Alabama Football: The Derrick Henry Saga

[Jamos]

When Alabama football is mentioned, excellence is the first word that comes to mind. Bear Bryant was hired in the mid 50's to restore a football program that merely had hit rock bottom. It didn't take Bear long to turn the program around as he installed a tough, no nonsense program that revitalized the Bama faithful and except for a bump in the road after his death, the football program has returned back to the tough no nonsense program it once had, thanks to Nick Saban. Life is wonderful again in T-town as the team battles for yet another national Championship.

The difference in the Bryant years and the now Saban years is that something that all fans wanted back in the Bryant era is now happening, to win a Heisman Trophy. Under the guidance of Nick Saban, Alabama seems to have found the formula for recruiting and signing athletes that have managed to excel on and off the field and have a chance at winning the highly touted trophy with Mark Ingram finally winning the first for the Bama program. Others have been close, namely Trent Richardson, McCarron, and Amari Cooper that followed Ingram but neither could muster enough votes to win the coveted trophy.

Four years ago I happened to be surfing the television channels on a Friday night, trying to find something entertaining to watch and just happened to see a high school football game listed. I thought what the heck so let's see what the game had to offer. As the game started, it was Yulee High School (Yulee,Fla) versus another Florida high school and I think it was for the State Championship and I had no idea as to who was supposed to win. Well it didn't take long to recognize who had the better team because of a running back named Derrick Henry. This young man was a beast running the football and the other team had no answer in stopping him. When the game ended I immediately started researching this phenom of a running back because I had never seen a high school player with so much talent and I wasn't surprised when I looked at his stats. This young man was very special and I only dreamed that maybe Alabama could recruit and get get him to play for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama did recruit and get Henry to join the Crimson Tide and like most fans we expected instant success as a player. As his first season began he wasn't very noticeable as a player to my surprise because I, like many, thought that this beast of a player would come in and make an immediate impact and earn lots of playing time, wrong. Nick Saban has said many times that the young players, especially running backs and receivers, come in and they can all run and catch the ball but how many of them can really play the whole game which includes blocking, tackling, and being in their right place by the play's design? He explained that is why most newcomers are assigned to the special teams because it teaches them so much about the expectations of being a good player and helps the coaches grade them as they progress with their careers.

Derrick Henry's first chance to play was with the special teams which he still plays on today. Bama already had a stable of good running backs with Richardson, Yeldon, and Drake being the core of the team but yet I thought Henry would get some chances of showing his highly touted skills and beat out one of the two and play early in his career as a running back. There were also rumors that he might be moved to the defense because of his size, speed, and aggressiveness. This was not what I had dreamed of when I watched him play in high school and disappointed me very much.

As time went by and Richardson graduated, I then thought this would be the magic moment and Derrick Henry would soon become the big star that I thought he would become, wrong again. He still was behind in the pecking order of the running backs playing behind Kenyon Drake, a truly great running back for the Crimson Tide. Fate has a way of playing it's role in sports and Alabama football is no exception to that rule. Coaches always tell the players on the sidelines that they are only one play away from being needed so always be ready. This was the case with Derrick Henry and his big chance to showcase his abilities that everyone had been waiting on. Kenyon Drake suffered a serious injury in the Ole Miss game and Henry was about to be introduced as the next Alabama phenom at running back.

Henry's chance to play regularly didn't get off to a blazing start as those things that Coach Saban had said earlier in his career about blocking and being in the right place where the play is designed exposed itself. Henry did struggle with his responsibilities but seemed to improve as the season progressed but still he wasn't the player that I thought he would be coming out of high school. His running skills seemed to improve as he got more carries against the tough SEC defenses and the hope of seeing a breakout year this year was imminent as Bama lost in the first round of the playoffs to Ohio State. Drake was still the expected player for Henry to follow this year as he had made an astounding recovery from his devastating injury.

