Heisman Winner Derrick Henry's Top 10 Plays of 2015 Season

Much like he did with a football for the majority of the season, Alabama running back Derrick Henry ran past the rest of the pack to win the 2015 Heisman Trophy Saturday night.

Henry became the second player in Alabama history to win the famous stiff-arming trophy, joining fellow rusher Mark Ingram (2009). He grabbed 378 first-place votes to finish ahead of Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.

No stranger to smashing records, Henry took home the Heisman this year on the back of an SEC-record 1,986 yards in a single season. He also had a national-best 23 rushing touchdowns—two ahead of Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds and four ahead of the next running back on the list, Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott.

Before the Heisman-winning Henry and his Alabama Crimson Tide take on Michigan State in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve, let's take a look back at 10 of his best plays of the regular season.

Of course, with 23 rushing touchdowns and a ridiculous 339 carries this season, not all of Henry's highlights could make this list. Share your favorite plays from Henry's 2015 campaign in the comments below.

10. Breaking Herschel Walker's SEC Record

This is far from Henry's most impressive run of the season, but it definitely deserves mentioning for what it represented in his Heisman campaign.

In the fourth quarter of Alabama's SEC Championship Game victory over Florida, Henry passed legendary Georgia running back Herschel Walker for the most yards in a single season in SEC history.

Henry would finish the game with 1,986 on the season, with two of those coming on a bruising touchdown run in the second quarter that would give the Crimson Tide a lead it would never relinquish.

The star running back carried the ball 44 times against the Gators, which gave him 90 in the final two games of Alabama's regular-season run to a second straight conference title and College Football Playoff berth.

9. Steady Diet of Stiff Arms Against Arkansas

This run is one of the few on the list that didn't go for a touchdown, but it came awfully close thanks to some impressive power and speed from Henry.

In the final minutes of Alabama's home win over Arkansas, the Tide were looking to both work some time off the clock and get in position for another score. Henry gave his team both.

An Arkansas defensive lineman did a great job of breaking through the Alabama offensive front and getting to Henry five yards in the backfield, but the running back greeted the defender with a tremendous stiff arm. Henry bounced away from the defender, shook off another would-be tackler by lowering his shoulder near the 15-yard line and sprinted down the sideline.

Henry was marked just shy of the goal line after this effort, and he punched in the touchdown one play later to keep his record-breaking touchdown streak alive. 

8. Slipping Past Several Tacklers to Kick off Win vs. Tennessee

Henry scored the game-winning touchdown in Alabama's tight home contest with rival Tennessee, but his first score of the afternoon might have been his most impressive highlight of the day.

The Tide had just gotten into the Tennessee red zone when they went Henry's direction. After a superb pulling block by the H-back, Henry showed great vision to cut into the hole and pick up momentum.

A Tennessee defender came in low to try to wrap his arms around Henry's long legs, but he powered through the attempt like it was nothing. When a second Volunteer came from the side to do the same thing, Henry shrugged him off too.

Henry showed time and time again this season that he's nearly unstoppable when he hits full speed, and he did that twice—in quick succession—on this 20-yard scamper for six points.

7. Sidestep and Sprint for Six Past Wisconsin

Henry's second touchdown in a strong season opener against Wisconsin showcased his agility and brilliant speed against a Badgers defense that ranked fourth in the country this season at stopping the run.

Early in the third quarter, with Wisconsin only trailing by a touchdown, the Tide elected to hand the ball off to Henry near midfield. After making one man miss in the backfield, he sidestepped a defender and turned on the jets, beating the rest of the defense for 56 yards and six more points.

"He's an extremely big guy with exceptional speed and explosion," Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson said after the win, per John Talty of AL.com. "It's always fun to get him rolling downhill."

Henry made quite a mark in his first game as Alabama's new No. 1 running back, and this highlight-reel touchdown was one of three that put him on the path to a record-breaking campaign.

6. Putting the Nail in Auburn's Coffin

Henry virtually sealed the Heisman with his Iron Bowl performance against rival Auburn—posting a career-high 271 yards on an unreal 46 carries. His 46th and final carry of the game was the most impressive of the evening in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Alabama was looking to convert a 4th-and-short to finish the Tigers off, and it elected to go with Henry on a handoff from the pistol formation. He showed no signs of exhaustion by slipping through a wave of Auburn defenders near the line of scrimmage and bursting toward the end zone.

The touchdown, just like the one against Arkansas, continued his remarkable streak of consecutive games with a rushing score, and it put even more distance between the Tide and the Tigers.

