Alabama Football: Crimson Tide Top 10 All-Time Rushers
By Ronald Evans
No. 7 Mark Ingram (2008, 2009, 2010)
- Career Rushing – 3,261 yards on 572 carries
- Career Yards-Per-Carry average of 5.7 yards
- 2009 All-American, SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Heisman Award winner
The Alabama Crimson Tide’s first Heisman Trophy-winning running back was more than instrumental in building the Nick Saban, Alabama Football Dynasty. A more accurate description is Ingram was foundational. The four cornerstones of the Dynasty could be designated as Nick Saban, Mark Ingram, Rolando McClain and Julio Jones.
Glen Coffee was the primary running back for Nick Saban in the 2008 season, but with 728 rushing yards that season, Mark Ingram showed he was the future.
Early in the 2009 season, Ingram rushed for 140-plus yards against Virginia Tech, Kentucky and Ole Miss. A week after the Ole Miss game, Mark Ingram made his claim to being one of college football’s best running backs. Against South Carolina, the Alabama offense went well into the 4th quarter without a touchdown, leading 13-6 on the basis of a Mark Barron pick-six. That is when Alabama decided to use Ingram as a battering ram. The Crimson Tide ran Ingram 24 times, many from a wildcat formation, as the Crimson Tide sophomore punished the Gamecock defense for 246 yards. Ingram scored the only offensive touchdown of the game as the Tide prevailed 20-6.