Alabama notes: Derrick Henry ties Trent Richardson's record

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- While he only carried the ball nine times, Alabama running back Derrick Henry put himself in the history books in the Crimson Tide's 56-6 beating of Charleston Southern on Saturday.

With two touchdowns on the day, Henry tied Trent Richardson for the school single-season touchdown mark (21 in 2011).

"He's had a great year, and it wasn't his fault that we didn't give him a lot of opportunities today," Saban said. "He did score a lot of touchdowns. He's been a very productive player for us. He works hard, he's got a great attitude and he cares a lot about the team. He's a great competitor. Hopefully he'll be able to continue to finish the year like we all need to finish the year by continuing to be productive and continuing to improve."

Saban said the plan was to play the Tide's younger running backs, Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris, as much as possible.

"We were just kind of going by the scoreboard," Saban said. "We were going to play Damien (Harris) early and sort of roll him in, so he played early some. When we got ahead by 21 or 28 points, we were going to kind of shut some of the guys down and make sure we start giving other guys ample opportunities to develop."

Both Harris and Scarbrough carried the ball 10 times and both scored their first career touchdowns. Scarbrough led the Tide with 69 rushing yards, while Harris added 44.

"We wanted to get those guys in the game and get them to play as early and as often as we could," Saban said. "Both guys, I think, got to play. We didn't end up playing Derrick (Henry) that much, but I think it was more important to get the other guys the experience."

Jackson doesn't start

For the first time this season, Alabama started the game with a different combination along the offensive line.

In the first 10 contests, the Tide's line had Cam Robinson at left tackle, Ross Pierschbacher at left guard, Ryan Kelly at center, Alphonse Taylor at right guard and Dominick Jackson at right tackle.

The first four remained the same, but Jackson was notably absent.

Jackson injured his ankle against Tennessee and had surgery prior to the Tide's bye week. He started against LSU and Mississippi State, but the Tide sat him this week.

"He struggled this week to be able to practice as much as we thought he needed to," Saban said. "So we just felt like it would be better if we didn't play him today, and hopefully have a chance to get him healthy for next week."

Korren Kirven got the start at right tackle in Jackson's place. Kirven, who was converted from defensive line in the spring, has played both left and right tackle. Saban said Kirven did a "really good job."

"He's developed very nicely at tackle," Saban said. "We had enough confidence to play him at tackle, and leave Brandon (Greene) to play some tight end for us. I thought he did a nice job out there. It was good experience for him."

Ragland doesn't get wish

Before Saturday's game, Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland tweeted that he wanted to hear "Dixieland Delight" one more time in his Alabama career.

In previous years, the song has played in the fourth quarter as Alabama closed out games.

But because of explicit language being screamed by the student section and other fans, Alabama barely played the song this season.

"It was my last game in Bryant-Denny," Ragland said. "When I first got here, that was all we heard in the fourth quarter around the five-minute mark. It is what it is."

Ragland walked into postgame interviews with the song blaring through his headphones.

"That's the only way I can get it played," Ragland said it with a smile. "I had to play it myself."

Ragland said the song helped pump the players up.

"Every time we would hear, we would get fired up on the field," Ragland said. "The fans would get into, and then we would get into it."

This story was originally published November 21, 2015 at 11:34 PM with the headline "Alabama notes: Derrick Henry ties Trent Richardson's record ."