NEW YORK — Just as Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart did after they won the Heisman Trophy, USC tailback Reggie Bush celebrated at a trendy Manhattan nightspot after the announcement of his landslide victory.
Bush, however, made a different kind of plan for Sunday night.
"Hopefully, I can get some studying done," Bush said Sunday morning as he traversed the city in a limousine for a round of late-morning television appearances.
Bush's study session was in the works before he became the 71st Heisman winner.
As Bush, Leinart and Texas quarterback Vince Young waited backstage for the nationally televised announcement show to begin Saturday night, Bush found a computer and printed notes for one of three finals he will take this week.
"I saw opportunity and I took it," he said.
Bush is accustomed to studying before and after Heisman announcements.
Last year, he took mental notes when he was invited here along with Leinart, Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma quarterback Jason White -- the 2003 Heisman winner -- and Utah quarterback Alex Smith, Bush's former teammate at Helix High in La Mesa.
After finishing fifth in Heisman balloting, Bush told reporters he would be back for this year's ceremony and then observed Leinart in the aftermath of the Trojan quarterback's victory.
Bush said Sunday that he would not be overcome by the magnitude of his achievement. Bush received the largest percentage of first-place votes in the history of the award.
"It will hit me but it won't change me," said Bush, who wore a black suit and cream-colored shirt for his television appearances. "I'll be the same person I've been all along."
Bush, however, recognized that his status changed the moment he joined a 70-member Heisman fraternity that includes six other USC players: Leinart, who won in 2004, Palmer (2002), Marcus Allen (1981), Charles White (1979), O.J. Simpson (1968) and Mike Garrett (1965).
"I've been in college three years," Bush said during a speech after he was announced as the winner. "This is the first time I've been invited into a fraternity."
Bush will be formally presented with his trophy at a black-tie dinner tonight at the Hilton New York hotel. USC Coach Pete Carroll and members of his staff are scheduled to arrive from Los Angeles to join a group that also will include Garrett, White and Leinart.
Before the dinner, Bush will tape a segment for "The Late Show With David Letterman."
