After 14 years, Reggie Bush is celebrating the return of his beloved Heisman Trophy.

In an exclusive interview, with CBS News Correspondent Jamie Yuccas on “CBS Mornings,” Bush shared his thoughts after regaining college football’s most lauded prize.

"I think when you've manifested this for so long, right, and you've been, I think, through the ups and the downs for so many years, I've cried over it, I have—you know—but I feel like at this point it was more about just taking it in, and just being happy, and just enjoying the moment," Bush said.

"It was as heavy as I remembered," Bush joked after lifting the trophy.

In 2005, Bush had one of the greatest college seasons of all time. He gained more than 2000 yards from scrimmage and scored 18 touchdowns. He received 784 first-place votes, the fifth-most in Heisman Trophy history, and led the Trojans to the national title game.

After Bush was accused of being involved in a “pay for play” arrangement, he forfeited his Heisman in 2010 following a legal battle with the NCAA.

"I was never paid to play. That never happened, ever. I was a broke college kid," he said.

Last year, Bush filed a defamation lawsuit against the NCAA and is seeking to have his football records reinstated and to return his Heisman led by prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

The suit was a response to the NCAA attempting to block Bush’s request to return the Trophy.

"Although college athletes can now receive benefits from their names, images, and likenesses through activities like endorsements and appearances, NCAA rules still do not permit pay-for-play type arrangements," an NCAA spokesperson said at the time. "The NCAA infractions process exists to promote fairness in college sports. The rules that govern fair play are voted on, agreed to, and expected to be upheld by all NCAA member schools."

Bush also gave his take on the impact of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) on players and the future of college sports.

“Everybody's benefitting but the kids. The NIL works for the star player of the team,” he explained. “That's it.”

With the return of his Heisman, Bush is concentrating on returning to USC and being an active alumnus. Also, his No. 5 jersey number will return to USC's Coliseum.

"It's gonna be full circle, it's gonna be crazy, amazing, exciting," Bush said.

"It means everything. That's what I grinded for. The hard work and dedication that I put in on this football field, in that stadium, in the weight rooms, in the classrooms... everything that was asked of me, I did that," he continued. "Every time my name, my number was called, I gave them 110%."