Derrick Henry a Heisman finalist

Mark Ingram was the last RB to win the Heisman and he is also an Alabama alum, but Henry boasts far more impressive stats than Ingram did.

Henry was watching with Alabama director of football communications Josh Maxson inside Maxson’s office Monday night when Henry was unveiled as one of three Heisman finalists, along with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and Stanford running Christian McCaffrey. With 3,496 all-purpose yards this season, he broke Barry Sanders’ 1988 national record of 3,250.

Alabama’s Derrick Henry leads the country in rushing with 1,986 yards, carries with 339 and rushing touchdowns with 23. After two weeks of the season, Stanford was 1-1 and McCaffrey had racked up just 124 total yards rushing. He also rushed for 887 yards and an additional 11 touchdowns on 163 carries while leading the Tigers to an undefeated season, an ACC title, and a No. 1 ranking in this year’s college football playoffs. He is 16th in passing yards (3,512) with 30 passing TDs (9th best) and 11 interceptions (20th most).

“I don’t know that I’ve coached many players that actually set a better example to affect other people”, Saban said. The last five Heisman winners have all been QBs.

– BEST GAME: Henry outshined LSU’s Leonard Fournette in a game that gave Alabama the inside track to the SEC West title.

Unlike Henry, McCaffrey makes things interesting when he touches the football.

Henry is joined by Clemson quarterback DeShaun Watson and Stanford running back and return specialist Christian McCaffrey.

On Saturday, McCaffrey had 461 all-purpose yards in a 41-22 win over USC in the Pac-12 championship game.

— PRO PROSPECTS: A junior, Henry is widely regarded as the second-best running back who could be available in the 2016 draft behind Ohio States Ezekiel Elliott. Magnificent only begins to describe the ride of the #1 Tigers and quarterback Watson. He carried much of the offense during the Auburn and Florida games, recording a total of 460 yards and two touchdowns.

Henry came up especially big when the Crimson Tide needed him most.

Case Against: Henry is powerful but lacks breakaway speed like Heisman winning RB’s before him.

But now that we have these three finalists with one of them already getting their name engraved on the trophy, I believe the Heisman should use what is its final voting as a preliminary voting round conducted the last weekend of the regular season.