Derrick Henry’s Name Gets Put On The Heisman Trophy

He may have been the only one. The first of those three titles came one month after another Alabama running back, Mark Ingram, became the first player in program history to capture the Heisman.

He also invoked the memory of his former teammate Altee Tenpenny, who died in a vehicle crash in October.

“You got God on your side, anything is possible”, Henry said.

Henry said he’s still in shock that he won the trophy. Mark Ingram won the first back in 2009. His normally even keel rose above the waterline when he heard his name called.

Henry said, “I didn’t know at all”. He received 1,832 votes and won five of the six regions, South (368), Northeast (290), Midwest (308), Mid-Atlantic (292) and Southwest (292).

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield came in fourth, and Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds was fifth. There was an appearance on the “NFL Today” on CBS, an interview with “FOX & Friends” and more meet and greets with past Heisman winners. The vote totals explained why the candidates weren’t invited.

Historically seniors have been the most likely to receive the award, but that has changed in recent years.

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. But McCaffrey’s total all-purpose yards are more than 1,000 yards better than the next-closest player. And its games regularly air on national TV, giving its players more facetime in front of voters. He scored two touchdowns in a four-minute span – one on a 49-yard catch-and-run in which he broke tackle after tackle, and the next on a 98-yard kickoff return. I’m not so sure we would have been. That puts Derrick Henry on a list that includes Roger Staubach.

Seeming to get stronger the more he carries the ball, Henry ran it 46 times in the regular-season finale against Auburn – and then took another 44 handoffs in a 29-15 victory over Florida in the SEC title game.

A journey that started years ago on the playgrounds of the small North Florida town evolved under the bright lights of Times Square into college football’s grandest honors.

“He did as much for his team as anybody could have done or ever has done for any of our teams”, Saban said. Among those he thanked included God, family, friends, former youth and high school coaches along with Tide Head Coach Nick Saban, Running Backs Coach Burton Burns, Director of Athletics, Bill Battle, Director of Strength and Conditioning coach Scott Cochran and other University of Alabama officials, professors and the athletic training staff in his emotional acceptance speech. I understand that Alabama has won a lot of championships, I know that winning at Alabama over the last few years has to some become routine. Someone asked Shaw if he thought McCaffrey deserved the award. “Those are two great athletes who were up there with me”. Anytime there are people who vote, you can’t say the word ‘deserve.’ You say who wins and who doesn’t win. Thinking of her, he said: “I love you so much”. When injuries hit Alabama’s other running backs, Henry picked up that slack, too.