American · Hackensack, New Jersey, USA · Born 21 December 1989Alabama running back who became the Crimson Tide's first Heisman Trophy winner in 2009, capping the closest vote in the award's history en route to a national championship.
Mark Valentino Ingram II was born on 21 December 1989 in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of former NFL wide receiver Mark Ingram Sr., and enrolled at Alabama in 2008, making the SEC's All-Freshman team as a backup. He became the Crimson Tide's featured back as a sophomore in 2009, part of a devastating backfield rotation alongside freshman Trent Richardson. Ingram's Heisman push gathered momentum in October 2009, when he carried the offense down the stretch of a tight win over South Carolina, breaking Bobby Humphrey's 22-year-old Alabama single-season rushing record along the way. He capped the regular season with 189 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in the SEC Championship Game, outplaying Florida's Tim Tebow to help push Alabama to an undefeated regular season. Ingram finished the year with 1,658 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns, winning the 2009 Heisman Trophy by a margin of just 28 points over Stanford's Toby Gerhart - the closest vote in the award's 75-year history at that time - becoming, at 19, one of the youngest winners ever and the first sophomore running back to win the award. Ingram capped his Heisman season by being named Most Outstanding Player of the BCS National Championship Game, rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns as Alabama beat Texas for the national title. He returned for an injury-hampered junior season before declaring for the 2011 NFL draft, where he was selected 28th overall by the New Orleans Saints. He went on to a 12-year NFL career with three Pro Bowl selections across the Saints, Ravens, and Texans, before retiring in 2023 to join Fox Sports as an on-air analyst. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2026.
Becoming Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner in 2009 in the closest vote in the award's history, then leading the Crimson Tide to the national championship
How They Played
Powerful, complete running back known for exceptional balance and contact-breaking ability, equally effective between the tackles and catching passes out of the backfield
Lasting Impact
Regarded as the player who ended Alabama's decades-long Heisman drought and launched the program's modern dynasty under Nick Saban, opening the door for three more Crimson Tide Heisman winners in the following decade
Career Honours
- 2009 Heisman Trophy - Alabama's first
- 2010 BCS National Championship Most Outstanding Player
- Unanimous First-Team All-American (2009)
- 2009 SEC Offensive Player of the Year
American Athletes