Johnny Manziel reveals how he reacted to Reggie Bush getting his Heisman Trophy back

After having his Heisman Trophy stripped from him, Reggie Bush made a push for his trophy to be returned to him following NIL becoming a part of college football. Then, in April of 2024, the Heisman Trust finally announced they would return the award to him.

One fellow Heisman Trophy winner who has been vocal in his support of Reggie Bush was Johnny Manziel, who advocated for Bush to have his trophy returned to him. Now that it has, Manziel shared his reaction to the news on Throwbacks.

“I thought it was awesome,” Johnny Manziel said. “You know, when you go there and you get a chance to go back there now, it never sat right with anybody that he wasn’t able to be a part of it for things that guys are getting paid for right now to be able to.”

Reggie Bush and USC fell under scrutiny after the NCAA announced sanctions against USC relating to then impermissible benefits that he received while playing. At the time, USC removed references to Bush from its facilities.

“Obviously, it’s different times and different rules back then,” Manziel said. “But in the reality of it, I’m glad that they did what they did and I’m glad that it worked out that way.”

Reggie Bush’s 2005 season remains one of the most phenomenal individual seasons in the history of college football. He finished the year with 1,740 rushing yards and 8.7 yards per rushing attempt. He also had 16 rushing touchdowns. On top of that, Bush had 37 receptions for 478 yards and two more touchdowns.

For his own part, Bush shared shortly after the Heisman Trophy was returned to him that he always expected it to happen one day.

“When I first got the news, you know, I was excited, obviously, because this was a fight that we’ve been fighting for a very long time. I’m happy that the Heisman Trust made the right decision, did the right thing and got the trophy back. And obviously, I was, like I said, I was excited when I got the news, but I’ve always felt like I was gonna get my Heisman Trophy back. Always. I just didn’t know how long it was gonna take,” Bush said.

“And it didn’t matter to me how long it took as well. I was gonna fight until — it could have been another 20 years. I was gonna continue to fight for it. So, I’m just happy that it happened now.”

Since Reggie Bush had his trophy returned to him, he’s been able to once again be included among the Heisman winners, appearing in things like Heisman House ads.