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A look at Episode 1 of "The Campaign"
Najee Harris working to be more explosive in his final season at Alabama
The hurdles get all the hype, but Najee Harris’ deadliest move on the field is much more subtle. Take the star back’s longest run of last season — a 31-yard carry against LSU — for example.
Receiving the handoff to his right out of the shotgun, Harris runs toward the sideline where he has Tigers defensive back Kristian Fulton one-on-one. From there, the powerful back drives his right foot into the turf, cutting inside while blowing past Fulton en route to a big gain.
The key to the play came in the momentum Harris generated in his initial cut inside, which not only shook his defender but also provided the burst needed to shoot downfield. This offseason, the five-star back is focused on adding more of those runs to his repertoire, traveling to great lengths to add more explosion to his game.
Over the summer, Harris worked with several top trainers looking to build on his big-play potential. One of those stops came in Houston where he worked Derrick Blaylock of Armed Sports Performance.
The trip to Texas is the subject of Episode 2 of Harris’ YouTube series, “The Campaign” which is set to be released through his YouTube account on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. Thanks to our friends at Q6 Media, BamaInsider was able to watch a sneak peek of the episode which provides a behind-the-scenes look at the back’s time in the Lone Star State.
The episode begins in the car as Harris sets forth on his eight-hour road trip to visit Blaylock, a former NFL running back who spent seven years in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Washington Redskins. The two were first introduced over social media a couple of years back when Blaylock reached out to Harris, telling him that he should hit him up if he ever made it out to the Houston area. After several conversations, they were finally able to meet this summer as Blaylock opened up his gym for a week’s worth of one-on-one workouts.
During the episode, Harris explains the reason for the visit is to improve his speed and agility, something he says is “a big factor to me in how I perform on the field.”
After an extensive warmup period, Harris is seen going through footwork drills as Blayock has him step over bags before jump-cutting twice through dummies. After an initial misstep, the back rips through the drill with ease, reminiscent to how he broke down LSU’s defense on his 31-yard run last season.
Following the drill, Blaylock explains to Harris that if he’s able to leave his feet farther apart during cuts, he’ll be able to generate even more power from his back foot, allowing him to build up more speed downfield.
Along with building explosion, Blaylock says the drill is also designed to improve Harris’ elusiveness, something the trainer said he was surprised to see in the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder.
“The most impressive thing for me training him was the fact that he was full-speed with everything,” Blaylock told BamaInsider. “He’s not playing around. When he makes a cut, he’s going to burst down the field. That was impressive, man. He surprised me. I didn’t think he’d be able to move that good for being a big guy.
“I don’t know how to put it. It’s like when you hit that speed burst on Madden or when Sonic hits his little speed burst. That’s the burst, and he has it. He’s full-go all the time, and that’s what I like.”
One of the highlights of the episode comes on the treadmill where Blaylock puts Harris through a couple of fast, high-incline runs. The trainer explains that the goal is to get Harris running at a speed he isn’t used to in order to build muscle memory for regular runs. The method worked as Harris later reached 22 miles per hour during a six-second run without an incline.
“I really wanted to open his stride up a little, work on his knee drive a little bit more and also his arm swing,” Blaylock said. “Just making him feel like when he gets in the open field he can be able to hit that next gear. That’s what I kind of want him to feel with the speed part of it.”
While Harris is widely viewed as one of the top backs in college football, his ability to break into the first round of next year’s draft will likely be determined by his speed. Blaylock believes with a bit of fine-tuning, the Alabama back has the athleticism to wow NFL scouts during next year’s combine.
“If he runs 4.4 at the combine, I truly believe he will be a first-rounder," Blaylock said. "He has the size, they just want to see that speed. He has the size. He has the strength. He has the explosion and the power. If he has a great season and tests well at the combine, I don’t see why a team wouldn’t take him in the first round.”
Blaylock says he’s already seen an improvement in Harris’ running technique from their week together this summer. The two have also had talks about teaming up again during the offseason when Harris approaches the combine.
Until then, Harris has a campaign season to tend to.
“They’re going to see a guy who’s on a mission, someone who’s hungry,” Blaylock said. “I’m not saying he hasn’t always been hungry, but it’s just different now. He wants to show you the real Najee. It’s go-time now. It’s the last hoorah. He wants to leave something for people to remember him by.”
How to watch
Watch on Najee's YouTube channel
or on
Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. CST
Previous episodes
Episode 2: September 9th
Episode 3: September 16th
Produced by Q6Media
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