Derrick Henry’s legendary high school rushing record in danger of falling: ‘Go break it’ – The Athletic
Before Derrick Henry became one of the greatest running backs in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens star authored arguably the most legendary high school football career in the history of the sport.
Henry, who played his high school ball at Yulee High School in Florida, finished his high school playing career in 2012 with 12,124 rushing yards, which set the record for career rushing yards in high school.
Henry’s career at Yulee is one that’s still remembered for the dominance of the running back. As a freshman, Henry ran for 2,465 yards and 26 touchdowns. He was such a dominant player that his coaches began using him on defense as a pass rusher. In a game that Yulee trailed late in the season, Henry carried the ball 33 times for 288 yards and three touchdowns, while also playing defense and blocking a punt.
As a senior, Henry touched the ball at least 40 times in six games. His spotlight moment came that season when Yulee played against Glades Day, which also had a star running back in Kelvin Taylor, the son of legendary NFL running back Fred Taylor.
Henry finished that game with 35 carries for 362 yards and six touchdowns
“That was a good situation for him because it pitted him up against another guy,” Zac Camp, a wide receiver and defensive back on Henry’s team, said. “They always talk about how Michael Jordan played better whenever someone talked trash to him. Derrick did that, too.”
Henry set the high school career rushing record later that season. A little over a decade later, Henry’s mark is in danger of falling.
Myles McLaughlin, a senior at 3A Knox Community in Indiana, sits 1,121 yards away from passing Henry’s all-time mark. If McLaughlin can lead his team to the state championship, he will have four games to achieve the mark.
Topping a thousand yards in four games may seem like an unfathomable feat, but it’s important to remember the circumstances at hand. McLaughlin has 3,603 yards rushing this season, averaging 327 yards per game. To hit the mark, he would need to average just over 280 yards per game. Relative to how he is performing this year, McLaughlin even has some margin for error.
This also assumes that McLaughlin gets the full four games that are potentially remaining on the schedule. That’s also a fair assumption to make, as Knox Community is in the middle of an undefeated campaign. They’ve won every game this season by at least 15 points, and have typically come out ahead by a much wider margin.
On the “Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams,” Henry was asked if he had ever heard of McLaughlin. Henry said he had heard of the Indiana teenager and saw a highlight of him circulating on social media.
“Running tough, breaking tackles,” Henry said, as he offered a scouting report on McLaughlin. “(He’s) a beast.”
Henry also offered his blessing to McLaughlin to break the record, which McLaughlin acknowledged on X.
“Go break it, man,” Henry said. “Records are meant to be broken. I’ve had it for 10-plus years. Go get it. Go break the record, man. I hope you win a state championship with it … That’s cool, man. That’s a cool moment. I hope (he) gets to help his team win a state championship and he rides off into the sunset with the record and a championship.”
Henry’s encouragement for McLaughlin to break the individual record, while also emphasizing the team accomplishment, also comes from personal experience. Henry’s team fell short of the state title, losing in the playoffs the year that Henry finished his high school career and set the record.
If McLaughlin can break Henry’s record this year, it would be a much quicker fall for the mark than when Henry accomplished it in 2012. Henry broke the previous record of 11,232 yards, which was set by Ken Hall in 1953, after 59 years. McLaughlin is 229 yards away from passing Hall for second place behind Henry. Hall passed away earlier this year at the age of 89.
