Share

Alabama’s Henry wins Heisman

The University of Alabama’s junior running back Derrick Henry became the second player in Crimson Tide history to win the Heisman Trophy.

Advertisement

Cervi voted for Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson first, followed by Alabama running back Derrick Henry and Stanford all goal back Christian McCaffrey.

Alabama’s Derrick Henry, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson all attended the ceremony as finalists.

It’s easy for the other nominees to put up big numbers, playing in the Pac 12 and ACC. But, Henry had to face off with some of the top defenses in the nation, playing for Alabama, which had the toughest strength of schedule coming into the 2015 season.

McCaffrey is the son of two former Stanford athletic greats, Lisa and Ed, who owns three Super Bowl rings for his time with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos.

“There aren’t many positions the young man can’t play – I’d say offensive and defensive line are it”, Stanford coach David Shaw said in November.

Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield finished fourth and Navy’s Keenan Reynolds was fifth.

“I would label myself as a football player”, McCaffrey said. I’ve voted for dominant linemen like Ohio State’s Orlando Pace and off-the-radar candidates like Steve McNair, who I saw play against Samford in Birmingham.

The week’s college football activities culminated on Saturday night at the Best Buy Theater with the presentation of the Heisman Trophy, emblematic of the top college football player of the year. He made his mark on special teams as a kick and punt returner, amassing 1,109 total return yards.

Henry, Watson and McCaffrey arrived Friday in NY from Atlanta, where they attended the ESPN awards show at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Henry’s dominance on the ground seemed more convincing than McCaffrey’s breaking Barry Sanders’ 27-year record in all-purpose yards or Watson’s impressive showing of 41 touchdowns. It was at that time that he replaced with Fournette as the Heisman front-runner. Will Kirby Smart and the new coaching staff want to use their star back like Alabama used Derrick Henry? Greene’s stats and Henry’s stats came in 13 games. He has matched the all-time SEC single-season rushing touchdown mark and has recorded a rushing touchdown in 18 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the country and the most by any player in SEC history.

“The 6-3, 242-pounder from Yulee, Fla., set an SEC single-season-record in 2015 with 1,986 rushing yards”. “You can label me anything really, and I don’t really listen a whole lot to all that stuff. If you come to Clemson, you can achieve anything”. Yet McCaffrey gained traction too late in the season to catch the most prominent player at the most prominent college football school of the last decade.

Advertisement

FILE – In this Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, file photo, Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib (95) celebrates his second half interception with defensive end Garrett Sickels (90) during an NCAA college football game against Buffalo in State College, Pa. Nassib has been named to the AP All-America football team. What else can the guy who finished with close to 3,500 yards of total offense – with 1,847 on the ground – possibly do for an encore?

Mike Stobe  Getty Images