On Monday, running back Derrick Henry was announced as one of three finalists for this year’s Heisman trophy given annually to the nation’s best college football player.
The other finalists for the trophy include Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey. The award will be presented in New York on Saturday, Dec. 12.
Henry is the fifth finalist from Alabama, since former Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram brought home the trophy in 2009. Only five other programs have been represented multiple times at the awards ceremony in that time span, and only Stanford (4 years) has been there more than twice. However even Stanford has only sent three players to New York (Andrew Luck went twice).
Even with numerous finalists over recent years, Ingram is still the school’s lone winner. Henry could change that.
“First, I want to thank God for blessing me with his opportunity,” Henry said. “The Heisman Trophy has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid and the chance to go to New York as a finalist is amazing, but none of this would be possible without my coaches and teammates. The offensive line, the quarterback, wide receivers and tight ends have done an unbelievable job all season and our coaches always put us in a position to be successful.”
Here’s how Henry’s stats compare to former Heisman Trophy winners:
- Henry currently has 1,986 rushing yards this season. That’s good for sixth all-time among Heisman winners (not counting games played after the awards ceremony) if he wins the trophy this season.
- Ingram is currently 17th with 1,542 yards.
- Henry’s 23 rushing touchdowns this season is enough to have him tied with Oklahoma’s Steve Owens for sixth all time among current Heisman Trophy winners (again not counting any recorded in games played after receiving the award).
