Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry honored in Yulee

Photo by Jef Bohn
November 18, 2019

Editor’s Note: On November 15, the 2015 Heisman Tropy winner Derrick Henry was honored in his hometown of Yulee, Florida. We thank Jef Bohn, a noted local sports fan, for providing this photo and we extend our congratulations to Derrick Henry and his family.

Yulee welcomes Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. Photo courtesy of Jef Bohn

An impressive list of Derrick Henry’s accomplishments outlined in Wikipedia follows:

“Derrick Lamar Henry Jr.[1][2] (born January 4, 1994) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Titans. In December 2015, he broke Herschel Walker’s single-season college rushing yards record in the SEC. He won the 2015 Heisman Trophy, as well as the Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award, and the Walter Camp Award. Henry holds the national high school footballrecord for career rushing yards.
Early years[edit]

Henry attended Yulee High School in Yulee, Florida, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball, and track. He played as a running back for the Yulee Hornets football team.[3] He ran for 2,465 yards and 26 touchdowns as a freshman in 2009. He was named a first-team All-Coast at running back in 2010 after rushing for 2,788 yards and 38 touchdowns while averaging 8.9 yards per attempt. He rushed for 2,610 yards and 34 scores as a junior in 2011 to earn first-team All-Coast honors from the Florida Times-Union. He set the Florida high school record with a 510-yard performance against Jacksonville Jackson and averaged 9.2 yards per carry and 327.8 yards per game as a senior, finishing the season with a state-record 4,261 yards and 55 touchdowns.[4] He finished his high school football career with 12,124 career rushing yards, which broke Ken Hall’s career record.[5][6] He also rushed for 153 career touchdowns. His career touchdown totals rank fifth all-time. In four years at Yulee he never rushed for less than 100 yards.[7] He played for the East squad in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he rushed for 53 yards with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.[8][9]

As a track & field athlete, Henry competed as a sprinter at Yulee from 2010 to 2011. He posted a personal-best time of 11.11 seconds in the 100-meter dash at the 2011 FHSAA 2A District 3 Championships, where he placed seventh.[10] He was also a member of the 4×100 and 4×400 squads.[11]

Considered a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, Henry was listed as the No. 1 athlete (player with no designated position) in the nation in 2013.[12] After originally committing to the University of Georgia, Henry committed to the University of Alabama on September 28, 2012.[13]He held offers from schools like Tennessee, Notre Dame, Florida, and Clemson.[14] His number was eventually retired by Yulee.

Bio: Henry’s late grandmother, Gladys Henry, helped raise him and played a key inspirational role in his development. In 2018, he fulfilled a promise to her and graduated from Alabama in May 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.”