Tommy Deas
ARLINGTON, Texas | Breaking in a new quarterback and a new stable of wide receivers to open the 2015 season, the University of Alabama decided to break down Wisconsin's defense with a battering ram on Saturday.
Junior running back Derrick Henry, all 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds of him, battered the Badgers to make things a little easier in the Crimson Tide's 35-17 victory.
Henry's career-best performance came in his first appearance as Alabama's lead running back after serving as T.J. Yeldon's understudy and chief backup for the past two seasons. He gained 147 yards on 13 carries with three touchdown runs to power UA's offense.
Alabama made its intentions known on its first drive, even if it took a little while to get Henry running at full steam - he had runs of 4, 5, 3 and 1 yard on UA's first four snaps, giving Alabama a first down, but that drive ended in a punt.
Henry's next carry came on fourth-and-one on Alabama's next drive, and it made a statement. He burst through the middle of the line for the first down, but kept chugging and didn't stop until he was in the end zone with a 37-yard touchdown that put Alabama up 7-0 with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.
With Henry's dominance established to keep the Badgers' honest defensively, UA was able to get starting quarterback Jake Coker going on a second-quarter scoring drive after Wisconsin had tied the game, with Henry carrying three times for 21 yards on that march.
By halftime, Alabama was up 14-7 and Henry had a respectable 75 yards on nine carries with one score.
"We are not getting a hat on a hat all the time when we are running the ball," UA head coach Nick Saban said at halftime, referring to the blocking. "We are not executing perfectly."
In the third quarter, the blocking improved and Henry found another gear. On UA's second snap after halftime, he raced through the left side of the line through a whole created by tackle Cam Robinson and sprinted 56 yards for a touchdown.
Henry added a 3-yard touchdown run with 5:17 remaining in the third period to extend Alabama's lead to 28-7.
By the time the fourth quarter began, Henry was done for the night with an 11.3-yard rushing average and 12 more yards on two receptions.
Technically, his all-purpose yardage total of 159 yards was two short of the best in his career, which came against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl when he was a freshman, but this performance came in just three quarters of play - he was able to sit out the fourth quarter with Alabama comfortably ahead, allowing others to show their stuff.
Saban said in the preseason that he wants this Alabama team to be more physical than last year's, and that he wants an offense that runs with a more steady tempo to grind down opponents.
No one is better suited for that role than Henry, who broke a 51-year-old national high school record with 12,124 career rushing yards while also running for 153 touchdowns at Yulee High School in Florida.
In his debut as Alabama's lead back, Henry showed those qualities, and served notice of what may be to come.
- See more at: Henry steps up, pounds Badgers
ARLINGTON, Texas | Breaking in a new quarterback and a new stable of wide receivers to open the 2015 season, the University of Alabama decided to break down Wisconsin's defense with a battering ram on Saturday.
Junior running back Derrick Henry, all 6-foot-3 and 242 pounds of him, battered the Badgers to make things a little easier in the Crimson Tide's 35-17 victory.
Henry's career-best performance came in his first appearance as Alabama's lead running back after serving as T.J. Yeldon's understudy and chief backup for the past two seasons. He gained 147 yards on 13 carries with three touchdown runs to power UA's offense.
Alabama made its intentions known on its first drive, even if it took a little while to get Henry running at full steam - he had runs of 4, 5, 3 and 1 yard on UA's first four snaps, giving Alabama a first down, but that drive ended in a punt.
Henry's next carry came on fourth-and-one on Alabama's next drive, and it made a statement. He burst through the middle of the line for the first down, but kept chugging and didn't stop until he was in the end zone with a 37-yard touchdown that put Alabama up 7-0 with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.
With Henry's dominance established to keep the Badgers' honest defensively, UA was able to get starting quarterback Jake Coker going on a second-quarter scoring drive after Wisconsin had tied the game, with Henry carrying three times for 21 yards on that march.
By halftime, Alabama was up 14-7 and Henry had a respectable 75 yards on nine carries with one score.
"We are not getting a hat on a hat all the time when we are running the ball," UA head coach Nick Saban said at halftime, referring to the blocking. "We are not executing perfectly."
In the third quarter, the blocking improved and Henry found another gear. On UA's second snap after halftime, he raced through the left side of the line through a whole created by tackle Cam Robinson and sprinted 56 yards for a touchdown.
Henry added a 3-yard touchdown run with 5:17 remaining in the third period to extend Alabama's lead to 28-7.
By the time the fourth quarter began, Henry was done for the night with an 11.3-yard rushing average and 12 more yards on two receptions.
Technically, his all-purpose yardage total of 159 yards was two short of the best in his career, which came against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl when he was a freshman, but this performance came in just three quarters of play - he was able to sit out the fourth quarter with Alabama comfortably ahead, allowing others to show their stuff.
Saban said in the preseason that he wants this Alabama team to be more physical than last year's, and that he wants an offense that runs with a more steady tempo to grind down opponents.
No one is better suited for that role than Henry, who broke a 51-year-old national high school record with 12,124 career rushing yards while also running for 153 touchdowns at Yulee High School in Florida.
In his debut as Alabama's lead back, Henry showed those qualities, and served notice of what may be to come.
- See more at: Henry steps up, pounds Badgers
