Michael Warren Bush, Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
. He was drafted by the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
in the fourth round of the
2007 NFL Draft. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
.
In addition to the Raiders, Bush played for the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
and
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
.
Early years
Bush attended
Louisville Male High School
Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public co-ed secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District.
History
Ninth and Ches ...
where he played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
his senior year after seeing action at
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
,
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
,
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
,
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
,
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
, and
wide receiver over his career. As a senior, he led the Bulldogs to the state championship game in Kentucky's highest class. In that showdown against future Louisville teammate
Brian Brohm
Brian Joseph Brohm (born September 23, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the interim head coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Purdue University. He played college football at Louisv ...
and the
Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools:
United Kingdom
* Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland
* Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland
* Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England
*Trini ...
Shamrocks, Bush threw for 468 yards and six
touchdowns
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...
and ran for 116 yards and another touchdown in a 59-56 loss. He also caught two passes for 24 yards, returned a punt and a kickoff, and made five tackles on defense.
College career
Following a successful high school career, Bush became a highly sought after college recruit. He turned down offers from several more established programs (including
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
) to stay at home and attend the University of Louisville, largely because head coach
Bobby Petrino
Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American football coach. He currently serves as the Offensive Coordinator for the Texas A&M Aggies. He is the former head coach for the Missouri State Bears. Previously, he served as the head co ...
promised the opportunity to play quarterback, his preferred position. As a true freshman, he was forced to play several positions in order to get on the field because Louisville's starting quarterback position was locked down by
Stefan LeFors. Though he was not the starter, Bush was able to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games as a running back toward the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Petrino had decided to recruit another star quarterback from the Louisville area:
Brian Brohm
Brian Joseph Brohm (born September 23, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is currently the interim head coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Purdue University. He played college football at Louisv ...
of Trinity. Though Bush had played various positions his freshman year, he believed this arrangement to be temporary and still expected to be a quarterback in the long-term. The recruitment of Brohm, however, meant Bush would have to find another position. Much to Bush's chagrin, Petrino moved him to the running back position permanently.
In 2004, as a sophomore, Bush backed up
Lionel Gates and
Eric Shelton. He rushed for 734 yards and 7 touchdowns, and proved himself worthy of the starting role for next season.
Bush's breakout season came as a junior in 2005, as he rushed for 1,143 yards on 205 carries, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, racked up 23 rushing touchdowns, and was second in NCAA Division I-A in scoring to
LenDale White
LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and De ...
. He was also widely considered to be a preseason candidate for the 2006
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
. Though he could have left early for the
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
, Bush decided to return for his senior season.
He came into the 2006 projected as one of the top 10 players for the
2007 NFL Draft, and his season began successfully as expected. His first carry of the season was a 48-yard run for a touchdown in the Cardinals' annual
rivalry game
Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both ...
with
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. He then scored two more touchdowns in the first half, and had carried for 128 yards when he was tackled by Kentucky linebacker
Wesley Woodyard during a routine rushing play in the third quarter and suffered a broken right
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
. The injury was so bad that ESPN announced before the end of the game that Bush would miss the remainder of the 2006 season. The injury required the insertion of a steel rod and a second operation to facilitate the healing process.
Bush participated in 3 bowl games during his career as a Cardinal. The first was a
GMAC Bowl
The LendingTree Bowl is a postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. In 2021, the game was moved from Ladd-Peebles Stadium to Hancock Whitney Stadium, on the c ...
loss to
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in which Bush ran for 33 yards on 9 attempts, behind Gates' 12 carries for 128 yards.
Bush would do better in the
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in late December or early January since 1959. For its first five years, it was played at Philadelphia Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia before being held at Atlantic City ...
victory over
Boise State with 12 carries for 96 yards, his best performance in a bowl game. Bush finished his bowl career in the 2005
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...
with 94 yards on 16 carries.
Bush majored in sports administration at Louisville.
Professional career
Oakland Raiders
Bush was chosen by the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
in the
2007 NFL Draft in the fourth round with the 100th overall pick. With his broken leg still hobbling him, he was declared
Physically Unable to Perform
Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...
for the entire 2007 season.
After a two-year hiatus, Bush finally returned to the football field in 2008. He was the Raiders' third string halfback but saw some action because of injuries to
Darren McFadden
Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round with the fourth overall pick of the 2008 NFL Dra ...
and
Justin Fargas
Justin Alejandro Fargas (born January 25, 1980) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Michigan and Southern California and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
Colleg ...
. He made his NFL debut in Week 1. He got his first significant action in Week 2 against the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
with 16 carriers for 90 yards in the 23–8 victory. He was used in a limited role following Week 4 up until the regular season finale in Week 17 against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...
. In the win, Bush rushed for 177 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns to help Oakland deny Tampa Bay a spot in the playoffs.
In the 2009 season, Bush saw more usage but continued to platoon the backfield with Fargas and McFadden. He appeared in all 16 games, started seven, and finished with 123 carries for 589 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
In 2010, Bush solidified a role as the team's second running back, only behind McFadden. He rushed for 655 yards in 14 games, including eight touchdowns.
Before the 2011 season, Bush agreed to a contract extension with the Raiders. In Week 10, he started as running back against the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
in place of the injured McFadden. In that 24-17 victory, he gained a total of 242 yards from scrimmage, fourth most in Raiders history and eclipsing
Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. Jackson's el ...
's total for the most since the
AFL/NFL merger. Bush finished with 256 carries for 977 yards and seven rushing touchdowns to finish as the team's leading rusher. He carved out a role catching passes in the offense with 37 receptions for 418 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
Chicago Bears
Bush signed a four-year contract worth $14 million (with $7 million guaranteed) with the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
on March 22, 2012. Bush replaced
Matt Forte
Matthew Garrett Forte (born December 10, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was drafted ...
as halfback during minicamp while Forte was holding out over a contract dispute. In his regular season debut as a Bear in 2012, Bush ran for 42 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears defeated the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
41–21. After sustaining a rib injury, Bush was placed on injured reserve on December 18. Bush was also unofficially considered the emergency quarterback of the Bears, something which is related to his experience from high school. On March 10, 2014, the Bears released Bush.
Arizona Cardinals
Bush signed with the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
on November 25, 2014. He was released by the team on December 5, 2014.
2015 NFL Veteran Combine
In 2015, Bush participated in the first
NFL Veteran Combine, where he recorded a
40-yard dash time of 4.91 seconds. Upon hearing the news, the former running back exclaimed: "You gotta be (expletive) me... 4.91? ... There you go, there goes my career."
NFL career statistics
;Rushing statistics
;Receiving statistics
[
]
Personal life
Bush's wife Emily, an Australian, is the half-sister of National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
player Ben Simmons.
References
External links
Chicago Bears biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Michael
Living people
1980s births
Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky
American football running backs
Louisville Cardinals football players
Louisville Male High School alumni
Oakland Raiders players
Chicago Bears players
Arizona Cardinals players