Mark Ingram plays for Alabama _ and so much more.

He plays for a father who watches his games from jail.

He plays for a family that has stayed strong and close during hard times.

He plays for the people in his hometown of Flint, Mich., a city whose residents have received far more bad news than good in recent years.

For Alabama, Ingram has helped the top-ranked Crimson Tide reach the BCS championship game against No. 2 Texas on Thursday and delivered the storied program its first Heisman Trophy.

For those who helped Ingram get to where he is, those accomplishments have brought joy and pride unsurpassed by even the most grateful Tide fans.

The stocky sophomore tailback is a bit overwhelmed by it all, but is trying his best to remain the humble and hardworking guy who first arrived in Tuscaloosa.

"I know it comes with it, but at the same time I know that there's lots of things I have still have to accomplish," Ingram said Monday. "I'm not too bothered by it. But sometimes I just want to be able to focus on the game."

It was the relationship between Ingram's parents and Alabama coach Nick Saban that led Mark to choose to play for the Crimson Tide.

Mark Ingram Sr. was a star wide receiver for Michigan State when Saban was an assistant for the Spartans. The coach grew close to Ingram Sr. and his then-girlfriend, now wife, Shonda. Then when Saban became Alabama coach in 2007, he returned to Michigan to recruit their son.

The younger Mark Ingram had already made an impression on another member of Alabama's staff.

"He was actually going into his freshman year of high school, I was at Michigan State and he came to camp with his team and here was this little guy who was the best player in camp," Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain said. "Then I get here and coach Saban says, 'Yeah, we got this kid out of Michigan coming.' And I said, 'Don't tell me it's Mark Ingram. That's a good get.'"

Ingram's first season at Alabama was a good one, at least on the field. As a freshman in 2008, he ran for 728 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Off the field, it was a troubling time for his family.

His father, who played in the NFL for the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins, was convicted of money laundering and bank fraud. He was sentenced to 92 months, but failed report to a federal prison in Kentucky in December 2008. His family believes Ingram Sr. did not want to miss his son playing in the Sugar Bowl.

He was captured on Jan. 2 in a Michigan motel room hours before the Tide kicked off against Utah, and now could face an even longer sentence.