“I gotta put my city back on the map right now.”
With those eleven words, Deon Bush chose Miami over Alabama and Auburn, live from the Army All-American Bowl in January 2012 and never looked back. The top-rated, 4-star safety signed with the Hurricanes a month later, a cornerstone of head coach Al Golden’s first full class at the University of Miami.
Golden took the job 13 months prior, was blindsided by the Yahoo! Sports bombshell weeks before coaching his first game in September, yet on Signing Day ’12, added Bush to a class that contained 5-star running back Duke Johnson, 4-star defensive tackle Tyriq McCord and picked up 5-star cornerback Tracy Howard at the final hour.
Bush saw action in 10 games last season and made six starts, racking up 34 tackles, three pass breakups and tied for second in the ACC with three forced fumbles. After 12 games he was named Newcomer of the Year at UM’s end-of-season banquet and Freshman All-America by CollegeFootballNews.com.
Within months, Bush’s football and personal worlds were rocked. The physical toll of a baptism by fire-type freshman campaign had the safety needing offseason hernia surgery. In April, his father Gary Bush Sr. had been diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer—a definite set-back for a close-knit, God-fearing family. …
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