JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – When Derrick Henry left Yulee High School for Alabama, he said that he wanted to “put Yulee on the map.” It’s safe to say mission accomplished. Yulee may not have a town council, a mayor, or even a real downtown but they now have Heisman winner.
Henry took home the most coveted honor in all of college sports Saturday night.
The junior running back has had a monster season. He broke Herschel Walker’s SEC rushing record with 1,986 yards and his 23 rushing touchdowns is tops in the country.
Henry also became the first non-quarterback to win the Heisman since 2009. The last person to do so also carried the ball out of the Alabama backfield, Mark Ingram.
Stanford's do-it-all running back Christian McCaffrey was the runner-up, making it four second-place finishes for Cardinal players in seven seasons.
Deshaun Watson, quarterback of No. 1 Clemson, finished third.
It was the closest Heisman voting since Ingram won by the slimmest margin ever, but still a comfortable victory for Henry. He received 1,832 points, 293 more than McCaffrey (1,539). Watson received the third-most points for a third-place finisher with 1,165.