Mark Ingram describes emotions of making Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

Mark Ingram was formally inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame earlier this month as the headliner in the Class of 2025. Ingram, the University of Alabama’s original Heisman Trophy winner in 2009, received a medal and memorial plaque with his portrait on it during the 57th Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on May 3 from the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel.

Ingram opened up about the honor during this week’s episode of The Triple Option podcast with host Rob Stone and former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.

“What an amazing event. Shoutout to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. It was an amazing event,” Ingram said. “I didn’t know what I was expecting going into it, but what a first-class event. Hundreds of people at the banquet. Everyone was super welcoming. When I tell you, if you want to be apart of a Hall of Fame, this is one you want to be apart of.”

Ingram then rattled off a list of other legendary Alabama Sports Hall of Fame recipients, including boxing legend Joe Louis, iconic Alabama football coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Nick Saban, transformative Olympic track and field stars Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis, Atlanta Braves home run king Hank Aaron, multi-sport superstar and Auburn star Bo Jackson, NBA legend and Auburn alum Charles Barkley, former Auburn football coach John Heisman, former FSU coach Bobby Bowden, Clemson head coach and Alabama alum Dabo Swinney, as well as international soccer superstar Mia Hamm, just to name a few.

Suffice it to say, that’s some elite company and Ingram is clearly proud of the honor. In three seasons in Tuscaloosa, Ingram rushed for 3,261 yards and 70 touchdowns between 2008-10.

Along with winning Alabama’s first-ever Heisman Trophy and a BCS national championship in 2009, Ingram rushed for more than 8,000 yards and 65 touchdowns over 12 NFL seasons, the first eight with the New Orleans Saints, before retiring following the 2022 season. Ingram has since become a sports media figure as a member of FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff show.

Mark Ingram predicts Alabama to go over projected win total in 2025

In his first season leading the Alabama Crimson Tide, head coach Kalen DeBoer led the team to a 9-4 record, including their bowl loss. That left them short of making the College Football Playoff and looking to quickly improve going in Year Two.

Now, amid spring practice, Alabama is looking at a projected win total of 9.5 wins. That’s a number that former Alabama running back Mark Ingram fully expects his former team to go over in 2025.

“You talk about that at Florida State to pop off, week one,” Mark Ingram said. “We talked about the scheduling. We talked about the potential of scheduling these types of games to start the year and how it could really affect you. You lose that game, and you’re behind the eight-ball. Are you gonna get punished for it? Yes, you will. We saw that strength of schedule kind of didn’t get taken into place last year. So, that to start off the season is going to be a big test. At Florida State, we know the season they had. They’re gonna want to bounce back. Then you’ve got ULM. Then you’ve got Wisconsin… I’m going 3-0.”

After those three non-conference games to start the season, Ingram turned his attention to conference play. Last season, Alabama went 5-3 in SEC play and will be played against the same eight schools from last season in conference play. They’re just reversing the location where games are played. Still, Ingram is expecting an improved effort there.

“Then you’ve got at Georgia. That’s obviously going to be a dog fight,” Ingram said. “Then you go Vandy, dub. Missouri, dub. Tennessee, revenge game, dub. South Carolina, at South Carolina, dub. LSU, dub. Oklahoma, revenge game again, dub. Eastern Illinois, dub. There’s your 10.5 there. Auburn in the Iron Bowl, dub. That’s an 11-piece. That’s an 11-piece family meal.”

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.