During Spring practice of this year, I attended a practice and the first thing I noticed was the leadership on the field that Henry was showing. He was second in line during the warm up drills behind Drake but he looked every bit as quick as Drake and was showing a leadership about him that hadn't been seen in the years before. Could this be the breakout year for Derrick that everyone had been waiting on? On the first play from scrimmage, the offense was playing against the #1 defense, Derrick ran over the first three tacklers and was finally gang tackled to the ground. I was sitting with a group of friends and we all looked at each other and said yes, this is his year. Derrick had many critics that complained he was slow to the line of scrimmage, easy to tackle if you hit him around his feet, not running to the assigned hole of the play, etc.. I also heard that he wasn't that fast on the Finebaum show and someone was quick to point out how many folks had caught him from behind and the answer was zero. Derrick Henry, the Yulee High School phenom had finally arrived.

Henry has shown he is more than a highly rated football player on and off the field. When he first arrived on the scene at Bama, he announced that he wanted to labeled as a leader on the team and serve on the team's leadership committee of players. It was evident during his three years that he has played for Bama that Derrick was raised in a good home. His good mannerisms just jump out at you but no one really knew much about Derrick and his family life. Recently Derrick's early life was exposed on an SEC special report and really shocked me as well as many others. Having been born to a fifteen year old mother and a sixteen year old father isn't exactly the easy way to start your life. The best than can be hoped for in a situation as that is that there would be someone special to be there for the three of them and this was exactly what happened, his grandmother. In listening to her speak of her surprise of his unexpected birth and the role that she knew she had to play in his upbringing fully explains why Derrick Henry is such a good young man. She told of the many things that she advised him when he was growing up and it is no wonder to me of why he was standing there last night accepting the highest award possible in college football. Derrick knows how to be humble and appreciate all the good things he is now enjoying in his football career because he understands where all of the good teaching that he got came from. To hear him thank all the folks in his life that has made all of this possible was humbling to me. There are so many people that do well in life but never take the time to appreciate the reasons for their success.

Barring any unforeseen reason, I think Derrick has a bright future even after his college days are over and his professional football career. Grandma taught him well and it's good to see his love for her and he'll never forget how he got to where he is today. Good luck Derrick Henry, you have earned everything that you are now enjoying.

There is one more goal for him this year and that is to win another National Championship for his football team and I'm sure that when he left the stage last night, that was weighing heavily on his mind. It's time to take care of some more business, Michigan State.

[ricky023]

  e-cred. First off I am not going to copy your message to mine. I am not worthy of what how you just showed an inspiration. I do however, thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing what I knew but could never have said of my own. Well done my friend and my compliments to you. RTR!

[2Stater]

Well said, J. It's so refreshing to see this young phenom show appreciation to all the people around him. He is indeed, a truly humble person. He will go far in life.

[XBAMA]

Jamos I must say ...
I'd rather read your writing than most of the sports writers out there
hats off my friend

 

lets talk about Yulee ...

last summer I made a new friend when in the off season he came to work
with me .
he was from the same area Derrick is from and played against Derrick in
high school .

I have to say , he one of the most humble individuals I have ever had
the chance to be around .
it's yes sir ,no sir , let me get that for you sir from him all the time
just a upbeat good kid with a wonderful attitude .

he plays for Coach Joey Jones at USA and yes , he is a running back too
when UAB disbanded football he lost his scholarship to a UAB player
didn't phase him at all , his mom was unhappy but he stayed the course

when he came to work for us nobody knew who he was
then he got to me , I started quoting stats and wins from his
high school career  , we became friends instantly .
I started calling him "Uncle Milty" thinking this kid had no idea
who "Uncle Milty" was , well his face lit up the first time I called him that
as it turns out that is what his High School Coach called him
he knew exactly who "Uncle Milty" was

point is , these kids from that area seem to awesome kids
our whole younger generation can take a lesson from them
I am blessed to have been able to spend time with this
exceptional young man , I look forward to this coming off season
when he comes back to work with me ...
 

