Two responses show Najee Harris' maturity for Alabama Crimson Tide
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Since arriving at Alabama as the No. 1 player in the 2017 class, Najee Harris has found himself in the spotlight.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound back burst onto the season during the 2018 national championship game where he carried the ball six times for 64 yards in the fourth quarter to help spark a 26-23 overtime comeback against Georgia. Last season, Harris led the Crimson Tide with 6.69 yards per carry while piling up 783 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. For a second straight year, he was Alabama’s leading rusher in the national championship game, tallying 59 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort to Clemson.
Despite all that, the junior had yet to set foot inside Alabama’s Naylor Stone Media Suite until Wednesday. What changed? By the look of it, the star back’s approach.
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For roughly seven minutes, Harris sat in front of a crowd of reporters and fielded questions with the poise you’d expect from a three-year veteran of the program. He did so while flashing a five-star smile and oftentimes parroting the company line.
Harris was hit with a couple of hard questions out the chute as reporters asked him about the difficulties of waiting his turn in a talent-loaded backfield the past two seasons. Following his freshman year, the Antioch, Calif., native voiced frustration with his lack of action to the San Francisco Chronicle stating, “Last year was the worst feeling. That whole season was mentally challenging.” Instead of sidestepping the question Wednesday, Harris lowered his shoulder and took it straight on.
“It’s a challenge because, like I said as a running back and me personally, you always want the ball because I know what I can do with it,” Harris said. “At the same time, it is a business. So as an NFL person, you don’t want nobody that gets that much carries. I just have to learn the business aspect of it and I did. So that’s another learning point I learned in college.”
Harris’ maturity is beginning to show on the field as well. When asked about where he’s expanded his game the most, he wasted no time responding with “blitz pickup.” While blocking is often thought of as a chore by younger backs, Harris was eager to talk about the unsung duties of the job, discussing his acquired knowledge and understanding of different fronts and stunts he encounters from the running back position.
If there was an aspect of his game he avoided Wednesday it was his patented hurdle, which hasn’t always been a hit among Alabama coaches. When asked previously about Harris’ penchant for jumping over defenders, head coach Nick Saban replied, "It's not something that I particularly admire, personally.”
While the play has become synonymous with Harris’ style, the junior said he plans on taking things a little safer this year.
“There is no thought process,” he said. “It’s instinct. I’ve got to cut it out.”
When asked if that response was spurred on by coaches, Harris reiterated that it was indeed his decision to make the change.
“No, not coaches. Me. Me personally,” he said. “It’s not the best way to go out sometimes.”
Harris’ seasoned approach is coming at a good time as he figures to be Alabama’s lead back with the departure of Damien Harris and Josh Jacobs to the NFL. While the new role figures to push him further into the limelight, that’s currently the last thing on Harris’ mind as he heads into what figures to be a standout season.
“I don’t feel like I have a No. 1 spot. I feel like we’re all competing, especially in camp right now,” he said. “So I don’t really think about none of that. I think about all the stuff that I’ve got to work on personally, like my IT alignment, my blitz pickups, my reading out the runs and all that stuff.
“I don’t really think about the year right now. It’s just all the stuff I’ve got to work on. And then next is who we play next, and it’s one game at a time. It’s not like I’m looking at myself only. It’s not how it works.”
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Andrew Bone, of BamaInsider.com, is a real estate broker in the state of Alabama.
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