College football: Ranking every Heisman Trophy winner
By Brad Weiss
31. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Derrick Henry, Alabama Crimson Tide football
The history of SEC Football is lined with incredible stars, guys who not only dominated the college football landscape but became immortal players, enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Throughout the history of the conference, we have also seen so many incredible running backs, including the likes of Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson.
However, it was a 6-foot-3, 242 pound running back that broke the conference’s single-season rushing record back in 2015 for Alabama, leading to him taking home the Heisman Trophy. Derrick Henry has always been big enough to run over the defense, and after splitting carries with T.J. Yeldon in 2014, he took over as the feature back, putting together one of the more impressive seasons in SEC history.
The winner of the Heisman, Doak Walker, Walter Camp, and Maxwell, Henry rushed for 1,986 yards that season, while also tying a conference record with 23 touchdowns. He became the second member of the Alabama Crimson Tide to take home a Heisman Trophy, and the first running back to it since the last Crimson Tide winner, Mark Ingram back in 2009. His four 200-yard games matched a feat only accomplished by the aforementioned Walker and Jackson.
2365. . RB. Black Knights. Glenn Davis. 30. player
30. Ranking every Heisman Trophy Winner: Glenn Davis, Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights were the dominant program back in the 1940s, and the running back tandem of Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis was the best there was. With Blanchard as “Mr. Inside,” winning a Heisman in 1944, and Davis as “Mr. Outside,” winning his Heisman in 1946, this was a team that was literally impossible to beat.
From 1944 through the 1946 college football seasons, the Army Black Knights won three national titles, and with those two leading the way in the backfield, they posted a 27-0-1 record. While you take a second to wrap your mind around that, let us look at Davis’ Heisman Trophy-winning season, a year that was not even his best by his standards, but still landed him the Heisman over Georgia star Charley Trippi, and teammate Blanchard.
Davis did a little bit of everything on the offensive side of the ball that season, rushing for over 700 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also throwing and receiving over 300 yards apiece. The Senior running back would not only go down as one of the best players in Army history but also is considered one of the greatest all-around college football players of all-time.