Now that most of the dust has settled from last week’s Reggie Bush Heisman Trophy forfeiture, I’d like to throw my two cents in, fashionably late of course.

First things first, the Heisman Trust could not have made a better decision in leaving the 2005 trophy slot blank in ceremony programs for years to come.

The Heisman Trophy is more than arguably the most prestigious honor an athlete can receive outside of an Olympic gold medal and in no way should be handed to a runner up under any circumstance.

Year in and year out the Heisman winner has gone to not the most NFL-ready player or even the most talented player, for that matter. More often than not, Heisman winners are the most electrifying, stat-producing machines on the best team that particular year in college football.

Bush, without a doubt, was that player. But no 294-yard games like the one Bush ripped the ‘Dogs for in 2005 can erase his actions off the field, which should have resulted in zero games played that season.

Over the summer the NCAA finalized its investigation on the Bush scandal, concluding that he and his family received improper benefits from a sports agent. Had this surfaced prior to Bush’s Heisman-winning season, in which he amassed 2,218 offensive yards, he would have been ruled ineligible, ending his amazing season before it even started.

But he did play, and he did dazzle in USC’s 12-game regular-season undefeated stretch. That was, of course, until he hit a roadblock in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Championship, formally known as Vince Young.

And that’s where the controversy begins.

Vince Young, who finished 933 votes behind in the final Heisman voting, tore through the Trojans for 465 total yards 25 days after Bush hoisted the trophy. Fast forward nearly five years later, and many think the vacated trophy should be on Young’s mantel.

The Heisman Trust made the correct choice. The situation is very similar to Brian Cushing’s situation in the NFL, in which Cushing tested positive for a banned substance and his Defensive Rookie of the Year honors was held to an Associated Press revote. Sure, Cushing won back his ROY honors, but maybe the NFL should take a page out of the Heisman Trust’s book and leave the reward vacated.

Prestigious honors such as the Heisman Trophy and Rookie of the Year are reserved for players who display excellence on the field, and should be taken away for those who make poor decisions off it. Had the Heisman voting taken place after the BCS National Championship, Young’s performance just may have been great enough to be the 2005 Heisman winner and make this situation a moot point.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things work in the college football world and the situation is left for endless debate. But the Heisman Trust got this one right in protecting American sports’ most valuable 25-pound doorstop from falling into the wrong hands””or no hands at all for that matter.