Big decision ahead for Trojans’ Bush

Reggie Bush is on the clock.

The Heisman Trophy winner has a little more than a month to decide whether he’ll enter the NFL draft or become the second straight junior from Southern California to pass up a chance to be the No. 1 pick and go back to school.

For now, he’s putting his future on hold.

“I won’t think about it until after this Rose Bowl game,” he said Saturday after becoming the third USC player to win the Heisman in the last four years. “We’ve got our work cut out for us with Texas.”

Bush and Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, last year’s Heisman winner, play Texas for the national title on Jan. 4, marking another historic moment for the USC dynasty. Never before have Heisman Trophy winners played together in a college game.

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft is Jan. 15.

Bush did allow for a moment of speculation at his post-victory news conference at a Manhattan restaurant.

“I love the whole East Coast atmosphere,” Bush said. “I can definitely see myself playing here, playing for the New York Jets.”

The Jets are among the hapless teams in danger of finishing with the worst record in the NFL and the first pick in the draft.

Leinart said he wasn’t ready to give up college life after winning the Heisman in 2004. But he also knew he was coming back to play with Bush in an offense that might be unmatched in the history of college football.

The Trojans have run their winning streak to 34 games and can become the first team to win three straight national championships by beating Texas.

The pipeline of talent running into USC these days is unsurpassed, but replacing Bush and Leinart in the same year would be daunting.

If Bush does come back, he’ll be the third straight Heisman winner to play another year of college football and a huge favorite to repeat.

UCLA kicker arrested

UCLA kicker Justin Medlock was arrested for investigation of drunken driving and felony hit-and-run after allegedly leaving the scene of the accident, which left a member of the school’s women’s golf team seriously injured, authorities said.

The 22-year-old junior was suspended indefinitely from the team and will not play Dec. 30 in the Sun Bowl, coach Karl Dorrell said.

Medlock was driving a 1998 Toyota pickup on the San Diego Freeway about 3 a.m. Saturday with 20-year-old UCLA golfer Hannah Jun in the passenger seat when he hit a call box and the truck flipped over, said Officer Tariq Johnson of the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers found the truck with only Jun inside, and later found Medlock walking on an Inglewood street about a mile and a half from the scene, Johnson said.

Kragthorpe nixes Colorado

Tulsa football coach Steve Kragthorpe does not want to replace Gary Barnett as coach at Colorado.

Kragthorpe’s name has been brought up as a possible candidate to become the next coach of the Buffaloes, but he released a statement shooting down the speculation.

“I’m flattered that my name has been mentioned in conjunction with the head coaching position at the University of Colorado,” he said. “However, I am not interested in the position at Colorado.

“A Colorado football player has been suspended and his girlfriend, a cross-country runner, has quit the sports program after being accused of sending a racist e-mail to an Hispanic member of the cross-country team.

The e-mail included a reference to dragging the man behind a car, recalling an incident in 1998 in Texas when a black man was dragged to his death. The two athletes were cited for harassment and ethnic intimidation.

A news release from athletic department director Mike Bohn announced the suspension of offensive tackle Clint O’Neal and Jackie Zeigle’s decision to leave the cross-country and track teams.

Ryans wins Lott Trophy

Alabama linebacker DeMeco Ryans received the Lott Trophy as the nation’s outstanding defensive player.

Ryans, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior, led Alabama in tackles this season and was the Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year. He graduated from school in seven semesters with a 3.7 grade- point average.

The Lott Trophy, based on personal character as well as performance, is named after Ronnie Lott, a Hall of Fame defensive back who starred at Southern California and was an All-Pro in the NFL.