Two Bama Backs; One 'Fun' Sunday
NASHVILLE – Not all Alabama running backs are made the same.
Oakland coach Jon Gruden has one – a good one, at that. Josh Jacobs is the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher and the first rookie in Raiders history to rush for 1,000 yards.
Yet this week Gruden talked like someone who has not seen anyone like Derrick Henry, the Tennessee Titans running back who got the NFL three years ahead of Jacobs. Never mind that the two have comparable stats as they prepare to lead their respective offenses against each other Sunday at Oakland.
“He’s got all the talent and size and running instincts, but he never tires,” Gruden said of Henry. “He does not get tired. He’s a machine, man. This guy wears you down. Physically, he can wear you down. You’ve got to gang-tackle him. … But he just never tires. The more they give him the ball, the better he gets. It’s an impressive human being.”
Henry, a second-round pick in 2016, is the NFL’s third-leading rusher with 1,140 yards on 232 rushes and looks to extend a rare streak. He is the fifth running back in NFL history with three straight games of at least 145 rushing yards and one or more rushing touchdowns.
Jacobs, the 24 overall selection in this year’s draft, has 1,061 yards on 218 attempts. He was named this week the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month for October and again in November.
Jacobs have one more 100-yard game (five) than Henry (four), but Henry has a clear edge in rushing touchdowns (11-7).
Their college careers did not overlap – Henry was an NFL rookie in 2016, which was Jacobs’ freshman year with the Crimson Tide – yet the two share a bond forged by the position they played and the school at which they played it. They are among seven Alabama running backs who have been drafted in the last nine years. As such, Henry said he reached out to Jacobs prior to the 2019 NFL Draft.
“I reached out to him just to make sure he was good,” Henry said. “If he needed help or anything, I’d be there. But, like I said, he’s doing a good job for them and I wish him continued success. … I’m just doing my job, focusing on the things I can do to help this team. … It’s going to be fun.”
Which, of course, are many of the same things Jacobs is doing to help his team.
“I think he’s got great vision,” Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said of Jacobs. “He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s got good balance, but he’s able to run behind his pads a little bit. I know he’s not a big in stature player but runs with really good pad level. They run outside with him. They run inside with him. He’s got really good vision, he’s quick, puts his foot in the ground and can make some really, really good cuts.”
