Alabama Alum Wins NFL Running Back of the Year Award

Thursday Feb 9 at the NFL Honors ceremony, a lot of hardware was handed out to deserving humans who separated themselves from the rest of the pack this past season. One of those awards was the FedEx Ground Player of the Year, given to the league's best running back annually.

Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders took home the honor this year. The 24-year-old Tulsa, Okla. native racked up 1,653 yards on 340 carries and found pay dirt 12 times.

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In a week 12 match up with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacobs hit his longest scamper of the season as he went 86 yards to the end zone in overtime to give the Raiders the victory and keep their playoff hopes alive. It was also the longest run of any player in the league this season.

Jacobs had his career performance in a contract year as new head coach Josh McDaniels declined his fifth-year option shortly after taking over the Raiders. Now, he's likely to be paid handsomely for this year's accomplishments.

With Jacobs winning the award this year, Alabama running backs have won the award three of the last four seasons. Derrick Henry won in 2019 and 2020, making him the only player to ever win in back-to-back seasons.

Jacobs was taken with the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft despite never having been a full-time starter at Alabama. In Tuscaloosa, he amassed 1,488 yards and 16 touchdowns on 252 carries.