Alabama's Derrick Henry wins Maxwell Award as player of year

ATLANTA (AP) Alabama's Derrick Henry capped a big night when he won the Maxwell Award, given to the college player of the year. Earlier Thursday night, Henry

ATLANTA (AP) Alabama's Derrick Henry capped a big night when he won the Maxwell Award, given to the college player of the year.

Earlier Thursday night, Henry won the Doak Walker Award given to the nation's top running back. The awards were presented at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Henry rushed for 1,986 yards to break Herschel Walker's Southeastern Conference single-season record and lead Alabama to the College Football Playoff. He ran for 189 yards and was picked as MVP in Alabama's SEC championship game win over Florida.

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

• Georgia
• Utah
• Alabama
• UCLA
• Notre Dame
• Texas
• Miami (FL)
• Tennessee
• Indiana
• BYU
• Kentucky
• Texas Tech

PREREGISTER TO PLAY

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See Official Rules for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

The other finalists were Stanford's Christian McCaffrey and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Henry, McCaffrey and Watson also are the finalists for the Heisman Trophy.

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota won the award last year.

---

AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org