An Indiana running back is racing toward Derrick Henry’s national high school rushing record, and the Baltimore Ravens star is rooting for him.
“Man, he’s running tough, breaking tackles,” Henry said about Myles McLaughlin during an appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams” on Wednesday. “I mean, he a beast. Go break it, man. That’s what records mean. They’re meant to be broken. I done had it for 10-plus years, man. Go get it. Go break the record, man. I hope you win a state championship with it because you digging, too. And he got number 2 on. Yeah, go break that record. Go get it.”
In four seasons at Yulee High School in Florida, Henry ran for 12,124 yards before heading for Alabama, where he won the 2015 Heisman Trophy.
Playing for Knox Community High School, McLaughlin is still 1,121 rushing yards from breaking Henry’s record. But considering McLaughlin ran for more than 400 yards in his most recent game, and he could play four more playoff games with undefeated Knox, starting on Friday night, he’s at least in range.
“I hope he go gets it,” Henry said. “I hope his team wins a state championship and he rides off in the sunset with the record and the championship. That’ll be cool.”
Henry is in range of his high school rushing total himself.
In his 10th season, Henry has 12,052 rushing yards in NFL regular-season play. He became the 17th player to reach 12,000 yards in Baltimore’s 28-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 30. With 72 rushing yards in the Ravens’ game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, Henry will have as many in the NFL as he compiled in four high school seasons.
Henry also ran for two touchdowns against the Dolphins. By reaching 112 in his career, Henry moved past Walter Payton into sole possession of fifth place in NFL history for rushing touchdowns.
“It’s just so cool,” Henry said, “and it’s like a surreal moment to even hear my name mentioned with a great like Walter Payton. … It’s kind of hard to, like, really sit in the moment and really, like, think about what’s happening because the season’s going on. But at some point in time, I will. But just, like, thankful that my name was even mentioned with the legends of this game and at the position, for sure.”
FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OURNFL PAGE
Henry capped his Heisman Trophy season at Alabama by running the Crimson Tide to the CFP national championship. In five postseason trips in the NFL, Henry’s closest approach to the title came in the 2019 season, when the Tennessee Titans lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 35-24 in the AFC Championship Game.
“I want to win the Super Bowl,” Henry said. “I mean, I dream about it. I think about it every single day. And that’s what I want. Like, I want to win the Super Bowl. And as long as I can keep going to get that moment and accomplish that, then I’m I’m going to keep trying.”
The Ravens have a 3-5 record, but Henry isn’t giving up on the Super Bowl this season after quarterback Lamar Jackson returned to the Baltimore lineup after a three-game absence in the victory over the Dolphins.
“We have all the confidence,” Henry said during an appearance on NBC Sports’ “Pro Football Talk.” “We know we just got to be consistent and execute in all three phases each week and play our style of football to give ourselves the best chance to win. We can go into every game confident in what we do and through our preparation, and we just got to go out there and let it show on game days.”
The Ravens and Vikings square off at noon CST Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.