*******************************************************************************************************
Henry, Ragland, Kelly Receive Awards
You might say we're in "Awards Season", that time of year between the end of the regular season and the start of post-season, or bowl games. And, as usual, Alabama Crimson Tide football has more recipients. Running back Derrick Henry, linebacker Reggie Ragland and center Ryan Kelly selected for four separate awards by the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday. The 14 head coaches of the SEC were those who were voting, and the wrinkle was they were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Derrick Henry, who everyone knows is a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, has been named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. Henry rushed for a school and SEC record 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns on 339 carries. He leads the country in both rushing yards and touchdowns, and is second in yards per game. Henry has also achieved 200-plus yards in four games this season, joining Herschel Walker of Georgia and Bo Jackson of Auburn as the only backs in SEC history to do so.
In the SEC Championship Game against Florida last week he was named the MVP of the game after a stellar performances of 189 rushing yards and a touchdown on 45 carries. Henry's streak of consecutive games with at least one rushing touchdown continued to 18 which is the longest active streak in the nation. It is also the most by any player in SEC history.
Reggie Ragland was selected as the SEC Defensive Player of the year. He is a finalist for the Senior CLASS, Nagurski, Butkus and Bednarik awards. He leads the team in tackles with 90, including 6.5 for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 6 pass breakups, 6 quarterback hurries and 2 forced fumbles. He led the team in tackles in 6 games this season, and has been named a Defensive Player of the Week a total of 6 times by the Alabama coaches.
Ryan Kelly, a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, has been named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is also the recipient of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy. He has graded out at an average of 88.4 percent, missed only eight assignments in 948 snaps and had 16 knockdown blocks.
Kelly graduated this past summer with his undergraduate degree in marketing and will be graduating with his master's in the same distinction this Saturday. He has been named to the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll a total of three times, the SEC Freshman Honor Roll and the Dean's List during his time at UA. He holds a 3.75 GPA.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UA 6th On ESPN Recruiting List
Not all schools are created equal. Each has a uniqueness about it. Each has the good and the not-so-good. ESPN has taken a look at each one of the 65 power conference schools and ranked them on recruiting. Their five criteria are geography/recruiting territory, budget, facilities, ability to send players to the NFL as well as they they referred to as "other intangibles."
ESPN found that Georgia heads their list, while Boston College came in last. The University of Alabama came in at number six. No only was Alabama not first from the SEC, it placed third behind Georgia and LSU. Here are the Top 10 according to ESPN:
1 Georgia
2 Ohio State
3 Texas
4 USC
5 LSU
6 ALABAMA
7 Florida
8 Florida State
9 Michigan
10 Oklahoma
When you consider the list, it's phenomenal that Alabama does as well as it does year after year in recruiting. Of course not every school has Nick Saban as its head coach.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-Star Lineman Jeffery Simmons Considering Tide
6'4", 275-pound 4-star recruit Jeffery Simmons out of Noxubee, Mississippi is still considering the University of Alabama as his home after graduating high school. The defensive lineman is ranked the number one prospect from the state of Mississippi and 36th overall according to 247Sports composite rankings.
The young man had 105 tackles, 20.5 of those for loss, as well as 18.5 sacks and 21 hurries. And he did this playing in only 12 of 16 games due to injury.
He lists Mississippi State, Ole Miss, ALABAMA, Auburn and Tennessee as his top schools. Simmons said the school that was the best fit for him is the one he will choose.
