Derrick Henry Dubbed the ‘Greatest RB’ in Alabama Crimson Tide’s Modern Era as Ravens Star Cherishes Playing Under Nick Saban

One of the hottest trades that happened recently was Derrick Henry being shipped off to the Baltimore Ravens. He had a subpar 2023 season. But, his connections with the Ravens GM and VP Eric DeCosta and the Ravens atmosphere helped the trade to go much smoother. Now, as the teams are shaping up, there is a lot of anticipation surrounding the Ravens as well, particularly how Henry would pair with Lamar Jackson in the coming times.

The RB is an Alabama Crimson Tide alumni and broke a couple of franchise records in his tenure with the team including Sean Alexander’s record for NFL rushing yards by a former Alabama player in the last season against the Jaguars. Upon finding this out, Ryan Clark dubbed Henry as the best RB to come out of Crimson Tide. To which, Derrick Henry had a humble response ready.

Derrick Henry tries to justify Ryan Clark’s claims

Clark asked Henry, “Are you the best running back that played at Alabama?” The question got the Ravens RB pondering and he chose to be modest about it. He motioned that though he made his mark, his first two years were nothing but subpar performances. He still feels like Sean Alexander is the greatest RB to come out of Alabama.

Henry added that apart from Alexander, Mark Ingram is the one who set the benchmark for the greatest RBs. Ingram, the Heisman winner RB had his most noticeable time playing under Nick Saban. Ryan Clark did not seem satisfied with Henry’s modesty and pointed out that Henry is the greatest RB, just because his numbers are superior.

“I’m going say this you’re the greatest Alabama running back of the modern era that is my full opinion now cutting on the film or sitting at my house as an LSU fan the running back from Alabama that I thought was the scariest was Trent Richardson,” said Ryan Clark before he started to draw comparisons between Henry and Trent Richardson. His assessment might hold some truth to it.

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The Ravens’ new RB-his impressive numbers, and time under Nick Saban

Both Henry and Richardson played 3 seasons with the Tide. Richardson had 3,130 total rushing yards in his Alabama career, amassing 35 touchdowns in his time. When we talk about Henry, his numbers speak volumes for themselves. He had a total of 3,591 rushing yards in his college career with 42 touchdowns to account for.

Also, Henry won the 2020 Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. He has 9,502 rushing yards in his NFL career so far and is second in the franchise, with 93 touchdowns. Additionally, the 30-year-old was named the Alabama Pro Athlete of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association in 2020. Upon receiving this honor, Henry couldn’t hold back from mentioning his time under Nick Saban, the now retired coach of Alabama, and how much he cherishes it.

Derrick Henry said, “It’s an honor to be named the Alabama Pro Athlete of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. The time I spent playing football for Coach (Nick) Saban and the Crimson Tide were some of the best of my life, and I will always cherish my teammates, coaches and the fans who made my career at Alabama so memorable.”

This reflected the bond he shared with the team and as many analysts have remarked, Henry is a strong team player and his numbers vouch for his talent.

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