Henry became the University of Alabama’s second Heisman Trophy victor, joining fellow running back Mark Ingram’s 2009 win.
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Despite a record-setting year for Colorado’s own Christian McCaffrey, the Stanford star running back fell just short of winning the Heisman trophy on Saturday night.
He also spent several moments remembering and dedicating his season to former teammate Altee Tenpenny, who passed earlier this year, and praising running backs coach Burton Burns, a man Henry said means more to him than just football.
Henry, whose height of 6 feet 3 and weight of 238 pounds has drawn comparisons to 1996 victor Eddie George, claimed his third trophy in two days. His competition was Stanford’s rocket-fast punt returner Christian McCaffrey (1,539) and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (1,165).
In addition to breaking Walker’s single-season SEC rushing yards record, Henry tied Tim Tebow’s touchdown record with 23 rushing scores this season. The Tide faces Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on December 31, trying to earn a fourth national championship in nine seasons under Saban. In addition, Henry was named the 2015 Maxwell Award victor (as college football’s player of the year), and the Doak Walker Award victor (as the nation’s best running back). In nine SEC games, he averaged 180 yards per game in leading the Tide to its second straight SEC Championship and 25th in school history.
Overall, McCaffrey finished a distant second while Watson checked in at third in the voting.
Derrick Henry bulldozed defenses while carrying Alabama’s offense this season then walked away with a Heisman Trophy.
“Don’t be afraid to pray”, Henry said during his acceptance speech.
Henry also broke a five-year run of quarterbacks winning the award.
Watson and the Clemson Tigers will play in the College Football Playoff Semifinals against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Watson is the only player in the country with more than 3,500 yards passing and more than 850 yards rushing. Deshaun, with how consistent and efficient he is at the quarterback position, all the success he had, I was kind of anxious. He rushed for over 200 yards against the likes of LSU, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Auburn.
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The soft-spoken junior from the small town of Yulee, Fla., received 378 first-place votes and totaled 1,832 points from 929 electors. “As a running back you have to have that mentality that you’re going to run the ball hard, be physical and finish your runs”.
