SEC Football history: 50 best players of all time
By Brad Weiss
Mark Ingram. 26. player. 829. . RB. Crimson Tide
26. Best SEC football players of all time: Mark Ingram, Alabama football
Long before he was a hype man for Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram was a Heisman Trophy-winning running back for the Alabama Crimson Tide. The son of a former NFL player, Ingram arrived with the Crimson Tide for the 2008 college football season, but would really make his impact the following season.
Ingram was a backup to Glen Coffee as a freshman, playing enough to earn SEC All-Freshman Team honors. In 2009 as the feature back he would have one of the better statistical seasons in conference history, passing Bobby Humphrey for the most rushing yards in a single-season all-time.
Also, Ingram would take home the sport’s top honor, winning the Heisman Trophy. Not only did he become the youngest player to win the Heisman, but he also became the first player since Tony Dorsett in 1976 to lead his team to a national title, and to win the Heisman Trophy in the same season.
A knee injury would hinder him as a junior, and he would leave school after the 2010 campaign, but still finished with over 3,200 yards and 42 touchdowns in only 24 starts. A first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints, Ingram is a three-time Pro Bowler at the NFL level.