The Legend of Derrick Henry Grows with Record-Setting National Title Performance

Barring a surprise, Alabama's 2016 national championship win over Clemson in Arizona was likely running back Derrick Henry's last game in a Crimson Tide uniform. The 6'3", 242-pound monster who towered over former 'Bama running back Mark Ingram Jr. (5'9", 215 lbs) in the pregame coin toss is expected to declare for the NFL draft. 

Yet, Monday's game wasn't even close to being Henry's best performance. The 2015 Heisman Trophy winner wasn't the difference-maker in Alabama's 45-40 victory at all. 

Henry was solid; make no mistake about that. Rushing for 158 yards and three touchdowns is nothing to dismiss. However, Henry had just 30 yards in the second half and never broke off a run longer than five yards in that span. 

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

If you can believe it, the team's "non-stars" won its latest championship: quarterback Jake Coker, who went 16-of-25 for 335 yards and two touchdowns; tight end O.J. Howard, who had five catches for a career-best 208 yards and two touchdowns; and Henry's backup, Kenyan Drake, who had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

You know, blue-chip recruits like Henry who were far less heralded this season. 

But the legend of Henry grew in Alabama lore all the same. The running back built like a linebacker broke Shaun Alexander's school record for career rushing yards during the third quarter. Alexander had 3,565 yards in his four-year career in Tuscaloosa, according to Sports Illustrated. Henry, obviously, needed only three years to eclipse that number.

Alexander, by the way, was on the sidelines to watch it all happen: 

It was the latest milestone to fall to Henry in a year of rewritten records.

During the SEC title game against Florida in December, Henry broke the single-season SEC rushing record previously held by Herschel Walker (1,891 yards). Henry needed only 323 carries to surpass Walker's mark. In 1981, Walker needed 385 carries to set that record. 

The week before that, against Auburn, Henry broke Alabama's single-season rushing record previously held by Trent Richardson, who rushed for 1,679 yards in 2011. Among the records Henry broke in 2015 are Alabama’s single-season rushing touchdowns record (previous record: 21) and single-game rushing attempts record (previous record: 42). 

None of that includes his national high school career rushing record, which he set at Yulee High School in Florida in 2012. 

And now, he can add a national title to his resume in addition to being the FBS rushing leader: 

In short, Henry will go down as one of the most accomplished backs to ever pass through Alabama. His 2015 effort is easily the most decorated in program history. Seeing as the Tide have churned out stellar running backs like an assembly line lately, that's saying something. 

Alabama certainly wasn't afraid to use Henry. No running back this season had more attempts. After the Tide used him more sparsely in September, Henry averaged around 28 carries per game in October and November. That number jumped up to 32 carries per game in December (though his 44 carries against Florida skew the stat slightly). Against the Tigers on Monday, Henry had 36 carries. 

As offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin joked before the Cotton Bowl against Michigan State, the goal for the Tide was to feed their bruising running back. Kiffin said, "Hopefully we give the ball to Derrick more than" Ohio State turned to Ezekiel Elliott (12 carries) vs. the Spartans: 

And feed him, they did. In time, how Henry is viewed in Alabama history will have greater context. He might not be projected as the best pro to ever come through the program—B/R draft guru Matt Miller has Henry as a mid-third-round selection—but he is among the most productive. 

No, Henry did not have his greatest night against Clemson. That he was able to endear himself to Tide fans all the same further cements his place in the program's illustrious history. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead college football writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com unless noted otherwise.