"He's the go-to guy, and he didn’t want to come out," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said, per Bleacher Report's Christopher Walsh. "My hat's off to him as a competitor. He really inspires everyone on our team—the way he competes and the way he plays, the toughness that he runs with. What a spirit."

5. Taking LSU for a 40-Yard Ride

Henry stole all the Heisman momentum from LSU star Leonard Fournette on one night in November. While the Tide shut down Fournette, Henry ripped through the Tide for 210 yards and three touchdowns.

His longest run of the night didn't find the end zone, but it was still a noteworthy exhibition of his moves and speed in the second level.

Henry made a nice cutback in the backfield and weaved his way through traffic before locking horns with LSU safety Jamal Adams. Even though he was stumbling when he first made contact with Adams, Henry kept him at bay with stiff arm after stiff arm. All Adams could do was hang on for the ride, one that took him just outside his own end zone.

The Alabama star scored from two yards out on the second play, giving Alabama its first touchdown of the game and a 9-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The Tide would go on to beat the then-No. 2 Tigers by 14 and snatch their spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.

4. Powering Alabama to a Strong Start Against Wisconsin

Henry's first of 23 touchdowns in the regular season came on a rather tense moment in the season opener against Wisconsin. Alabama went for a 4th-and-short inside Wisconsin territory and gave the ball to its junior running back.

Wisconsin was ready for the run up the gut from Henry, as ESPN's Chris Fowler says in his call of the play. But even with two defenders draped around his legs, Henry powered through and went untouched into the end zone.

"You knew from that moment on it was going to be a special season," Alabama center Ryan Kelly said, per Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com. "Every game he plays, he is more deserving of [the Heisman Trophy] each week."

Henry found the end zone two more times in that game, taking just 13 carries for 147 yards—by far his best performance in terms of yards per touch. On the first Saturday of the season, Henry was a runaway train through the heart of Wisconsin's powerful defense.

3. 74 Yards and a Cloud of Dust

In terms of highlight-reel plays, Henry's best performance of the season had to be his 22-carry, 204-yard game against Mississippi State. (Spoiler alert: Both of his touchdowns from that game made the top three of this list.)

Mississippi State was hanging in there with Alabama midway through the second quarter and had just gotten its first points of the afternoon when Henry took a handoff from his own 26 on 3rd-and-9.

Henry exploded through the lane opened up by the Alabama offensive line to pick up enough yardage for the first down, but he wasn't done just yet. When his cleats first hit the paint of Mississippi State's midfield logo, Henry made a subtle cut and delivered a stiff arm that sent a Bulldogs defender literally bouncing off the turf.

From that point on, it was a footrace with some of the fastest men on the field—the Mississippi State defensive backs. They were no match for Henry, though, as he pulled away from the pack to put up Alabama, 20-3. That was the beginning of the end for the home team in Starkville.

2. Untouched for 55 Yards and a 13-0 Lead in College Station

Henry's first touchdown of what would then become a career performance against Texas A&M featured one of his most devastating moves of the season. He didn't use a bone-jarring stiff arm to break free, though—he used an ankle-breaking cut.

Standing inside his own half of the field, Henry received a handoff after some pre-play motion. By the time he got past the line of scrimmage, CBS commentator Verne Lundquist was already shouting in the Kyle Field press box.

Henry crossed midfield running toward his right and saw Texas A&M safety Armani Watts tracking him. With one step back toward the middle of the field, he got the Aggie off-balance. Watts soon found himself crawling after Henry, who went soaring untouched for a 55-yard touchdown.

"I've gotten to where I don't get too surprised anymore," Alabama quarterback Jake Coker said of Henry's juke, per Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. "You see him doing things like that all the time."

1. Defying Geometry vs. Mississippi State

This Henry touchdown run wasn't his longest or his most important. In fact, the game against Mississippi State was already well in hand by the time he took the handoff for this 65-yard touchdown run. But that doesn't mean it wasn't ridiculous to watch unfold.

Henry sidestepped a defender and stiff-armed his way past another before getting to the line of scrimmage. Once there, he turned upfield and went into overdrive against the rest of the Bulldogs defense.

Mississippi State defensive back Kivon Coman appeared to have the perfect angle to knock Henry out of bounds. But Henry somehow picked up even more speed, sent Coman flailing into the turf behind him and sped into the end zone for the fourth-quarter score.

This run had it all from Henry—power to get free from the defense, speed to fly down the sideline, acceleration to find another burst and strength to prevent a shoestring tackle. He took Coman's ideal angle for a stop and bent it into the ground. It was the perfect example of a Heisman moment.

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.