Henry, Watson and McCaffrey arrived Friday in NY from Atlanta, where they attended the ESPN awards show at the College Football Hall of Fame.
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The 2015 reboot features Crimson Tide tailback Derrick Henry, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Deshaun Watson of the unbeaten Clemson Tigers. Top-tier defenses in the SEC continually loaded the box against Henry, but nothing seemed to stop the powerful running back, and it doesn’t look like anything will stop him from winning the Heisman Saturday. The 25-yard touchdown in the final minute of the Iron Bowl (Nov. 28) was especially notable because it was Henry’s 46th carry and 14th in a row to punctuate a 271-yard performance. But the “Tyler Rose” did so in just 11 games (158.5 yards per contest). Henry is 6-3, 242 pounds. Yes, Henry broke a conference record, but 25 other players in college football have matched or exceeded Henry’s 1,986 rushing yards.
Anybody ever tried to tackle a freight train?
And when he gets into the open field, his long strides make him uncatchable. Only me, my teammates and the trainers know what’s going on.
Practicing his Heisman stiff arm, Henry sidestepped a question about his plans after the season and whether or not they involved entering the NFL Draft, saying he’s only concerned about his team’s next game against Michigan State.
“I knew how hard I was gonna come back”, Watson said. I’m enjoying everything. I’m happy to be here. And he gets better as he goes. “I’m just blessed to be in this position, to be in NY, and just be a part of this process”.
Shoot, Henry should be given some kind of award for just making Saban smile. “Exactly a year later he will be in NY as a Heisman finalist”, said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. Watson, on the other hand, was a distant third at +1200. Moreover, he’s picking up momentum having passed for more than 279 yards in each of his last six games and rushing in excess of 100 yards in four of those contests. He ranks ninth in the national in total offense per game. I’m just trying to take it a day at a time.
Stanford coach David Shaw would. “But I think I catch more balls out of the backfield, do a little bit stuff from the slot, some outside run plays, kick returns, punt returns”. “It’s not even a debate”. McCaffrey plays on the West Coast, and out of all of the past 45 years, only one non-USC player from the West Coast has won the Heisman Trophy (Marcus Mariota). His 319 attempts and 1,847 rushing yards are No. 2 in the country while McCaffrey also compiled 540 receiving yards and 15 all-purpose touchdowns, including two passing scores. The Stanford sophomore broke Sanders’s single-season all-purpose yardage mark when he sprung for 461 yards in the Pac-12 Championship Game against USC.
“I talked to Derrick and Christian this week and we’re building our relationship”, Watson said. “And then once he sees it, he takes off. He’s as good with that – setting the blocks up and bursting through it – as anybody I’ve seen”.
Berwanger was more than a running back in the old days of platoon football and did a bit of everything for the former Big Ten team.
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Henry, who swept the Doak Walker, Maxwell and Walter Camp awards at the presentation on Thursday night, is likely McCaffrey’s biggest competition for the Heisman award.
