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Derrick Henry Becomes 81st Heisman Trophy Recipient
Graphic/Photo Credit: RollTide.com
"I'm a little nervous, I don't do this every day," were the first words uttered at the podium by the winner of the 81st Heisman Memorial Trophy. The next were, "First off I just want to thank God..."
University of Alabama junior running back Derrick Henry became the second Heisman Trophy Winner in Crimson Tide history last night. Henry was presented the prestigious award at PlayStation Theatre in Times Square in New York yesterday evening in a live telecast on ESPN. Henry's 1,832 total points beat out Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and third place Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Alabama's head football coach, Nick Saban, gave Henry a standing ovation as the young man walked off the state. Throughout the acceptance speech Saban was beaming with pride for his young, humble and thankful running back.
Henry became choked up shortly into his speech. He congratulated and complimented the other two finalists and said he was sure he would see them in New York again next year. Henry then thanked his family, teammates, coaching staff, administration and others. It was moving when Henry thanked his grandmother who was in the hospital, and told her he loved her "so much" and could feel her "in spirit."
Of course Henry thanked his head coach, calling him a great ambassador. He said Saban believed in him by recruiting him and bringing him to the University of Alabama. Henry said you can learn a lot from Saban, and called him loyal, and said he would always challenge the individuals on the team. He told Saban from the podium, "I love you coach, man. Without you I wouldn't be here today."
2009 was the last year a running back has won the Heisman, and that one went to another University of Alabama running back, Mark Ingram, who was the first to don the Crimson and White to take the coveted award. Henry is also the first junior running back to win the award since Rashaan Salaam of Colorado did it in 1994.
The Yulee, Florida native has had a phenomenal season for the Crimson Tide. He has rushed this season for 1,986 yards on 339 carries and scored 23 touchdowns in just his first year as a starter. He broke the single-season rushing record at Alabama as well as the SEC single-season rushing record. Henry leads the country in rushing yards and touchdowns and is currently second in yards per game at 152.8. Henry has nine 100-yard rushing games this season, tying the record held by Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. He has four games this season of over 200 yards, joining Georgia's Herschel Walker and Auburn's Bo Jackson as the only three running backs in Southeastern Conference history to do so. Henry is tied for the lead in the all-time SEC single-season rushing touchdowns at 23 with Tim Tebow of Florida (2007) and Auburn's Tre Mason (2013). (Considering that both Tebow and Mason's 23 include bowl games, Henry has a chance to be the lone record-holder with at least one game remaining this season.) Henry also owns the longest active streak in the nation by virtue of scoring at least one touchdown in 18 consecutive games, which is also the most by any player in SEC history.
Henry is a first team All-American selection by the Walter Camp Foundation and USA Today, the 2015 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as well as selected to the first team All-SEC voted on by the conference head coaches. He is also the winner of the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award. Only three other players in college football history have won all four awards in the same season. Henry is now officially the "most-decorated" player in Crimson Tide history.
Henry has played in 36 games during his career, posting 547 rushing attempts for 3,358 yards and 37 touchdowns. He is currently third on the Crimson Tide's career rushing list and fourth in rushing touchdowns.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Julie Jacobson
Heisman Trophy Winner Derrick Henry & Coach Nick Saban
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Crimson Tide Women's Baketball Wins 78-66
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The University of Alabama women's basketball team (8-1) continued its winning ways yesterday afternoon defeating the Georgetown Hoyas (6-3) 78-66 at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa. Bama remains unbeaten at home thus far in the young 2015-16 campaign.
The Tide had a season high nine three-point baskets on the night, electrifying the crowd with all the "downtown" shots. Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said, "I thought our crowd was really good today. I appreciate everybody coming out midday, on Saturday, in Christmas shopping and so many different activities, to support us. I
thought they were huge down the stretch. They really got into the game.
I appreciate everyone coming out."
Hannah Cook led Bama with a season-high 22 points on the afternoon, and also shot a career-best six three-point baskets. Quanetria Bolton also had a team-best and career-best night herself, pulling down 12 rebounds and pumping in 13 points for her third double-double of the season.
Curry said, "It was a great game against a great Big East team that's beaten a
Virginia Tech [team] that upset Tennessee. It was just a
quality game for us today to see how we were going to respond. I loved
our response to it. As the game went, we got better. I thought we got
more physical. I thought we rebounded the ball better. Defensively, we
were active, and that was good to see. As the game goes, we have to
continue to go with it and improve with each possession. I thought there
were critical possessions that we were able to get some stops and make
plays offensively."
Alabama was 25-of-62 from the floor, including 9-of-19 from beyond the arc. Georgetown was 27-of-70 and just 3-of-15 from three-point land. The Crimson Tide led in rebounds on the day, 48-36, and was 19-of-24 on free throws.
Next up for the Tide is North Florida at home on December 14th. This is Bama's annual 5th Grade Fastbreak Contest and will be held at Coleman Coliseum. The game can be seen on the SEC Network+ and begins at 11:30 a.m. CT.
Photo Credit: Crimson Cabert Photo/Daniel Melograna
Photo Credit: Crimson Cabert Photo/Daniel Melograna
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Alabama Men's Basketball
Alabama Faces Clemson Tonight
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
One remaining road game remains to be played in a grueling five-game road stretch for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. Bama plays the Clemson Tigers in Greenville, South Carolina this afternoon at 5 p.m. CT.
Alabama's last game was nine days ago when they defeated Southern Miss on the road 58-55 on December 4th. This team will attempt to become the first Bama team to win four consecutive road non-conference games since the 2001-02 season.
Today's game will be broadcast on ESPNU, with Mike Morgan handling the play-by-play duties and Paul Biancardi providing color. Also broadcasting the game will be the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart and Bryan Passink calling the game.
