Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry was undoubtedly one of the greatest players Nick Saban had the pleasure of coaching during his storied tenure at Alabama. So it’s no surprise that he had plenty to say about Cleveland Browns safety Grant Delpit’s comments ahead of his Week 2 matchup against Henry and the Baltimore Ravens.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Delpit was asked how hard it was, in his opinion, to tackle Henry. “Not hard,” he replied.
Most, including the Buffalo Bills, who allowed Henry to rush for an NFL-high 169 rushing yards in Week 1, would certainly disagree with Delpit’s assessment.
While Nick Saban didn’t know who made that comment, he vehemently disagreed with Delpit’s take on matching up against Henry during Friday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show.
“I don’t even know which Cleveland Browns guy said that,” Saban said to McAfee, “But if they had to practice every day against this guy, I guarantee you they’d be the first one to say, ‘I ain’t tackling his ass every day.’”
After Saban was informed that it was a former LSU player who had commented, he immediately thought back to how things went when the Tide took on the Tigers during Henry’s college career.
“LSU guy… How many times did they beat us when he played?” said Saban. “Do you understand how long this guy’s arms are when he tries to stiff-arm you tackling? I mean, I don’t know what his sleeve length is, but he’s out there.”
Delpit didn’t get to LSU until 2017, two years after Derrick Henry had left for the NFL. But the point stands. Not only did the Tigers never defeat Alabama while Henry was there, but Saban was 2-1 against the SEC rival during Delpit’s tenure.
If Delpit was attempting to give Henry some extra motivation when they met on the field, he accomplished that goal. Henry responded to Delpit’s comments on Friday by simply saying, “We’ll see on Sunday.”
Ravens RB Derrick Henry’s response to S Grant Delpit saying he’s not hard to tackle: pic.twitter.com/TWmNOjfiYL
— Giana Han (@giana_jade) September 11, 2025
Delpit will have the chance to let his play do the talking instead of his mouth when the Browns and the Ravens face off on Sunday.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.