Alabama did not produce a Heisman Trophy winner until 2009, seventy four years after the award began and 27 years after Bear Bryant retired. It then produced four in twelve seasons. All of them played for Nick Saban.
| Year | Player | Position | The season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mark Ingram | Running back | 1,658 yards, 17 touchdowns, national title |
| 2015 | Derrick Henry | Running back | 2,219 yards, 28 touchdowns, national title |
| 2020 | DeVonta Smith | Wide receiver | 117 catches, 1,856 yards, 23 touchdowns, national title |
| 2021 | Bryce Young | Quarterback | 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns |
Mark Ingram, 2009
The first Alabama Heisman came in the closest vote in the award’s history. Ingram beat Stanford’s Toby Gerhart by 28 points, a margin that has never been approached since, after running for 1,658 yards and 17 touchdowns on a team that went 14 and 0 and won the national championship.
His acceptance speech, delivered through tears, became as well known as the season.
Derrick Henry, 2015
Henry ran for 2,219 yards, breaking Herschel Walker’s SEC single season record that had stood since 1981, and scored 28 touchdowns. He carried the ball 395 times, and the workload became the story: 46 carries against Auburn, 44 against Florida in the SEC championship game.
Alabama won the national title, and Henry went on to become one of the most productive running backs in NFL history.
DeVonta Smith, 2020
Smith was the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991, a gap of 29 years. He caught 117 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns, then had 12 catches for 215 yards and three scores in the first half of the national championship game before a hand injury ended his night.
His teammate Mac Jones finished third in the same vote, and Najee Harris fifth. Three Alabama players in the top five.
Bryce Young, 2021
Young was the first Alabama quarterback to win the award, throwing for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns as a sophomore. He set the program’s single game passing record with 559 yards against Arkansas and led a comeback in the Iron Bowl that required a 97 yard drive in the final minutes.
Alabama lost the national championship game to Georgia, the only one of the four Heisman seasons that did not end with a title.
Why It Took 74 Years
Bear Bryant won six national championships and 232 games at Alabama without a single Heisman winner. His offences were built on the wishbone and on depth, spreading carries across three and four backs, and Heisman voting has always rewarded the player who touches the ball most.
Joe Namath, Ken Stabler and Bart Starr all played for Alabama and none finished higher than eleventh. The program’s best pre Saban finish was Johnny Musso, third in 1971.
Saban’s offences, particularly after Lane Kiffin arrived as coordinator in 2014, were built around a featured player. That change, more than any recruiting shift, is why the drought ended.
The Finalists Who Came Close
Tua Tagovailoa finished second in 2018 behind Kyler Murray. AJ McCarron was second in 2013. Trent Richardson finished third in 2011, Amari Cooper third in 2014 and Mac Jones third in 2020. Will Anderson Jr. was a finalist in 2021, one of very few defensive players to reach that stage.
Our Heisman winners by year page has every recipient since 1995.
The Bottom Line
Alabama has four Heisman Trophy winners, all under Nick Saban between 2009 and 2021: Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young. The program had none in its first 74 years, including the entire Bear Bryant era, because its offences shared the ball too widely to produce one. Three of the four winners also won national championships in the same season.