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Derrick Henry’s running style doesn’t equate to crazy highlight reel material. You won’t see spin moves, nasty jukes or head fakes from the Alabama back.
There are times where it looks like he’s not doing much. Saturday’s SEC Championship Game had that kind of feel. It just didn’t seem like he was having a huge impact on the game. Florida was hanging around and the Tide seemed to be plodding.
But then when it’s all over and the confetti was falling down on the Crimson Tide after their 29-15 victory over Florida, you look at the stat sheet.
And there it is: 189 yards.
Wow.
And 44 carries, good now for 90 carries in his past two games.
The man, he’s a worker. No doubt about it.
“I don’t know that I’ve coached many players that actually set a better example to affect other people. He doesn’t really do it for himself. He does it for them,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said of Henry.
“(I’ve never coached anyone) that has as much work ethic, that doesn’t get frustrated, can overcome adversity, and really sets the best example every day not only on the field and how he practices and what he does, but how he lives his life, how he goes to school, how he does in class.
“He’s not afraid to tell somebody else that this is a better way to do it. So he is a really good leader, sets a great example. I don’t know that there’s any player on the team that the team means more to them than it does to Derrick.”
Henry, who was named the game’s MVP, has no complaints about all the carries. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. He’d carry it more if Saban asked.
“My main focus is on finishing and helping this team win,” Henry said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to help this team win. Whether it’s me running the ball, catching the ball, or pass blocking, I just want this team to win. It’s a team effort. All the success I’ve had, I credit my teammates and coaches and God, because I couldn’t do it without them.”
When Alabama went ahead 29-7 midway through the fourth quarter, Saban told Henry he was done for the night. But then when Florida scored to make it a two-score game he changed him mind and made Henry a happy guy.
“We needed to get a couple of first downs because it was really a two-score game,” Saban said. “We felt like we needed to take the arrow on offense, and he’s the best guy to do it.
“He wasn’t happy when I told him he wasn’t going to play anymore. But when they scored, he got to play some more, and he was happy. Then he made me happy by the way he played. So everybody was happy.”
Henry has been good all year and he leads the nation in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, but it’s what he did in the last six SEC games that’s been eye-popping.
He went for 236 against Texas A&M, 143 against Tennessee, 210 versus LSU, 204 against Mississippi State and an amazing 271 yards last week in the Iron Bowl against Auburn. And now, after Saturday, he’s had 1,253 yards in six games against quality SEC defenses, an average of 209 yards per game.
His consistency is amazing. He’s scored at least one touchdown in 18 straight games now, dating back to the middle of the 2014 season. He has 23 TDs this year, tied with Tim Tebow and Tre Mason for the conference record. He also broke the single-season rushing record, passing Herschel Walker, Darren McFadden and Mason. He passed Bo Jackson last week.
“They are like my heroes, my football heroes. Growing up and hearing their name and just watching what they did is incredible,” Henry said. “For my name to be mentioned with theirs, it’s an honor and a blessing.”
Henry praised Florida’s defense. We thought it was tough watching him fight for yards? He felt it. The Gators battled.
“I think it’s the best defense that we faced. They’re very physical, very disruptive, very fast on the defensive line,” Henry said.”(They have) athletic linebackers who are very physical and try to knock you out, and they have a good secondary. So I think it’s the best defense that we’ve faced all year.”
The Heisman Trophy vote should be a mere formality now, and no one should be close. That’s on Henry a good bit, but many of his midseason threats for the award either got hurt and tailed off drastically.
There won’t be any flash and dash at the Heisman awards ceremony next week either. He’ll just grab the trophy, thank all the right people and head out the door with the trophy under his arm.
Just one more carry.
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist and author who is covering SEC football for Saturday Down South.
