Up Next: Alabama Running Back Derrick Henry
Every year, the Alabama football program under Nick Saban seems to have an NFL caliber running back ready for the entire nation to enjoy watching for one last productive season before making the pro jump. This year that player is junior Derrick Henry.
Henry is an absolute beast, not unlike the ‘Bama backs before him, but he’s a different breed entirely.
At 6-3, 241 pounds, Henry is built like a middle linebacker, and he has some giddy-up in his game. In fact, I was shocked watching him play how deceptively awesome of a second and third gear he has at that size. When he gets a full head of steam, you might as well just get out of the way because nobody wants to get as badly hurt as they would getting run over in the open field by Derrick Henry.
The cover athlete for this year’s ESPN NCAA Football annual, Henry is expected to have a huge year, though there will be competition for carries with yet another phenomenal talent at running back in Kenyan Drake, who is coming off of a season in which he played just five games.
That’s another story for another day, though we could be talking about Drake a lot more throughout the season, but Henry is a player to watch in the Heisman race, Doak Walker race, and possibly as the highest running back selected in the 2016 NFL Draft should he decide to declare early.
Believe it or not, even with T.J. Yeldon on the roster at Alabama last year (2nd round pick of the Jaguars), Henry wound up leading the Tide in yards and touchdowns. He proved that not only could he be a guy who moves the pile at the line of scrimmage with tough yardage, he could be a guy that breaks off big plays and beats the second and third level of defense.
But don’t take my word for it…
With Henry leading the way for an Alabama offense making a transition this year at the quarterback position, he should be in line for big production.