by: Alex Byington 30 minutes ago _AlexByington
Derrick Henry is one game into his 10th NFL season and has been nothing short of a generational talent, amassing an eye-popping 11,592 rushing yards and 108 rushing touchdowns in that span. Of course, what’s even more amazing is the fact that the Baltimore Ravens ‘ five-time Pro Bowl running back is still 532 yards shy of what he accomplished in four seasons at small Yulee High in Northeast Florida.
A hulking terror in the 4A Hornets’ backfield as a high school senior in 2012, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Henry signed with Alabama as the No. 1 running back in the 2013 recruiting cycle after eclipsing a still-record 12,124 rushing yards and 153 touchdowns over his four-year prep career at Yulee High.
Despite that production, some collegiate coaches infamously wanted Henry to make a position change to defense, at either linebacker or eventually defensive end. Well, everyone but Nick Saban to hear him tell it.
“The amazing thing about this — and I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus here so I won’t mention any names — but you can go back and see who all was recruiting him, and nobody but us said you can play running back. Can you believe that?” Saban said Friday during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “They were talking about the guy being an outside ‘backer, they’re talking about him being this and that, because he’s tall and long and doesn’t fit the real sort of running back style that people look for. I said, ‘Hell, this guy is hard to tackle, he’s fast, he’s got a great stiff-arm. … Why can’t he play running back?’ I don’t care if he looks a little different from some of the other guys. So I said: ‘Look, man, we’re recruiting you as a running back and you can do whatever you want to do.’”
As history would indicate, that was a wise decision on Saban’s part. “King Henry,” as he’s been known since high school, would go on to win the 2015 Heisman Trophy with an NCAA-leading 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns on 395 carries while leading the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff national championship in his junior season. Henry finished his Alabama career with 3,591 rushing yards and 45 total touchdowns in three seasons in Tuscaloosa.