Why Derrick Henry is called King as his nickname

Derrick Henry's nickname is pretty much ubiquitous.

You'd struggle to find a football fan who doesn't know that he also goes by King Henry.

It's a fitting nickname for a player who is one of the best running backs of all time, a sheer force of dominance first for the Tennessee Titans and now for the Baltimore Ravens.

And the name sounds cool, of course, a callback to the days of the colonies and the rulers of England.

But where did it come from, and why of all nicknames is this the one that Derrick Henry got? We've got answers.

Why is Derrick Henry called King?

Henry picked up his nickname in high school as he absolutely dominated his competition in Florida.

The Tennessean wrote that it "started gaining traction about the time he started chasing the high school rushing record."

Even before he went to college, Henry's username on Twitter included the moniker King.

It makes sense that those around his area would've called Henry the King, because he may have had the best high school football career of all time.

Then at Alabama, where he was a Heisman Trophy winner, Henry didn't do anything to make the nickname look bad.

And by the time he got to the NFL, King Henry was set in stone as a strong moniker for the strongest RB in football.

MORE: Revisiting Derrick Henry's legendary high school football career