Alabama Commit Derrick Henry Breaks 59-Year-Old Rushing Record

Yulee (Fla.) High School senior running back and Alabama commit Derrick Henry broke a 59-year-old prep rushing on Friday night, reports MaxPreps.com. Henry surpassed Texas high school football legend Ken Hall’s 11,232-yard mark on a 52-yard scoring run in the second quarter of a Florida State Playoff match-up with Taylor County. Yulee rolled, 41-26, behind Henry’s 482 yards and six touchdowns. It was Henry’s second consecutive 400-plus yard game of 2012, and fourth overall such performance.

Henry now sits at 11,613 career yards, establishing the new benchmark for high school rushing greatness. Might this particular record stand until 2061?

Henry has 50 rushing touchdowns as Yulee moves on in the postseason. To give some perspective of just how impressive that figure is, the most rushing touchdowns any one team in the Bowl Subdivision has this year is Georgia Tech and Louisiana Tech’s 42.

He’s the quintessential Crimson Tide running back — big and strong at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, built more like most teams’ linebackers. Nick Saban will have no shortage of rushing packages at his disposal next season, adding this five star recruit to a backfield that includes current junior Eddie Lacy, and five star 2012 signee TJ Yeldon.

Hall’s career rushing record faced prior challenges in the nearly six decades it stood. One challenger actually surpassed it — this year, no less. Florida recruit Kelvin Taylor broke the record earlier this year, but the Glades Day High School product’s record is unofficial because 1,500 yards were accrued while Taylor was an eighth grader, writes Kevin Askeland.

Taylor and Henry will get to determine running back supremacy on the SEC gridiron soon enough.