Najee Harris rewrote Alabama's record books Saturday night as he became the school's all-time leading rusher while also setting all-time marks for total touchdowns as well as its rushing touchdowns mark.
Harris earned MVP honors during Saturday's SEC Championship Game as he accounted for 245 total yards and five touchdowns. The senior back came into the game 130 yards shy of Derrick Henry’s school record. Harris finished the night with 178 yards on the ground, giving him 3,639 rushing yards on his career.
"It's an honor to be in that position," Harris said. "But I can't thank the line enough for really making this happen for me. I know my name is going to be on there. But just for the offensive line to come and make those holes, really I feel like they should be on the all-time leading rusher, somewhere up there, too."
Harris came into the day tied with Henry and Mark Ingram with 42 career rushing touchdowns. The five-star back’s 8-yard score on Alabama’s opening drive gave him sole possession of the record. He'd add another in the fourth quarter to give him 44 rushing scores on his career. Harris leads the nation with 24 rushing touchdowns through 11 games. He's four away from tieing Henry's single-season SEC record of 28 set in 2015.
With his five touchdowns Saturday, Harris has found the end zone 54 times in his college career, more than any other Alabama player.
“Blocking for Najee is a reward in and of itself,” Alabama center Landon Dickerson said earlier this month. “I know a lot of times people think offensive-line play isn’t very rewarding, but for me, being able to see Mac (Jones) throw great passes or Najee make these amazing runs and the things he does, I think that’s the reward for me and the way I see it. Blocking for him is great and he makes us look great all the time. He finds holes and cuts and he isn’t afraid to put his head down and run downhill. He is an amazing player.”
