Welcome to the another edition of LET US DELIGHT IN, a weekly feature in which we, well, delight in the performance of a particular football player from the previous weekend. This week, we are delighting in the performance of El Tractorcito, Alabama running back Derrick Henry.
For weeks, I've tried to avoid this. I've tried to avoid saying nice things about Alabama because, I mean, no shit. They're good. I've tried to highlight the efforts of players who aren't among the country's biggest names. It's a big, insane world out there, and it's full of really fun football players worthy of praise.
But congratulations, Alabama. Just like the rest of teams you've flattened this year, you've worn me down. I'm here to say nice things about el tractorcito asombroso, Derrick Henry.
Henry came into the season with a lot of hype. I mean, he's a 6'2, 242 pound Na'vi that's been intermittently pounding chumps into the hard earth for years now. But this is his first year as Alabama's primary back, and he's grabbed the damn thing by the haunches. The first six weeks of the season or so were up and down, but he's been incredible for the past month.
Over the past four games, Henry is averaging over 198 yards per game, and he has nine touchdowns during that stretch. His performance against Mississippi State on Saturday may have been his best of the season, going for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, averaging out to 9.3 yards per carry. When he wasn't ripping off huge runs, and frequently during those runs as well, he was still dishing out his trademark brand of violence. He can also control Lane Kiffin's body.
Lane in the background throwin' ghost stiff arms pic.twitter.com/LKiCXDJShX
— Bam (@BigBam3) November 15, 2015
A running back of this type being on Alabama simply shouldn't happen. He's too perfect of a fit for an offense that still prefers to bludgeon teams into a fine paste, even if they've slowly added spread concepts over the years. Even watching on television, you can feel just him demoralizing the poor defenders who had the misfortune of getting stuck in his propellors. He's a siege engine in shoulder pads, and he just knocked down your city walls on the first salvo.