2015 Heisman Trophy winning running back and collegiate National Champion Derrick Henry will leave the University of Alabama a year early and will enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
According to ESPN’s Joe Schad, Alabama Crimson Tide star running back Derrick Henry will leave Alabama a year early and enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
Alabama RB Derrick Henry, the Heisman Trophy winner, will enter the NFL Draft, source tells ESPN. Henry had 2,219 yards and 28 TDs.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) January 14, 2016
Henry won the 2015 Heisman Trophy and guided the Crimson Tide to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship. Even with one more year of eligibility, it makes sense for Henry to capitalize on his outstanding true junior campaign and enter the 2016 NFL Draft.
Alabama has a strong running back already for 2016 in Kenyan Drake and the Crimson Tide always have studs in the backfield for head coach Nick Saban. Henry is an imposing north and south rushing force and may go in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft on name alone. His durability and second-level speed may elevate his status in this year’s upcoming draft.
He’s not a Todd Gurley or Adrian Peterson-type of physical specimen at running back, but Henry is as good, if not better, than any tailback to play for Saban in Tuscaloosa the last decade. That includes the New Orleans Saints all-purpose former Pro Bowl tailback and 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, Jr.
It was almost a certainty that Henry would enter the NFL Draft a year early as it is near impossible to top his 2015 campaign with the Crimson Tide, winning a Heisman Trophy and a National Title in the same season.
The only questions about Henry at the next level are if he can ever become a decent receiver out of the backfield or if the brutal workload that Saban and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin put on him will tire him out before Draft Day. Regardless, Henry is one of the best running backs in college football in the last decade and somebody will draft him with their first round pick in 2016.