Congratulations are in order for Mark Ingram II. The former New Orleans Saints running back was inducted to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night, recognizing his achievements as a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide. The headlining member of the Class of 2025, Ingram joined his former teammate Roman Harper (Class of 2023) with a bronze plaque at the Hall of Fame.
Before he turned pro and spent 12 years in the NFL, 10 of them with the Saints, Ingram was the school's first-ever Heisman Trophy winner in 2009, the same year he helped the Crimson Tide win a national championship. He left Alabama with the fourth-most rushing yards in school history at the time (3,261) behind Shaun Alexander, Bobby Humphrey, and Kenneth Darby, though he has since been surpassed by runners like Najee Harris, Derrick Henry, and T.J. Yeldon.
Now he's being enshrined alongside the all-time greats. Located in Birmingham, Ala., the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame has collected more than 5,000 historic objects representing 300-plus inductees -- including some of the most iconic figures in American sports history like four-time Olympic gold medal-winner Jesse Owens, Major League Baseball record-setter Hank Aaron, and legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. Stop by and visit sometime.
We'd be remiss to not mention Ingram's achievements with the Saints, too. He ran for 6,500 yards with the black and gold and retired as the team's all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdown runs (52), earning three Pro Bowl nods along the way. While his Saints career got off to a rocky start, Ingram developed into one of the better every-down backs of his generation by working on his skills as a receiver and pass protector, and in 2017 he made history with his then-rookie teammate Alvin Kamara. They became the first running back duo in NFL history to each gain more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage in the same season. Ingram's grip on the team's rushing records was brief, but he was happy to see someone he mentored take them from him. That team-first attitude endeared Ingram to Saints fans, and it remains one of his finest qualities to this day.
