You'll be hearing a lot about Derrick Henry from now on, so we found 10 facts about him and the man he is chasing for the all-time rushing record, Ken Hall.
Photo by Gray Quetti
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Yulee (Fla.) and Ken Hall of Sugar Land (Texas) will be forever linked in high school football history. Hall is the legendary Texas running back who has held the career rushing yardage record for nearly 60 years and Henry is the Florida wunderkind who has come forth to challenge Hall's all-time marks.
See our features released earlier this week on how
Henry and
Hall are approaching the likely fall of the record.
Here's 10 things you may not have known about both Hall and Henry:
1. Hall demolishes the career record
Ken Hall at Sugar Land High. He obliterated theprevious record, though records were not easy to find.
Photo courtesy of Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Waco
It's hard telling whose record Ken Hall broke when he became the all-time national rushing leader, but he simply demolished the previous record. Of the 72 rushers included in the National High School Sports Record Book published by the National Federation of High School Associations for all-time rushing leaders, there is no player with more than 7,000 career yards listed from the 1950s other than Hall. In fact, there is no player listed from the 1960s. Billy Sims of Hooks (Texas) is the highest-ranking player from the 1970s with 7,738 yards. Emmitt Smith of Escambia (Fla.) is the highest-ranking from the 1980s with 8,804. Troy Fleming of Franklin Battle Ground Academy (Tenn.) is the highest-ranked from the 1990s with 9,442. Note: John Giannantonio of Netcong (N.J.) reportedly rushed for 4,756 yards as a sophomore in 1950, but his career totals are not listed in the NFHS Record Book.
2. A 100-yard game will set two records for HenryHenry has never run for less than 100 yards in any game. His 44-straight 100-yard performances is a national record for consecutive 100-yard games. If Henry gets the 102 yards he needs to top Hall, he will have No. 45, and that will tie him with Emmitt Smith for the Florida state record for all-time 100-yard games. Kevin Parks Jr. of West Rowan (Mount Ulla, N.C.) holds the all-time mark with 55 100-yard games. Hall had 38 in his career.
3. Hall still holds the 3-year record
Henry will be heading to the University of Alabamaafter high school.
Photo by Gray Quetti
While Hall's 11,232 yards rushing in a career is one of the more impressive records in high school football history, his rushing total for his final three seasons on the varsity team is even moreso. Hall gained just 569 yards rushing as a freshman at Sugar Land in 1950. That means in his final three years he gained 10,663 yards. By comparison, Henry has gained 8,526 yards in that time span.
4. The Bear Bryant connectionKen Hall played college football at Texas A&M under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Following his stint in Texas, Bryant went on to a legendary career at Alabama. Henry has committed to play at Alabama. And he will be passing Hall on the rushing list one week after Texas A&M upset Alabama.
5. Henry has the single-game rushing recordHenry can boast the single-game rushing record in Florida as he had 510 yards against Jackson (Jacksonville, Fla.) this season. Hall does not have the state single-game rushing record in Texas, but he's close. Hall ran for 520 yards against Houston Lutheran in 1953 on just 11 carries and his total remained a state record until 199,8 when Darryl Ellis of Somerville rushed for 587 yards. Ironically, Hall's 520-yard effort is his only game of more than 350 yards in his career. Henry, meanwhile, has run for more than 350 yards in a game five times in his career.
6. Hall had three of the top four single-season records
Hall didn't rack up many yards his freshman season.That's why he holds three of the top single-season marks in history.
Photo courtesy of All American Games, LLC
When Hall graduated in 1953, he had three of the top four all-time single season rushing records. Giannantonio was No. 1 with 4,756 while Hall filled in the next three spots with 4,045, 3,458 and 3,160. He would occupy those three spots until Frank Jones of Bath County (Ky.) bumped him to No. 5 with a 3,361-yard season in 1969. He held the No. 2 and 3 spots until 1987 when Robert Strait of Cuero (Texas) ran for 3,515 yards in 1987.
7. Henry has passed Hall in touchdownsWhile Hall's 127 career touchdowns were once as sacred as his career yardage, that record has long since been passed. Brett Law of Sheridan (Ind.) broke the record first in 1989 with 141 career touchdowns. Last year, Johnathan Gray of Aledo (Texas) set the all-time record with 205. Henry has 142 touchdowns, which puts him one above Law and one behind Tyler Tonderum of Armstrong-Ringsted (Iowa) for seventh place all-time.
8. Hall is still listed among NFL record holdersWhile Hall did not have a long NFL career (he played played for four teams in four years between 1958 and 1961), he does have his name in the NFL record book. His 65.33 yards per kickoff return (at least three returns) in a game for the Houston Oilers is the most of any player in the NFL since 1960.
9. Hall rarely lostIn his final three seasons at Sugar Land, Hall lost just once while winning 35 games. While Hall's team won the regional championship each of his final three years, Sugar Land did not play in the state championship game in any of those seasons. Yulee is 24-10 in Henry's final three seasons and 31-14 overall.
10. Hall will still hold two national records, same as HenryAt one time, Hall held seven national records. Assuming Henry passes Hall for the career rushing yardage mark, Hall will still have two national marks. He holds the record for most points per game in a single season (32.9) and most rushing yards per attempt in a game (47.3). Henry will also hold two national records: Most consecutive 100-yard rushing games and most career rushing yards.
