When it comes to college football, it's difficult to find a program with more success than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama is credited with 974 wins, 18 national championships and 173 First Team All- Americans.
The program has sent nearly 500 players to the NFL, with almost 90 being first-round draft picks.
Yet, despite all that sustained success, Alabama didn't have a Heisman Trophy winner until 2009.
For decades, the Heisman Trophy eluded Crimson Tide players, even though the team was consistently ranked among the nation's best. However, once Mark Ingram II broke through in 2009 (in the closest Heisman vote in history), Alabama saw three more players win the prestigious award over the next 12 years.
So let's take a look back at Alabama's quartet of Heisman Trophy winners.
Every Alabama Crimson Tide Player to Win the Heisman Trophy
Mark Ingram II (2009)
Born on December 21, 1989 in Hackensack, N.J., Ingram II had football in his blood. His father spent 10 years in the NFL with four teams, racking up nearly 4,000 receiving yards and scoring 26 touchdowns.
Ingram II spent his high school years in Michigan, where he ran for 2,546 yards and 38 touchdowns over the course of his junior and senior seasons. Rivals ranked Ingram II as a four-star recruit and the No. 17 athlete in 2008.
During his freshman season at Alabama, Ingram II ran for 728 yards and 12 touchdowns, serving as a backup to Glen Coffee. In 2009, Ingram II took over the starting job and put together one of the best seasons in Crimson Tide history.
Ingram II rushed for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns, while catching 32 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns.
His Heisman Trophy win was the tightest race in the award's history, as Ingram II narrowly edged out Stanford running back Toby Gerhart by just 28 points. Ingram II ended the 2009 season by rushing for two scores in Alabama's national championship win over Texas.
He was selected No. 28 overall in the 2011 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints. He was a three-time Pro Bowler who ran for 8,111 yards in his career.
Derrick Henry (2015)
Derrick Henry was born on January 4, 1994 in Yulee, Fla. By the time he was in high school, most college football fans had seen glimpses of his highlight reel. Henry set the national high school rushing record, scampering for 12,124 yards in his career and constantly looking like a man amongst boys.
Henry's 6-foot-3, 240-pound frame made him stand out on the gridiron, so it's no surprise that Nick Saban wanted to thundering back in Tuscaloosa.
He spent his first two seasons playing sparingly as a backup to T.J. Yeldon, but entered the 2015 season as the Crimson Tide's starting running back.
Henry rushed for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns on a staggering 395 carries, breaking Herschel Walker's SEC single-season rushing record. He won the Heisman Trophy over Christian McCaffrey (Stanford) and Deshaun Watson (Clemson).
The Tennessee Titans selected Henry with the No. 45 pick in the 2016 NFL draft. At the conclusion of the 2024 NFL season, Henry was league's leader in rushing yards and touchdowns.
DeVonta Smith (2020)
DeVonta Smith was born on November 14, 1998 in Amite City, La. When he committed to Alabama he was a rated as a five-star recruit by 24/7 Sports and regarded as the No. 1 player in the state of Louisiana.
And he wasted little time making an impact for the Crimson Tide, catching the game-winning touchdown of the 2018 championship game as a true freshman. By the time he left Alabama, he was the most productive wide receiver in the program's history.
Smith’s senior season in 2020 was dominant. In 13 games, he led the nation with 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns. He capped his season with 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns—in just the first half—of the national championship game against Ohio State.
Smith became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy since Desmond Howard in 1991. He also won the Biletnikoff Award, Walter Camp Award and AP Player of the Year. The Philadelphia Eagles selected Smith No. 10 overall in the 2021 NFL draft and he helped the team win Super Bowl LIX.
Bryce Young (2021)
Born on July 25, 2001, in Pasadena, Calif, Bryce Young was considered to be perhaps the best player in the 2020 recruiting class. A unanimous five-star recruit and Elite 11 MVP, Young was originally committed to USC before flipping to Alabama in the fall of 2019.
He spent 2020 backing up Mac Jones before taking over as the starter in '21.
In that season, Young threw for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns. He led Alabama to 13 wins and a national championship berth. He also set the school record for passing yards in a single game with 559.
Young became the first Crimson Tide quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, while also winning the O'Brien Award and the AP Player of the Year Award. He was selected first overall in the 2023 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alabama Heisman Winners: Every Crimson Tide Player to Win the Award.
