Recruiting: How last 10 Heisman Trophy winners ranked as recruits

Derrick Henry – 2015 Heisman Winner

Two years later, there are still people who believe that Derrick Henry’s Heisman should’ve belonged to Christian McCaffrey. However, even that crowd has to acknowledge that Henry had a terrific college career. Despite running behind T.J. Yeldon in 2014, he still had 13 touchdowns. Then in the following year, as the starter, he put up 28.

He was the first non-quarterback to win the Heisman since Mark Ingram, who coincidentally also went to Alabama. In addition to the Heisman, he also won the Doak Walker, Maxwell, and Walter Camp awards. He broke Shaun Alexander’s record for most career rushing yards at Alabama, as well as Herschel Walker’s single-season SEC record for rushing yards. And he capped it off in style with a National Championship win over Clemson.

Unlike Lamar Jackson, Henry was a highly touted running back in high school. He went to school in his hometown of Yulee where he played football, baseball, and track. But when he chose to play football, he put up 26 rushing touchdowns in his freshman year. He got better every year, and in his senior season, he had 55 rushing touchdowns. In four years at high school, he also finished with 12,124 yards.

Here are his best highlights from his last season at Yulee:

Naturally, Henry turned heads, which is why he was a five-star recruit with a composite ranking of No. 12 in the nation. And even though Alabama is notorious for recruiting their stars early, they got Henry after he de-committed from his original choice of Georgia – oh well, at least they got Todd Gurley.

However, while he was at Alabama, there was no denying his talent. And as a 45th overall pick, he’s looking like a steal for the Tennessee Titans. He would’ve had more opportunities if DeMarco Murray hadn’t played so well. But if Murray ever suffers an injury, or decides to move on, Henry will no doubt be ready to step into the starting role with the “next man up” mentality.