Nick Saban deserves criticism for Derrick Henry’s excessive workload against Auburn
Derrick Henry was spectacular against Auburn on Saturday but 46 rushes is too many for one college player
Derrick Henry is deserving of every accolade he receives following his brilliant 46-carry, 271-yard performance in the Iron Bowl against Auburn. Alabama head coach Nick Saban, on the other hand, deserves to field some tough questions regarding the overuse of his talented tailback.
Saban undoubtedly saw riding Henry with a ton of carries as the best route to beat Auburn and keep Alabama’s national championship hopes alive. Anyone who saw the Tide’s offensive game plan against the Tigers wouldn’t argue against that. Being a coach is about more than just winning one game though. Saban is responsible for the wellbeing and future of all of his players. He took that important responsibility for granted on Saturday night.
Forty-six carries is too many for a player like Henry, who has a potentially lucrative NFL career ahead of him. There is a ton of data out there regarding the number of carries NFL running backs can handle before their careers fall off a cliff. While college carries and NFL carries don’t have the same effect on a player, it’s still absurd to subject a potential NFL star to 46 in one game. It’s too much of a beating for one player to take in one game, and Saban should know better.
In this era of concern over player safety it’s amazing few are questioning Saban over his use of Henry. The sporting public explicitly understands the dangers of blows to the head, but can’t seem to grasp the concept of body blows. The hits that running backs take often aren’t the extraordinary car crashes we see with defenseless wide receivers over the middle, but their cumulative effect is obvious. Running backs are taking repeated jabs where wide receivers receive the occasional upper cut.
It’s not as if Auburn’s defense is small and incapable of dealing substantial blows to Henry. While they certainly couldn’t stop him on the day, they have plenty of big defenders who repeatedly brought Henry down. It doesn’t matter how big or in shape Henry is, the repetition of having hundreds of pounds in defenders carry you to the ground is taxing.
In Major League baseball we crucify managers who ignore the negative effects of high pitch counts. Where is the outrage when it comes to football running backs? Do we really think that the snap of too many curve balls is worse than dozens of extra tackles? That seems naive, to put it lightly.
Nick Saban will continue to get blue chip talent to Tuscaloosa because of his program’s prestige and his own reputation. He’s a great football coach who boasts an exemplary win-loss record and a proven ability to get his players ready for an NFL career. You have to wonder though if eventually he’ll start to lose running backs who worry about the draconian workload.
Saban should be roundly criticized for his handling of Henry in the Iron Bowl. It will go down as one of the greatest single game performances in the storied rivalry, but it might also cut Derrick Henry’s professional career short.