How will Sooners deal with USC's 'President'?

"My junior year -- his sophomore year -- we were playing Rancho Buena Vista," Smith recalled. "There was this 60 or 70-yard run that was absolutely unbelievable. He was breaking tackles. It was amazing. You knew right then. I think it was the play of the year.

"Imagine that with high school players on the field. He was 15 years old. He was a man among boys."

The pair went their divergent ways but was reunited in New York last month as the only pair of Heisman finalists to play in the same high school backfield.

"I guess it's kind of an anomaly, a freak circumstance," Smith said. "We were kind of in the shadows in that offense. It was the Reggie Show."

From San Diego County alone, there have been three Heisman winners: Ricky Williams (1998), Rashaan Salaam (1994) and Marcus Allen (1981). That doesn't include Lincoln High's Terrell Davis, an NFL and Super Bowl MVP with the Broncos.

Bush or Smith could make it five San Diego County Heisman winners from San Diego County in 2005.

"Everything, I like doing it all," Bush said when asked his favorite role. "I like playing receiver. I like running the ball, returning punts and kicks. I just like to have the ball in my hands. There really is no preference to me. But I do like to be known as a running back first."

An injury to starting tailback LenDale White almost makes Bush more dangerous. He will start Tuesday if tailback White can't go because of a high ankle sprain.

"You'll get to see more of Reggie Bush, basically," Carroll said. "I don't know that that's a bad thing for us."

"I like to get the ball more but I'm not a selfish person either," Bush said. " But I would definitely love to have the ball as much as possible."