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Film Room Flashback: Derrick Henry’s 50 yard TD against Clemson got the party started

It was the first blow in a fun national championship game.

CFP National Championship - Alabama v Clemson Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

We are lucky enough to have a whole bunch of recent national championship appearances, and we can pick which one was our favorite or which one was the most fun.

For me, the first championship game against Clemson in 2015/2016 is way up there: Derrick Henry capping off his Heisman season and Alabama career with another 30+ carries and 3 touchdowns, Kenyan Drake’s flight, another gutsy performance from Jake Coker, O.J. Howard seemingly wearing a coat of invisibility, the onside kick. It was chock full of memorable moments.

And it was this 50 yard run that really opened up the fun. Being that we are now 50 days from kickoff, let’s reminisce a bit, shall we?

Henry had carried the ball on first and second down, and obviously he was going to get it again on 3rd and 1. Henry takes the handoff, bounces to the right, shoots through the line, and is off to the races. A safety gets a hand on El Tractorcito’s back, but that’s nowhere near enough to stop the inevitable.

It would be tough sledding for Henry the rest of the way. He only had two more carries that went 10+ yards, and one of those was just the final play of the first half. He ended up with 36 carries for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns, and he had to earn every bit of it. But we at least got to see one long, striding run from Henry, and the Tide brought home the trophy.