Heisman Trophy Winner 2015: Latest Comments, Reaction to Derrick Henry's Win

As expected, Alabama Crimson Tide junior running back Derrick Henry won the 81st Heisman Trophy Award on Saturday night in New York. Per ESPN.com, Henry received 1,832 points from the voters. 

Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey was second with 1,539 points, and Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson was a distant third with 1,165 points. Alabama Football tweeted this image of their newest Heisman winner:

Henry became just the second player in Crimson Tide history to win the Heisman. The other is current New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram. He sent his congratulations to his Alabama brother via Twitter:

Ingram wasn't the only former Heisman winner to send congratulations to Henry. Check out the love from the Cleveland Browns' Johnny Manziel, Washington's Robert Griffin III and former USC Trojans great Matt Leinart:

Finally, this humble and heartfelt tweet from Henry matched up perfectly with his gracious acceptance speech:

Henry has been Alabama's workhorse. Behind an awesome offensive line, Henry has run for an SEC-record 1,986 yards on 339 carries. In his last two games, Henry has carried the ball 90 times. Some critics may look at the strength of Alabama's defense and O-line and use that to discredit Henry's season.

While there's no question Bama is a sum of its parts, it could easily be argued that no single part is more vital to the Tide's engine than Henry.

McCaffrey would have been a worthy selection had he received the nod. He broke Barry Sanders' single-season record for all-purpose yards. He's at 3,496 total yards, and he and the Cardinal still have a Rose Bowl matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes left. 

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

That said, he was the only finalist whose team didn't qualify for the College Football Playoff. Perhaps team success played a part in the decision. If so, one might wonder how Watson finished third.

His Tigers are 13-0 and the No. 1 team in the nation. However, his campaign for the award seemed to get off to a late start with the media. Until the final five weeks, it was hard to find him on most Heisman trackers. 

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Watson threw for 3,510 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also ran for 887 yards and 11 scores. His all-around game and his team's success still were only good for a third-place finish. Both he and McCaffrey are sophomores who will be top Heisman candidates next season.

Saturday and the 2015 season belonged to Henry.