ExtremeRavens Posted 11 hours ago Posted 11 hours ago Derrick Henry knows who he is. He’s seen the highlight tapes. He called Myles McLaughlin a beast and encouraged him to break the otherworldly high school rushing record Baltimore’s running back set in 2012. That all came to light in early November. Kay Adams, host of “Up and Adams,” earned a smile from the normally stoic Henry when explaining how McLaughlin was closing in on his 12,124 career rushing yards. The high school senior from Knox, Indiana, watched the viral clip while walking to English class. He was taking an interview — one of many media requests he’s filled this season — when his phone started buzzing uncontrollably. McLaughlin opened X to hear one of the greatest running backs in NFL history tell him, “Go break that record, man. Go get it.” McLaughlin hurried to show Neill Minix, Knox High School’s athletic director. Then the school’s assistant principal. Some of McLaughlin’s friends accused the video of being artificial intelligence, which to them made more sense than a future Hall of Famer getting excited over this kid from a small town in Indiana with four stop lights, a couple of restaurants and a graduating class of 120. Henry cheered him on. The lieutenant governor of Indiana shouted out McLaughlin on X. Rob Gronkowski, one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, called his film “absolutely absurd.” “None of it really feels real,” said McLaughlin, who holds national records in rushing touchdowns (71) and single-season rushing yards (4,846). For reference, Henry ran for 4,261 yards with 55 touchdowns during his senior campaign. A loss in Friday’s 3A state semifinal closed the curtain on Knox’s undefeated season, one win away from the school’s first state championship appearance. McLaughlin’s fairytale season ended at 11,839 yards, according to Minix (high school stats are often imperfect, leaving some outlets reporting within a reasonable standard deviation of that figure). That’s 331 yards shy of Henry, which sounds like a lot until a quick scan of McLaughlin’s game logs shows an average of over 350 yards per game. When Henry did it for Yulee High School in Florida, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound not-so-gentle giant in hulking pads and a yellow helmet, claimed the throne on a night he rushed for 480 yards in a 42-25 playoff beatdown. “I wasn’t really chasing the record,” he told The Baltimore Sun, “I was just playing football with the guys I grew up with, playing in front of my hometown.” The Ravens running back severely downplayed the accomplishment. That record stood for 59 years before it became Henry’s. Most — if not all — high school players don’t sniff the kind of workload it took to get there. Former NFL safety Ryan Clark famously joked on the “Pivot” podcast that Henry’s coach “should be in jail” for the onus he put on the Alabama commit. Henry once carried the ball 57 times in a game. He played a bit of defense, too. Everyone in the stadium knew where the ball was going. The same went for McLaughlin, who is admirably humble considering the position he’s in. Knox’s offensive playbook unsurprisingly revolved around its superstar. He played defense, too: McLaughlin sealed a recent playoff win on a game-ending interception. Oh, and he’s the team’s kicker. There’s been more than one instance this season in which he forced a turnover, took a solo mission driving the ball to the end zone, then footed it through the uprights all by himself. “I knew that I was gonna take a lot of carries this year,” McLaughlin said, of the preparation it takes to manage an unrelenting responsibility. “It was a lot of endurance training, too, because it’s a lot to run the ball 50 times and play every snap of defense and kick the ball.” McLaughlin started playing football in preschool, taking after his father, Josh, who was a legendary Knox running back in his own right. Dad’s school record was left in the dust during his son’s sophomore season. “I like to tease him sometimes about me breaking his record,” McLaughlin said, “but he was in a different style offense. He gets a little [upset] about it, but it’s OK.” Running back was always McLaughlin’s primary position. Josh loved to show his son Walter Payton highlights. “Sweetness,” who Henry recently passed for fifth place on the NFL’s all-time rushing touchdowns leaderboard, is the running back McLaughlin models himself after. “I feel like I run with the mindset that he had,” McLaughlin said, “just the way I never go out of bounds. And I have very good balance like he had.” Grateful for it all,wouldn’t change a thing about my journey with my brothers,thank you @KnoxAthletics1 and Knox football for everything! pic.twitter.com/uikT1txAEP — Myles Mclaughlin (@MylesMclaughl20) November 22, 2025 McLaughlin dabbled at quarterback earlier in his high school career and split time between running back and quarterback at the beginning of this season. He has since transitioned to full-time quarterback for Knox. Russ Radtke, Indiana’s second all-time coaching wins leader (426), reshaped his offense from the triple option into a heavier shotgun run game. It produced historic success for McLaughlin — still etched into the national leaderboard. Growing recognition hasn’t translated directly to college interest. McLaughlin didn’t receive any FCS offers until this fall, and an FBS school didn’t come knocking until this postseason run when his mom’s alma mater, Ball State, offered. Wherever McLaughlin ends up, he’ll forever hold close the memory of Henry’s support. Henry received the same treatment when he was a high school senior. Thirteen years ago, the Ravens running back usurped a Texas legend named Ken Hall. Hall played at Sugar Land High School, about 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston, from 1950 to 1953. He rushed for 11,232 yards, earning the nickname “The Sugar Land Express.” Days before Henry broke the record, Hall called. “I told Derrick on the phone the other day that there are some rules with holding the record,” he told MaxPreps in 2012. “You didn’t do it alone. There are 10 guys helping. Look up the word humility. Don’t bring it up. Let others bring it up first, and then talk about it. Have a lot of respect.” That’s how Henry carried himself as a high school senior. It’s how he talks about the record now, only when others bring it up first. And it’s how McLaughlin sounds over the phone, acknowledging the offensive linemen he’s invited over for steak dinners or Saturday breakfasts as a show of gratitude. Henry said he’d “cherish” Hall’s words of wisdom for a long time. The torch still belongs to Henry — he won’t have to pass it down just yet — but that viral clip on “Up and Adams” swelled the kid from Indiana with a pride the Ravens running back knows all about. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. View the full article Quote
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