Notre Dame arrives at the Rose Bowl with a loss and a ton of confidence, but faces its biggest challenge yet in football from Nick Saban and Alabama.
With the venue being AT&T Stadium on Friday at 3 pm CT, there is a former Crimson Tide student who remembers the show he performed in Arlington, Texas. During the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve in 2015, Derrick Henry added another chapter to his incredible Heisman season. He recorded two straight touchdowns against Michigan State in the 38-0 victory for Alabama.
RB Derrick Henry celebrates TD’s 2015 Cotton Bowl race between Alabama and Michigan: photo by Cedric Mason – Touchdown Alabama Magazine
For the player who won the College Football Awards show that year, it’s no surprise that Henry is taking his Alma mater to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
When it comes to the semifinal, he told Will Backus of Tennessean (part of USA TODAY) that the Heisman’s finalists for Tide will have flashy numbers. This comes in the wake of Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame’s sophomore security guard, declaring during media availability about how his defense ‘will stop’ Najee Harris and Alabama.
“(Running back from Alabama) Najee (Harris) goes for five touchdowns and 200 yards,” said Henry. “(Quarterback) Mac Jones shoots 500 yards and four touchdowns, and (wide receiver) DeVonta Smith makes about 170 yards and three touchdowns.”
In the SEC championship game against Florida, Jones totaled 418 passing yards with five scores, Harris had 245 yards in total (178 runs, 67 receiving) with five touchdowns and Smith recorded 15 receptions for 184 yards and two scores in one win 52-46 for Alabama.
Henry also wants Smith to win the Heisman Trophy. The senior may become the second recipient since Desmond Howard (Michigan) in 1991 to lift the honor. He is an All-American consensus and the Associated Press Player of the Year.
Smith is the first player to win the AP Player of the Year.
12/19/20 MFB Alabama vs Florida
Wide receiver Alabama DeVonta Smith (6)
Picture from CrimsonTidePhotos
“He definitely deserves it,” said Henry. “The curriculum speaks for itself. … It would be nice to see him take that trophy home, be the third Alabama player to beat Heisman. I’m excited for him. “
Through 11 games, Smith has 98 receptions for 1,511 yards and 19 total scores.
Henry became Tide’s Heisman’s second winner after a season in which he managed 2,219 running yards and 28 touchdowns in 395 runs in 2015. Before Najee Harris overtook him, Henry set Alabama’s all-time record in yards career (3,591) and shared the record touchdown (42) with Mark Ingram. He was selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans and became arguably the best running back in the National Football League.
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Stephen M. Smith is the editor-in-chief and senior editor at Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” it on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith
