Derrick Henry’s dream of playing in the NFL is about to come true in as early as 27 days.
According to many services, the Heisman Trophy winner is projected as the second-best running back in the draft behind Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott. Just about everyone has him going in the first or second round.
Henry spoke with NFL.com’s Brooke Cersosimo in an interview that was published on Thursday. He was asked about his time at Alabama, his expectations at the next level, his idols, tattoos and more.
As for the player he wants to face the most, Henry had a specific answer for that.
“(Carolina Panthers linebacker) Luke Kuechly. He’s just a great player, very smart and makes a lot of plays. He ain’t scared to be physical.”
Henry, who said he wanted to cry when he received the Heisman, said he’s not worrying about the pressures of entering the NFL after having won college football’s most prestigious award.
However, he does have a huge expectation of himself.
“I wanna be the greatest to ever play my position,” he said. “One of the best to ever play the game. Hopefully, be a Hall of Famer.”
He also mentioned a couple running backs who he admired before he rose to stardom.
“LaDainian Tomlinson. I loved watching him when I was little. Any team he was on, I was a fan of. I didn’t really have a favorite NFL team. I just loved watching him. I had a bobblehead of him when I was a kid.
“In college, I loved Darren McFadden. Just the way he ran the ball. Those are my two.”
You can read the interview in its entirety here as he gets into another one of his idols, the toughest part about being a running back and more.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
