Thursday, reports surfaced that reigning Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry would be leaving Alabama early for the NFL. Friday, Henry confirmed as much as a teammate joined him for good measure.
At UA’s annual draft prospect press conference, defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson announced that, as most had expected, he too will leave eligibility on the table and make himself available for the NFL draft. Robinson told the media that he didn’t receive a grade from the NFL’s draft advisory committee, but people head coach Nick Saban knows in the league gave him a mid-first-round grade.
Henry, meanwhile, received a second-round grade from the advisory committee.
The 6-4, 312-pound Robinson was a consensus All-American in 2015. he was also a finalist for the Outland Trophy and semifinalist for the Bednarik Award.
“I would like to say these two young men here have done an outstanding job on and off the field in the way they’ve represented The University of Alabama,” Saban said in quotes distributed by the school. “They’ve been great teammates for the other players on the team. They’ve been really good leaders. They’ve set a good example. Both have done things exactly like we’d like in this program from a personal standpoint, an academic standpoint and obviously, they’ve had tremendous success on the football field individually along with contributing to team success. …
” I know it’s always a difficult decision for these guys to make a decision about their future, but this is something we try to provide a great program for. We provide the best information possible, so they can make a very good business decision about their future, and I think both of these guys have done a really good job of doing the due diligence they need to do, so that they can make a decision.”
The previous two days, three draft-eligible Tide players — linebacker Ryan Anderson (Thursday), safety Eddie Jackson (Thursday), linebacker Tim Williams (Wednesday) — revealed on social media that they would be returning to Tuscaloosa for another season. Two more, however, have yet to decide: defensive lineman Johnathan Allen and tight end and national championship game hero O.J. Howard.
Al.com is reporting that Howard is leaning toward a return, while Allen received a second-round grade from the NFL board.
