He also won the Doak Walker, Walter Camp and Maxwell Awards. “It’s just a blessing and an honor”. Included in the group was Henry’s grandmother, who raised him but could not attend the ceremony due to health reasons.
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“Now I know what it takes”, McCaffrey said about becoming a finalist, “following with anything less than that is unacceptable for me”. Of those four teams, the Cardinal played only two; granted, they played USC twice, but USC was the worst of those defenses, ranking No. 45.
“I was kind of anxious”, Henry says.
Having the opportunity to mingle with several former Heisman winners this weekend was a thrill for Henry.
“My heart was about to bust out of my chest”.
Saban was the head coach at Alabama when Ingram became the school’s first Heisman victor, and said that he couldn’t be happier to see Henry add his name to the list. He received 1,832 points, 293 more than McCaffrey (1,539). Players receive three points for a first-place vote, two for second and one for third.
Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield finished fourth and Navy’s Keenan Reynolds was fifth.
He also matched a league mark with 23 touchdowns, leading second-ranked Alabama to the College Football Playoff.
The Tide hammered away with Henry and he set a school record for carries with 339, including an astounding 90 in Alabama’s last two games against Auburn and Florida.
Henry comfortably won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night, and in his acceptance speech revealed a side of the stone-faced athlete that he keeps closed guarded, normally as easy to get from him as it is to tackle him.
He thanked his teammates, especially the players who block for him. He said via Alabama.com, “I’m trying to tell you”. He literally put Alabama on his back during several occasions in 2015 and is arguably the greatest RB in Crimson Tide History. You’d like to think that those voting in the Heisman race do not have bias, but in reality they do.
FILE – In this Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014, Ohio State running back Rod Smith, left, celebrates his touchdown against Cincinnati with teammate offensive lineman Taylor Decker during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game, in Columbus, Ohio.
“One day I said something to him and he said, ‘Coach, all this stuff is new to me”. Each on of those voters have their own opinion on who they believe the Heisman should be. But mine wasn’t just an MVP vote – the Watson I watched was the best player, too. He passed for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns during the regular season and was equally impressive as a runner, gaining 887 yards and scoring 11 times.
This season as a junior, with Alabama breaking in a first-time starting quarterback and inexperienced receivers, coach Nick Saban and the Tide made a decision to hook the offense to Henry.
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Henry won the closest vote since Ingram edged out Stanford’s Toby Gerhart in 2009. He passed Reggie Bush, Marcus Allen, and Mike Rozier – all Heisman Trophy winners – on the single-season all-purpose yard leaderboard during the game.
