Alabama sophomore running back Mark Ingram capped off a whirlwind week Saturday which started with the seeming pinnacle of his young career and ended with college football’s most coveted prize. In winning the 2009 Heisman Trophy, Ingram showed his passion and love for the game with the pursuit of gridiron excellence which served him well on the field and in his Christian walk.

“First and foremost I want to thank God,” Ingram said among tears of joy after winning the closest race in the award’s 75-year history. “Without him I would not be able to accomplish this.”

Ingram’s win was sparked by a day which will long linger in the minds of Crimson Tide fans, last Saturday’s three touchdown masterpiece against defending Southeastern Conference and nation champion Florida.

His victory speech and interview with ESPN analyst Kirk Herbsteit was punctuated by references to how much he admired his family and the faith background they nurtured him in.

Particularly poignant were references to his father of the same name. Mark Ingram, Sr., was only 11 miles away from Midtown Manhattan and the Nokia Theatre where his son received the award, but in reality it was an almost unfathomable gulf. His father, a former Super Bowl champion, is incarcerated in the borough of Queens on bank fraud charges. The elder Ingram’s straits were alluded to vaguely during the ceremony, but never directly.

The wellspring of emotion his son displayed no doubt had to do with his father’s situation, not to mention the tightness of the race. Ingram won with 227 points, winning the Midwest, East and Mid-Atlantic regions which did not have a candidate in their geographical areas. He was only five points ahead of Stanford’s bulldozing back Toby Gerhart, whose victory would have come as an even bigger shock considering the competition featuring Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, both well-known for public pronouncements of faith and mission work.