Alabama running back Najee Harris set to debut YouTube series The Campaign

Najee Harris is calling it his “campaign season.” After breaking the 1,000-yard barrier for the first time in his college career, the five-star back surprised many by forgoing the NFL draft and returning to Alabama for his senior year.

Earlier this offseason, Harris explained his decision to come back, stating he wanted to “grind it out through another year” with his teammates. This summer, that grind included stops to Houston and Atlanta as the senior trained with Derrick Blaylock and Brad Lester, working on adding more explosion to his already-potent rushing style.

Over the next few weeks, Harris will provide an inside look at his preparation for the coming season during a three-part series entitled “The Campaign” on his YouTube account.

“I can tell you, he wants the Heisman Trophy,” said Lester, a former Auburn back who trained Harris this offseason. “That’s the goal for any running back. And he wants to be a top-five draft pick. That’s why I think he called it “The Campaign” because those things, that’s as presidential as it gets. He wants to come out on top like that.”

The series is set to debut Wednesday and will be spaced out a week apart with the second episode airing on Sept. 9 and the final episode airing on Sept. 16. The roughly 15-minute videos will offer a look at Harris’ preparation for the upcoming season as well as the back’s more playful side off the field.

“We wanted to highlight his personality,” said Jake Sacco, co-owner of Q6 Media. “He’s very light-hearted, very humble. He’s extremely comical. He likes to have fun. He doesn’t take everything so seriously. Obviously, with training he’s pushing himself every second of the day. But he loves to make jokes. He loves to talk about his little puppy. I think fans will really enjoy seeing that in the side of him.”

Sacco and Q6 Media co-owner Travis West met Harris while attending Alabama. Originally, the two were set to shoot a short hype video for the coming season before Harris came up with the idea to turn it into a series. From there, the two followed him on his busy offseason, documenting behind-the-scenes footage of his life both on and off the field.

“The reason why I believe he called the series The Campaign is because he wants to show the day-in, day-out of what he’s trying to work on for this upcoming season,” West said. “In a nutshell, how I view The Campaign, it’s not only that but something that can go even farther into the rest of his career. After his college career, when he’s about to go to the NFL combine and the draft, that’s all still part of The Campaign, essentially.”

West said there have been discussions of continuing the series following the season. However, a plan has yet to be finalized.

Episode 1 begins with clips of Harris training with Lester. The two first met in the tunnel of Jordan-Hare Stadium following Alabama’s loss at Auburn last season. At the time, Lester stopped the Tide back, telling him to stay positive while suggesting the two meet up in the future.

What was originally scheduled to be a one-off training session this summer eventually led to Harris traveling to Atlanta to train in Lester’s gym over the summer. The two focused primarily on building Harris’ explosion for the coming season.

Working with Lester this summer, the back took part in explosive exercises such as power cleans and sled pulls while also going through positional drills. During the first episode, the two are seen working on resistance training in order to build more burst in Harris’ initial steps.

Despite leading Alabama with 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground last season, Harris managed just one rush of more than 30 yards. Lester is confident that will change in the coming year.

“I can tell you Game 1, you can go ahead and put it in the bag, he’s going to break a long one,” he said.

Along with their work on the field, Harris and Lester are also seen joking a bit back and forth throughout the episode. The Alabama back broke down a play utilized against Auburn last year, teasing Lester by stating “We only ran that against y’all because Georgia was killing y’all with that.”

The two also shared a couple laughs over Lester’s spin move, something the former Auburn back has on Harris. During the episode, Lester explains the move to Harris, stating “when safeties start getting lazy later in the game, it will work every time.”

“He’s a funny guy like I am,” Lester said. “He keeps it completely straight forward. Some of the stuff that’s on there, I was like ‘Hey, y’all going to cut that out, right?’ He’s a good guy. He’s focused. I always try to pick my players brains a little bit and see how they are doing off the field. One of the things I’ve noticed is he’s not a partier. All he does is focus on football.”

Following the workout scene, Harris takes viewers through the rest of his day which includes hot yoga at Tuscaloosa’s HOTWORX as well as one of his favorite breakfasts at Brick & Spoon.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the series comes at the end as Harris takes cameras through a tour of Alabama’s locker room and athletic facility.

Making stops through Alabama’s video rooms, player lounge, weight room, Harris signals out the Tide’s wall of first rounders as well as the team’s Heisman Trophy display as two of his favorite places in the complex.

If this season goes to plan, the senior hopes to add his name to both of those spots.

“I think he’s going to have a great season, and I can definitely see him being a first-round pick,” Lester said. “You’ve got to think about it, he’s not very far away from breaking Derrick Henry’s rushing record. They’ve got the same style, same build, except Najee might be a little bit faster. Why would he not be in the campaign to be one of the first-rounders as well?”