Nick Saban shares ‘this guy’s never going to make it’ story on Derrick Henry

Nick Saban knew Derrick Henry before he was “King.” During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, the former Alabama head coach reflected on a hilarious moment from Henry’s freshman year with the Crimson Tide.

“There’s so many college guys that I thought this guy’s never going to make it, like when they’re freshmen, and then they would learn and grow and turn out to be really good players,” Saban said. “Like, Derrick Henry, right?

“So he’s a freshman, and we’re doing a team pass drill, and he don’t know his ass from a handful of sand about pass protection, pass blocking, none of this… He didn’t pick up the right guy or something, and the offensive coordinator’s getting on him so bad, I’m like, ‘I feel sorry for this guy. I’m gonna go rub his neck a little bit.’

“And he says, ‘Coach, I don’t know anything about any of this sh*t.’ He said, ‘All they did in high school was turn around and toss me the ball and tell me to run with it. That’s all I know about
football. So can you all have a little patience?'”

Saban’s patience with Derrick Henry paid off. By the time Henry was a junior, he was the best running back in the country, finishing the 2015 season with SEC records of 2,219 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.

For his efforts, he was named the Heisman Trophy Award winner, earning the honor over fellow finalists Christian McCaffrey and DeShaun Watson. He also won the Doak Walker Award, Walter Camp Award, and Maxwell Award for his spectacular campaign.

Of course, Henry didn’t stop there. In his nine seasons in the NFL, Henry has been the NFL rushing leader twice and led the league in rushing touchdowns three times. In 2020, Henry was named the Offensive Player of the Year.

Henry reminded NFL fans of his talent this season during his first campaign with the Baltimore Ravens. Over the course of 17 games, Henry amassed 325 carries for 1,921 yards, the second most in the league behind Saquon Barkley.

Henry also led the league in yards after contact (909) and broken tackles (42). Of course, none of it would’ve been possible if Nick Saban hadn’t given him a chance to grow all those years ago.

“From that standpoint, I mean that guy has went a long ways, but I’m saying there’s so many guys like that. It’s just amazing,” Saban said.