Derrick Henry shattered SEC records with 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns, dominating defenses and carrying Alabama to a national championship.
Some numbers in college football feel big.
Then there’s 2,219.
That’s how many rushing yards Derrick Henry put up in 2015, still the single-season SEC record.
In the most physical conference in America. Against NFL-loaded defenses. Over the grind of a full SEC schedule plus championship and playoff games.
And if that wasn’t enough?
He added 28 rushing touchdowns.
Twenty-eight.
Let’s call it what it is: that’s absurd.
In 2015, Henry didn’t just have a great season, he carried Alabama to a national championship.
Everyone in the stadium knew the game plan.
Defensive coordinators knew it.
Fans knew it.
The opposing sideline knew it.
And it didn’t matter.
Henry ran for over 100 yards in 11 straight games. He averaged nearly 170 yards per game. He handled 395 carries, almost unheard of in today’s college football landscape.
That’s not just volume.
That’s durability.
That’s toughness.
That’s trust from the coaching staff to hand him the ball over and over again in the biggest moments.
And he delivered every single time.
Think about the defenses he faced... LSU, Auburn, Georgia, Florida, all stacked with future pros. Week after week, he lined up against eight and nine-man boxes.
Teams sold out to stop him.
He kept coming anyway.
At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Henry wasn’t just big. He was relentless. He wore defenses down. By the fourth quarter, you could see it, defenders didn’t want to tackle him anymore. What started as solid hits in the first quarter turned into arm tackles and business decisions late in the game.
And those 28 touchdowns? They weren’t cheap ones. Many came in the red zone when everyone knew what was coming.
Alabama didn’t hide it.
They leaned into it.
“Here it is. Stop it.”
Most couldn’t.
In today’s era of running back committees, quarterback runs, and pass-heavy offenses, it’s hard to imagine someone even getting the opportunity to chase 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns. The game has changed. The workload has changed.
But the record hasn’t.
It still belongs to Derrick Henry.
And that’s what makes it legendary. Not just the raw numbers, but where and how he did it.
In the SEC.
In the spotlight.
With the pressure of championship expectations every single week.
2,219 rushing yards.
28 touchdowns.
A Heisman Trophy.
A national title.
That season wasn’t just special.
It became the measuring stick.
Every great running back that comes through Alabama, every SEC star who starts climbing toward 1,500… 1,800… even 2,000 yards, gets compared to one number: 2,219.
That’s the bar.
That’s the standard Derrick Henry left behind.
And nearly a decade later, nobody has touched it.
Roll Tide.