Running back Derrick Henry snapped a five-year streak of quarterback winners when he won the Heisman Trophy – the coveted award given to the top American football college player – late Saturday. Alabama junior running back Derrick Henry won the Heisman.
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Derrick Henry said his grandmother was with him in spirit as his childhood dream of winning the Heisman came true.
He may have been the only one.
Roll tide! So goes the rallying calling for the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide athletic teams.
Henry is the first running back to win the Heisman since Alabama’s Mark Ingram won in 2009. Though McCaffrey did more in the receiving game and on special teams, Henry ran for 15 more touchdowns on just 20 more carries.
He choked up during his speech, thanking his family, coaches and teammates, and mentioning former Alabama teammate Altee Tenpenny, who was killed in a vehicle crash two months ago. I am hoping I am someone you can idolize yourself behind and look up to because God is everything.
I think Alabama still would have had a nice season, but would Alabama be in the playoff? “It’s just been a blessing”. “During the offseason, I really wanted to be the guy, I wanted to get the ball, so I knew it was going to take a lot of work in the weight room, on the field, and just trying to create those habits for myself to carry on into the season”.
FILE – In this Friday, Nov. 27, 2015, file photo, Iowa defensive back Desmond King (14) breaks up a pass intended for Nebraska wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp (1) during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb. His normally even keel rose above the waterline when he heard his name called.
“And if I happen to stay my senior year I want to be back then”, Watson said.
A total of 929 votes were cast in the 2015 balloting, according to the Heisman.com website.
Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield is the second team quarterback and Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds made third team.
The Heisman Memorial Trophy is presented each year to the most outstanding individual player in college football. He took awards including the Maxwell for best player, the Campbell award for player of the year.
That seemed to be a boon for Alabama’s Henry, a sturdy tailback who has 1,986 yards rushing, the most in FBS. He scored 23 touchdowns this year, most in FBS this year, and tied for the most in SEC history for a single season. From start to finish, Henry was the offense.
Henry’s 2015 season puts him above the rest.
“One day I said something to him and he said, ‘Coach, all this stuff is new to me”. The number who could gain 271 yards under such circumstances is smaller still. But touch-for-touch, his all-purpose yards total was more than 1,000 yards better than the next nearest player, San Jose State’s Tyler Ervin (2,410).
“He did as much for his team as anybody could have done or ever has done for any of our teams”, Saban said.
Clemson sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson was ranked the leading candidate for next year’s Heisman Trophy award as Watson finished third in the 2015 Heisman Trophy award on Saturday night.
McCaffrey joins Gerhart and former Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck, the runner-up in 2010 and 2011, as Heisman runner-ups.
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Derrick Henry has done so much for Alabama this year.
