Alabama RB Derrick Henry Wins the Heisman Trophy

After a much anticipated wait, the Heisman trophy was finally awarded to Alabama running back Derrick Henry. The running back from Alabama beat out Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson for the prestigious award.

Henry is the first running back to win the award since Mark Ingram in 2009. Since Ingram took home the award, five quarterbacks (Newton, Griffin III, Manziel, Winston, Mariota) have won. Only those two running backs have taken home the award in the new millennium, the rest being quarterbacks.

Christian McCaffery was the runner-up by about 300 votes, followed by Watson in third place. Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds also received votes to place them in the top five. Leonard Fournette, who was once considered the overwhelming favorite to raise the trophy, came in sixth place with 110 votes. Quarterbacks Connor Cook (Michigan State) and Trevone Boykin (TCU) received votes, as did running backs Ezekiel Elliot and Dalvin Cook.

This was Henry’s second consecutive season on the Heisman ballot, but he fell short last year to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Henry had an amazing season on his way to the Heisman trophy. He ran for nearly 2,000 yards while reaching the end zone 23 times.

Incredibly, Henry has scored a touchdown in 18 consecutive games. He currently sits 3rd all-time on the Alabama rushing yards list with 3,358 rushing yards.

Henry is the second player from the University of Alabama to win the Heisman Trophy. Mark Ingram won the award back in 2009 after scoring 17 touchdowns and rushing for over 1,600 yards. Here’s a Heisman season comparision for Ingram and Henry.

Prior to the official announcement, the NFL Mocks staff discussed who we thought should win. The consensus pick was Derrick Henry, with Christian McCaffrey also getting some love from the staff.

Congratulations to Derrick Henry on winning the Heisman Trophy!