The most prestigious individual award in college football is headed to Tuscaloosa. Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry has taken home the award tonight, beating out finalists from Stanford in Christian McCaffery and Clemson in DeShaun Watson.
Henry led all FBS backs with 1986 rushing yards, and 23 touchdowns. It was a historic number as he broke Herschel Walker’s SEC record for rushing yards in a season and tied the SEC record of Tim Tebow and Tre Mason for rushing touchdowns. He also led Alabama to the SEC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff where they will face the Michigan State Spartans on New Year’s Eve.
Henry is the first running back to win the award since Mark Ingram in 2011. He ends a run of quarterbacks winning the Heisman that includes Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, Jameis Winston, and Marcus Mariota.
Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey finished second. He led the country in all-purpose yards with 3,496, including a memorable 461 yard performance against USC in the Pac-12 Championship game. McCaffery’s season led the Cardinal to a berth in the Rose Bowl, where they will face Iowa. McCaffery broke Barry Sanders’ FBS record for total yards in a season.
In third place was Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson, who led his team to an undefeated season, the number 1 ranking in the country, and a College Football playoff spot facing Oklahoma on New Years Eve. Watson completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 3,512 yards and also ran for 887 yards while accounting for 41 total touchdowns.
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Credit: TUSCALOOSA, AL – NOVEMBER 21: Derrick Henry #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide rushes past Zane Cruz #43 of the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 21, 2015 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
