We all know that Alabama coach Nick Saban isn’t particularly concerned about running back Derrick Henry’s long-term health. There will always be another T.J. Yeldon, Eddie Lacy, Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram or Glen Coffee — all of them 1,000-yard rushers for the Crimson Tide since 2008 — on the recruiting trail.

But after Henry got a jaw-dropping 46 carries in a 29-13 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, what can we expect to see from the nation’s leading rusher Saturday against Florida in the SEC Championship Game?

Of the 47 carries that Alabama tailbacks were given against the Tigers, Henry had all but one of them — primary backup Kenyan Drake was unavailable due to injury. The Heisman Trophy front-runner responded with 271 yards and a touchdown, and at one point quarterback Jake Coker put the pigskin in his belly on 14 consecutive play calls.

Henry broke the school’s all-time mark for attempts previously held by Johnny Musso, who logged 42 rushes — also against rival Auburn — in 1970.

By comparison, the high for carries in the NFL this year is the 30 given to Devonta Freeman of the Atlanta Falcons, Todd Gurley of the St. Louis Rams and Chris Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals. Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, who leads the league in rushing, has been capped at 29 on three occasions.

Henry will surely shatter the Tide’s all-time record for attempts in a season against the Gators, as his 295 — that’s 24.6 per game, while Peterson averages 21.5 — are only seven behind the 302 that Shaun Alexander got in 1999.

If ‘Bama makes it all the way to the national title game, the 6-foot-2, 242-pounder stands a chance of breaking Herschel Walker’s SEC standard of 385 set in 1981.

It will be interesting to see if Henry has anything left in the tank for UF, which features the No. 2 rushing defense in the conference — lowly Auburn finished the regular season ranked 11th stopping the run. He shared the backfield equally last season with the aforementioned Yeldon, who is the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars, so he hasn’t gotten this kind of workload since high school.

According to former LSU running back Jacob Hester, who topped out at 28 carries against Arkansas in 2007, there’s a reason Henry was still able to break free for a 25-yard TD on his 46th and last rush against the Tigers.

“Believe it or not, a running back gets stronger as the game goes along,” he said. “You can feel when you start to beat up and lean on the defense. Just as much as you’re getting hit, most of the time they are getting hit by a fullback or a pulling guard and then having to tackle you.”

However, once the lights went out and his adrenaline returned to normal levels, Henry more than likely had a hard time getting out of bed Sunday morning.

“Now the next day is a different story,” Hester said. “You feel every hit when you first pick your head up off of the pillow. But college programs know how to rest players and get their soreness out down to a science, so by the next game you’re as good as you can be. This late into the season everybody is tired and beat up, so it’s key to have a regimen in place for recovery.”

Ground confidence, air skepticism

Alabama’s win over Auburn was anything but a blowout, as it remained a one-score affair until about a third of the way through the fourth quarter.

Nevertheless, Coker wasn’t afforded many opportunities to throw the ball downfield despite facing a Tigers D that’s actually worse statistically against the pass — 232.2 yards allowed per game, 12th in the SEC — than it is against the run. He was 17-of-26 for 179 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, with just four connections going for longer than 9 yards.

It’s not like the Crimson Tide don’t have weapons on the outside, as receivers Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart are a dynamic duo, but Hester didn’t see the need to use them.

“I saw an Alabama team that had watched film on Auburn and knew its weakness,” he said. “They probably turned on the tape of what (LSU’s) Leonard Fournette, (Texas A&M’s) Tra Carson and (Arkansas’) Alex Collins did to them and knew they would have success running the football.”

While many have wondered if the Jekyll-and-Hyde Coker is truly a championship-caliber QB, and deservedly so since he’s only 47th nationally in terms of passer efficiency rating, nobody doubts what Henry can do between the tackles.

“I think Coker is more than a game manager,” Hester said. “They just knew the running back they had and the struggles Auburn had stopping big running backs.”

When the levee breaks

Florida State’s Dalvin Cook ran the rock 26 times for 183 yards and 2 TDs last weekend in a 27-2 victory over Florida at The Swamp, so there is every reason to assume Henry is in for another big day facing the Gators on a neutral field.

But it wasn’t as easy as the final stats suggested, as Cook only managed to compile 33 yards through the first three quarters. He ran wild in the fourth period — 150 yards and both of his scores — when UF’s typically stout defense simply couldn’t make up for its anemic offense any longer, plus a handful of injuries forced some second- and third-teamers into service.

Despite containing a lightning bolt like Cook for three frames, Hester doesn’t see Florida being able to do the same against a battering ram like Henry.

“As good as Cook is, I don’t think he leans on a defense as much as Henry,” he said. “Henry is a back who looks to punish defenders on every play and has the size and strength to do it. There’s not many people in football that are 242 pounds but also have finishing speed.”

So how long before the Gators are smothered in crimson and white?

“I think the Florida defenders will get tired of hitting Henry pretty early in the contest,” said Hester.