Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry reached two big milestones in Week 5 of the 2024 NFL campaign. Most notably, he became the 32nd player in league history to accumulate 10,000 rushing yards on a five-yard carry in the second quarter.
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Shockingly, Henry’s professional rushing totals have still not equaled his high school record. This led radio host Dan Patrick to tease Henry about not surpassing that total in the NFL on Thursday.
Henry, with a smile, took the joke in stride, “I know I’m slacking Dan. [I] need to do better.”
Across four seasons as a Yulee Hornet in his youth, Henry amassed a whopping 12,124 rushing yards.
Today, he also scored his 100th career touchdown in the first quarter. Both achievements are impressive, but what makes Henry even more special is how quickly he reached them (124 games).
According to NFL on CBS, only four other running backs have accomplished the feats in a similar time frame.
Players with 10,000 rush yards and 100 TD in their first 125 games in NFL history
Derrick Henry
LaDainian Tomlinson
Adrian Peterson
Emmitt Smith
Jim Brown pic.twitter.com/pCzLhDnoF0— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) October 6, 2024
Henry has been enjoying a prolific and record-breaking career since his high school days. He played 48 games in high school, which means he averaged 252.6 rushing yards per game. He posted 8.7 yards per carry with the Hornets and scored 153 touchdowns.
The RB was a dominant force in high school. He almost picked up a first down every time he touched the ball! So, naturally, he got the ball handed to him a ton.
Henry was the “best option” for his high school team to win
He averaged an incredibly-high 29 carries per contest as a Hornet. Henry says his teammates didn’t have much of a gripe with his heavy workload, though, because it gave Yulee their best chance at victory:
“I was the best option, as far as us winning. My teammates felt the same. It worked out alright.”
Henry didn’t win a state title in high school, but he has won almost everything else in his football career. At Alabama, he captured two SEC championships, the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship and a Heisman Trophy.
In the NFL, he has made four Pro Bowls, earned two All-Pro nods, run for 2,000 yards in one season, and been named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year (2020).
The one thing that has remained elusive? A Super Bowl ring. His quest for the Lombardi Trophy is what led him to sign with the Ravens this offseason. And if he – alongside Lamar Jackson – can make a run for the championship this season, they’ll both put the finishing touches on their legacies.
