Mark Ingram , Jr . Mark Ingram , Jr . ( born December 21 , 1989 ) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played college football for the University of Alabama , won the Heisman Trophy , and was a member of a national championship team . The New Orleans Saints chose him in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft . During his sophomore college season in 2009 , Ingram won the first Heisman Trophy ever awarded to an Alabama Crimson Tide player , set the Crimson Tide ' s single - season rushing record with 1 , 658 yards , was recognized as a unanimous All - American , and helped lead the Tide to an undefeated 14 – 0 season and the 2010 BCS National Championship . Early years . Ingram was born in Hackensack , New Jersey , the son of former NFL wide receiver Mark Ingram , Sr . He attended Grand Blanc Community High School in Grand Blanc , Michigan during his freshman , sophomore and junior years , and then Flint Southwestern Academy in Flint , Michigan for his senior year . He was a four - year starter on his high schools ' football teams , running for 2 , 546 yards and 38 touchdowns in his final two seasons . He was Saginaw Valley MVP , Area Player of the Year , and an All - State selection as a senior . Ingram also played defensively as a cornerback , totaling 84 tackles and eight interceptions his senior year . Rivals . com ranked Ingram as a four - star " athlete " — a designation used for football recruits who have the potential to play multiple positions . Track and field . In addition to football , Ingram ran track for the Flint ( MI ) Southwestern Academy track and field team , where he was nine - time All - State track star . His personal bests are 10 . 69 seconds in the 100 meters and 21 . 90 seconds in the 200 meters . He also competed in the long jump , recording a personal best of 7 . 25 meters . College career . Ingram received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama , where he played for coach Nick Saban ' s Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 2008 to 2010 . Freshman . Ingram played behind Glen Coffee his freshman year , and he was selected to the 2008 SEC All - Freshman Team . His team - high 12 touchdowns also set the Alabama freshman school record . Sophomore . In the season opener of the 2009 – 10 season ( Chick - fil - A Kickoff Game : # 5 Alabama vs # 7 Virginia Tech ) , Ingram was the player of the game with 150 rushing yards , a rushing touchdown , and a receiving touchdown . On October 17 , 2009 , in a game against South Carolina , Ingram ran for a career - high 246 yards . He was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week . In the 2009 SEC Championship Game versus the undefeated and top - ranked Florida Gators , Ingram rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns , while also catching two passes for 76 receiving yards to combine for 189 all - purpose yards . In the game , Ingram also surpassed Bobby Humphrey ' s single - season rushing record for the Crimson Tide , reaching 1 , 542 rushing yards for the season . On December 12 , Ingram won the Heisman Trophy in the closest vote in the award ' s 75 - year history . Ingram was Alabama ' s first Heisman winner , the third consecutive sophomore to win the award , and the first running back to win the award since Reggie Bush . At the time Ingram was nine days shy of his twentieth birthday , making him the youngest player to win the Heisman . Ingram was recognized as a unanimous first - team All - American , having received first - team honors from the Associated Press , American Football Coaches Association , Football Writers Association of America , " Sporting News " , and Walter Camp Football Foundation . On January 7 , 2010 Alabama defeated Texas 37 – 21 to win the BCS National Championship . Ingram received honors as Offensive MVP after rushing for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries . For the 2009 season , Ingram rushed for 1 , 658 yards and 17 touchdowns . He also had 334 receiving yards with 3 touchdowns . Junior . Ingram was ruled out for the season opener after undergoing minor knee surgery the week prior to the opening game against San Jose State . Sophomore running back Trent Richardson filled in for Ingram for the first two games , after it was announced that the junior was not likely to play against Penn State on September 11 . He eventually made his season debut in a road game against Duke , rushing for 151 yards on nine carries , including two touchdowns in the first quarter , as Alabama routed the Blue Devils 62 – 13 . After a 3 – 0 start , Alabama traveled to Fayetteville to face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the conference opener for the Crimson Tide . Ingram and the Alabama offense came back from a 20 – 7 third quarter deficit to take a 24 – 20 lead with just over three minutes remaining , when Ingram capped a short , 12 - yard drive with a one yard touchdown run . Ingram finished with 157 yards on 21 attempts and two touchdowns . He did not break 100 yards again during the regular season . On October 9 , Alabama suffered their first loss since the 2009 Sugar Bowl when the team fell 35 – 21 to South Carolina in Williams - Brice Stadium . Ingram was held to a season - low 41 yards on 11 carries in the loss . Ingram finished his junior season with 875 yards on 158 carries with 13 touchdowns , with an additional 282 yards receiving and a touchdown . On January 6 , 2011 , Ingram announced he would forego his senior season and enter the 2011 NFL Draft . At the time of the announcement , he was projected as a first round pick . Professional career . New Orleans Saints . The New Orleans Saints selected Ingram with the 28th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft — the same pick number the Giants used to draft his father , Mark Ingram , Sr . , twenty - four years earlier . Ingram was the first running back drafted in 2011 ; since the 1970 AFL - NFL merger , this was the latest pick used for the first running back chosen in an NFL draft . The Saints acquired the pick from the New England Patriots , trading their second - round selection ( # 56 overall ) and their first - round selection in 2012 to do so . As Alabama head coach Nick Saban is part of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick ' s coaching tree , the Patriots were widely assumed to be interested in drafting Ingram themselves . On July 28 , 2011 , Ingram decided on the number # 28 in honor of his and his father ' s draft pick number . The next day Ingram agreed with the Saints on a four year contract , with three years guaranteed and a fifth year option . The contract is worth $ 7 . 41 million , with a $ 3 . 89 million signing bonus . On August 12 , 2011 , Ingram scored his first touchdown as a Saint on a 14 - yard run in a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers . On September 25 , 2011 , Ingram scored his first touchdown in regular season play as a Saint on a tough 13 - yard run against the Houston Texans . On October 23 , 2011 , late in the game on Sunday night in a runaway win against the Indianapolis Colts Ingram injured his heel . It was considered a ' day - to - day ' injury at first , but Ingram was unable to practice the entire week and missed the following game versus the winless St . Louis Rams which ended in a 31 - 21 loss for the Saints . Career Statistics . Source :