As he hoisted the Heisman trophy into the air, Derrick Henry smiled as camera lights flashed in his face, knowing he had achieved greatness.

Last Saturday, Alabama's Derrick Henry won the 2015 Heisman trophy award, presented to the top player in College Football that season. Henry is only one of three running backs since the turn of the century to win the award, including Alabama's Mark Ingram (2009) and USC's Reggie Bush (2005). Henry rushed for over 1,800 yards this season and led the Alabama Crimson Tide to the number-two seat in this year's College Football Playoff.

While Henry is only a junior, many expect him to leave Tuscaloosa this spring and head to the NFL. Generally if the current Heisman winner returns the next season, he automatically becomes the favorite to win the award the next year. Since we think he will be leaving in 2015, 2016 is thus wide open for new faces.

Yes, players such as DeShaun Watson and Christian McCaffery should be favorites to take home the award in 2016, but anything is possible as we saw when Henry, ranked 12th in pre-season, took the Heisman and become the 81st member of the fraternity. Let's see who we think will be the 82nd member of this historic chapter.

Here are our rankings for the top 10 contenders for the 2016 Heisman.

10. Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma

Perine’s freshman year was one many believed would reappear his second season for the Sonners. While he was forced to split time with other running back Joe Mixon, Perine shined for the Sooners on the field, helping them win the Big 12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Perine has a one-cut ability that gives him an advantage to turn a quick pitch into a five-yard gain. While he isn’t the favorite from Oklahoma to win the award, his size and speed should allow him to make his case so long as Lincoln Riley is calling the plays on offense.

9. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA

The freshman phenom known as Josh Rosen rose to the occasion when he was named the full-time starter after week one this season. While Rosen has some fantastic numbers (3,351 passing yards, 20 touchdowns), he did make some careless freshman mistakes. Now with a year under his belt and a fully-experienced offensive line, the Bruins should be able to make a splash in the PAC12 for several years to come. Rosen is a dark horse due to his age, but don't sleep on what people are calling "one of College Football's most elite."

8. Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon

While Vernon Adams, Jr., was the star of the Ducks down the stretch, Royce Freeman is the obvious choice to represent Oregon in the Heisman standing next season. Freeman had the numbers to be in the Heisman race this year, but just not enough publicity due to the West Coast game times. Freeman rushed for over 1,700 yards while racking up 14 touchdowns, including five 150 plus yard rushing games. While the Ducks will fight with Stanford and UCLA for the PAC12 title, Freeman will be leading the Quack Pack and hopefully will get his chance to go to New York next year.

7. JT Barrett, QB, Ohio St.

JT Barrett was always the correct choice at quarterback for Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes. However, his off-the-field issues and 2014 injury play a factor into the 2015 season. Still, even missing out on playing in two games, Barrett showed this season that he was the true leader of the Ohio State offense. His numbers were far from flashy and he at times seemed flustered, but that could all be due to the ongoing carousel of quarterback drama in 2015. With a full season behind center in Columbus, Barrett should be able to find the same success he had in 2014.

6. Seth Russell, QB, Baylor

Seth Russell’s numbers were there for the 2015 Heisman, but a neck injury late into the chase left the Baylor star out of New York this year. With over 29 touchdowns and over 2,000 passing yards in just seven games this season, Russell was in prime contention to set NCAA passing records and lead the Bears to the 2015 College Football Playoff. If he can come back from the neck injury, he will still have weapons such as KD Cannon and Shock Lindwood to continue the success he had when he was forced to the sideline. The Bears should be back in contention in 2016, and Russell should pick back up right where he left his Heisman campaign a year ago.

5. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma

Baker Mayfield’s story is incredible, and his video game numbers in 2015 allowed the Sooners to be a favorite to win it all in the College Football Playoff. With over 3,000-yard passing and 35 touchdowns, Mayfield thrived as he was named a second team AP All-American and led the Sooners to an 11-1 season. But here’s the thing: we have yet to see Mayfield play a second season at any school. He originally started his career at Texas Tech before transferring to Oklahoma and sitting out for a season. While he thrived in 2015, 2016 might be a slump for the OU quarterback. With that in mind, he’s in the top half, but the last member.

4. Christian McCaffery, RB, Stanford

McCaffery’s numbers this year could have possibly won him the Heisman if Derrick Henry wasn’t running all over the place and into the end zone. McCaffery finished the season with 3,496 yards, the highest number of total yards in single-season history. Not only that, but the record was held by former Heisman winner and possible greatest running back of all time, Barry Sanders. The issue with McCaffery is that his record-defying season will be hard to beat next year. While many other players could compete for the record, it will be hard for him to complete the same type of success he had this season. It is not impossible, but McCaffery might miss out next season due to the high expectation many have for him.

3. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

Say what you will, Leonard Fournette still is a good running back in college football even though he was held twice under 100 yards. Fournette still was the first running back this season to reach 1,000 yards, and will have a chance to also rush for 200 yards in a single season if he can put up 300 on Texas Tech’s abysmal defense. Fournette had a rough second half, however he was favorite to win the award at the start of the season and at the midway point. If he can play in 14 games the same way he played in his first seven of the season, he will not only be in New York next year, but also will hoist the trophy as the second SEC running back in back-to-back years to win the award.

2. DeShaun Watson, QB, Clemson

DeShaun Watson did have strong numbers in 2015, but let’s be honest, he was really there because he led the Tigers to an undefeated season. While Watson had a break-out year this season, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the sophomore from Gainesville, Ga. Watson is expected to have all of his weapons back next season and will be a full year done with recovery on his torn ACL, making him much more mobile and a more versatile guy. Watson threw for over 3,500 yards this season and had 41 combined touchdowns. Expect the same if not bigger numbers from him in 2016.

1. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida St.

A running back who pretty much ran on one leg this season makes the top of the list for 2016. When fans look at Cook’s numbers, they are impressed with how much the sophomore ran in 2015. With over 1,700 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, Cook was the entire offense for the Seminoles this past year. Cook also battled a lower leg injury from roughly week five until the end of the season. Still, on one leg he was able to proud cue over 1,000 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. Cook was one of college football’s most electrifying players in 2015; at full strength, he should be even better in 2016.