa, that he left enough of a lasting impression that made Bush call up the Trojan coaching staff to inform them of his decision to be a Trojan. While they had started a little later in the process, the late impressions were enough for the RB.

Critical moment for USC

Coach O had that feeling, and placing a phone call at the moment when he did is what ended up starting the chain of events that led to Bush joining the Cardinal and Gold. As the former USC assistant coach mentioned, it was not his geographic area of recruiting responsibility or his position group that he was tasked with. A gut instinct, though, made it so that he ended up sealing the commitment of one of the great all-time college players.

Recruiting can sometimes be a guessing game, and it is never quite known what phrase or gesture will end up making the difference. For USC and all of college football, history would have been significantly rewritten if coach O had not followed through with his intuition and placed a call for the running back. Safe to say Bush made the right choice in joining the Trojans over either the Huskies or the Fighting Irish.