 

[Catch Prothro]

Great story J, definitely ecred worthy.   


Speaking of Saban and talent, one thing mentioned last night was Bama's dominance in the Heisman polling since Ingram won the Heisman in 2009.  Bama has had several candidates in the top 3 -- AJ McCarron, Richardson, Cooper, and now Henry.  That's 5 players in the top 3 over a 7 year span.  More than Bama had over the entire history of the Heisman prior to Saban.   

[CrimsonCrusader]

Thanks Jamos, the comments at the end cap off the story rather nicely.

[bama57]

 #+Great read! I always look forward to your thoughts!

[SUPERCOACH]

Fantastic post J.  I want to echo what X and some of the others said.  I too would much rather read your articles than anything posted on al.com

[Jamos]

Thanks for all the kind words from you all, an ecred for each of you on the thread.

[XBAMA]

just keep em' coming J man 

[N.AL-Tider]

I agree with everyone's sentiments posted here too.  I can remember back when Awbren had Cadillac Williams thinking, "Why can't Bama get these type of RB's?"  We have now been blessed to enjoy several that were, IMO, better than Williams could even dream of being.  Ingram, Richardson, Lacey, Yeldon, Drake and now Henry.  That is about as impressive string of RB's ever to follow each other on the same team, OUR TEAM!  I am so thankful for the quality performance that each of them has provided to the team and to us fans.  "Exciting to watch" seems so trivial when trying to describe them all...But, each and every one of these fine young men came to Bama, worked hard in the weight room and practice field and then even harder on game-day.  Most importantly though, they all went about doing their job with more determination and desire than I thought possible but they did so with humility.  EVERY ONE OF THESE RB's always gave credit to the O-line they ran behind and the coaching staff as the keys to their success.  In a time where so many of our young people seem to have the attitude that they somehow "deserve" all the acclaim and awards because they are so good it is refreshing to see there are still some young men of character out there and it is even better that they have decided to bless the Crimson Tide Nation with their talents and skills. 

[2Stater]

I agree with everyone's sentiments posted here too.  I can remember back when Awbren had Cadillac Williams thinking, "Why can't Bama get these type of RB's?"  We have now been blessed to enjoy several that were, IMO, better than Williams could even dream of being.  Ingram, Richardson, Lacey, Yeldon, Drake and now Henry.  That is about as impressive string of RB's ever to follow each other on the same team, OUR TEAM!  I am so thankful for the quality performance that each of them has provided to the team and to us fans.  "Exciting to watch" seems so trivial when trying to describe them all...But, each and every one of these fine young men came to Bama, worked hard in the weight room and practice field and then even harder on game-day.  Most importantly though, they all went about doing their job with more determination and desire than I thought possible but they did so with humility.  EVERY ONE OF THESE RB's always gave credit to the O-line they ran behind and the coaching staff as the keys to their success.  In a time where so many of our young people seem to have the attitude that they somehow "deserve" all the acclaim and awards because they are so good it is refreshing to see there are still some young men of character out there and it is even better that they have decided to bless the Crimson Tide Nation with their talents and skills. 

Well said, NALT! E-cred-worthy! 

[XBAMA]

I worked on Cadillac Williams really hard to try to change is mind about which college to attend
even tried to convince his girl friend he was making the wrong choice , I failed big time .

man that seems like 100 years ago 


 

[2Stater]

I worked on Cadillac Williams really hard to try to change is mind about which college to attend
even tried to convince his girl friend he was making the wrong choice , I failed big time .


 

Don't beat yourself up, X. You just didn't have enough cash on you. 

[XBAMA]

I worked on Cadillac Williams really hard to try to change is mind about which college to attend
even tried to convince his girl friend he was making the wrong choice , I failed big time .


 

Don't beat yourself up, X. You just didn't have enough cash on you. 

the pot was sweet just not sweet enough   

he was a great kid would have loved to seen him at BAMA 

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