Alabama running back Derrick Henry was awarded the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.
Henry beat out Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey as finalists for the award with 1,832 points. McCaffrey was the Heisman runner-up with 1,539, followed by Watson with 1,165. There are 870 Heisman voters divided into six regions. Henry won five of those regions. The Far West region was won by McCaffrey.
Henry addressed questions about his extensive workload this season (339 carries) while thanking his offensive line in his acceptance speech.
"Everybody's always asking me about carries, what I thought about it, how I felt," Henry said. "When you've got teammates like that who love you and care for you, it doesn't matter how you feel or how bad it hurts or what hurts you. You've got to make sure you're making those guys happy by helping them get a victory."
Henry's 293-point margin of victory over McCaffrey was the Heisman's most narrow margin since the 2009 Heisman gave Alabama's Mark Ingram the honor over Stanford's Toby Gerhart.
The unquestioned highlight of Henry's Heisman candidacy came on Nov. 7, when he outrushed LSU star Leonard Fournette, 210-31, and in so doing, seemed to trade places with Fournette as the Heisman front-runner. Alabama relied on him more heavily as the season went on, feeding the junior 90 carries over his last two games against rival Auburn and Florida. For the season, he's carried 339 times for 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns. One of the biggest statistical advantages Henry had over McCaffrey was in the touchdown category, as the Stanford star had only eight rushing scores on the season.
In the SEC Championship Game against Florida last week, Henry broke former Heisman winner Herschel Walker's SEC record for single-season yardage, and tied the league record with his 23rd touchdown.
Henry and the Crimson Tide will face Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31 in a College Football Playoff semifinal. The junior has yet to announce whether he will apply for early eligibility into the 2016 NFL Draft. A former NFL scout said this week that Henry, despite his prolific college success, would project as a fourth-round draft choice. Ten of the past 11 Heisman winners have been first-round draft picks.
Henry's night at the Home Depot College Football Awards show Thursday foretold the Heisman results, when he took home the Maxwell (top player), Walter Camp (top player) and Doak Walker (top RB) awards.
He became the first running back to win the Heisman Trophy since Ingram, and second ever from Alabama.
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