Alvin Henderson of Elba High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Alabama Football Player of the Year. Henderson is the first Gatorade Alabama Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Elba High School.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Henderson as Alabama’s best high school football player, and he’s also been selected as a finalist for the distinguished Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award to be announced in December. With his selection, Henderson joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94, Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas).
The 5-foot-10, 198-pound senior running back rushed for a state-record 3,620 yards this past season, leading the Tigers (11-3) to the Class 1A state semifinals. Henderson broke his own record of 3,523 yards set a year ago. He carried the ball 276 times, averaging 13.1 yards per rush and scored 61 touchdowns. He is the state-record holder with 10,930 rushing yards, which ranks him No. 5 nationally in prep history. He will participate in the Navy AllAmerican Bowl in January.
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Henderson has volunteered locally at Elba Elementary School as a morning greeter. He has also donated his time as a youth football coach and as part of multiple community service initiatives through his church.
“Alvin is a special player,” said Berry Bess, head coach of Georgiana High School. “His speed-to-power combination is one of a kind. He is physical at the point of attack and can get to top speed in a flash. Add in football sense and awareness and that’s extraordinary for a high school player.”
Henderson has maintained a 3.13 GPA in the classroom. At the time of his selection, he had made a verbal commitment to receive athletic aid to play football at Auburn University next fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Henderson joins recent Gatorade Alabama Football Players of the Year Ryan Williams (2023-24 & 2022-23, Saraland High School), Earl Woods (2021-22, Hueytown High School) and Conner Harrell (2020-21, Thompson High School), among the state’s list of former award winners. As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations
