The history behind Najee Harris' hurdles
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The first recorded liftoff occurred on Nov. 21, 2014. Buried in a blowout loss, Najee Harris attempted what is now his signature move for the first time. Then just a sophomore in high school, Harris was already known for his punishing rushing style. However, this time was different. Instead of lowering his shoulders and running through a tackle, the powerful back took a more innovative route past his defender.
This time, he flew.
“Just out of nowhere he decided to jump over somebody,” said Marcus Malu, who trained Harris back in Antioch, Calif. “He cleared him, and that was the start of it. I was like, ‘Oh no, this is going to be bad.’”
Since then, Harris has made a habit of posterizing unsuspecting defenders. The Alabama back claimed his most recent victim last week as Arkansas State’s Darreon Jackson went for his legs near the right sideline. The 6-foot defensive back came up empty-handed as Harris easily cleared him before pirouetting out of bounds.
"Man, he'll hurdle somebody just about every day, or he attempts to,” Alabama safety Deionte Thompson said. “I'm just like, 'Man!' For that big of a guy to jump over people my height, your height, it's just something you don't see every day. As his teammate, I'd prefer he just stay on the ground, just because I don't want any freak accidents out there. But he does what he has to do."
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Thompson isn’t the only one who’s concerned about Najee’s safety during his risky aerial pursuits. The star back receives a few stern words from his mother, Tianna Hicks, every time he goes to air.
“I’m not going to lie now, when I talk to him I’m like, ‘You need to stop all this hurdling because you’re going to get hurt,’” Hicks said. “But then when I’m out in the crowd watching him I’m like, ‘Damn, that was tight.’”
Coming from California’s Bay Area, much of Harris’ family’s concern stems from a horrifying play involving California back Jahvid Best in 2009. During a run to the end zone, Best leaped high in the air where he was flipped by an Oregon State defender, causing him to land awkwardly on the back of his head. Best briefly lost consciousness as his body went completely stiff. He was then carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with a concussion.
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“I brought it up to him, and I was like, ‘Hey, you should try to keep your feet on the ground because of that running back,”’ Malu said. “He was like, ‘Yeah OK,’ but he never stopped.”
Nothing stood in the way of Harris and his new favorite move, not even when high school refs decided to flag him for leaving his feet.
“I have no idea what the call was,” Malu said. “But they were flagging him all the time.”
Malu never worked with Harris on leaping over defenders, and while the running back did run track in high school, he didn’t take part in a single hurdling event. Instead, Malu describes the move as a defense mechanism, comparing it to ducking just before you are about to take a punch.
“It’d be like telling somebody not to flinch. You don’t think, you just duck,” Malu said. “He’s just playing the game.”
While his family and friends would be more at ease seeing Harris make plays on the ground, his decision to jump is rooted in self-preservation.
“He said he started doing it because he got tired of them going for his legs and chopping up his legs,” Hicks said. “He said, ‘I’m just going to start jumping over them.’ Then the hurdles came in, and he does those so well it’s like he’s a professional.
“The last game he said he heard the coach yelling on the sidelines, ‘Chop his legs.’ He said, ‘OK, fine. I’ll just jump over you,’ and that’s what he did.”
Fortunately, Harris has yet to take a damaging hit on any of his hurdles. The closest he came while at Alabama was during a game last year against Mercer as a defender met him on his way back down to the ground. After diving over the first-down line, Harris quickly popped up unscathed and undeterred.
“He’s a freak. I really don’t get nervous for him because he’s got the confidence in himself to do it,” Alabama defensive lineman Quinnen Williams said. “When anybody’s got the confidence to do that type of stuff, to throw their body out for the team like that, it’s really not being nervous for him.”
Harris was Alabama’s leading rusher in its national championship victory over Georgia, carrying the ball six times for 64 yards in the fourth quarter. Through two games this season, he leads the Crimson Tide with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, an average of 7.86 yards per attempt. During last week’s game against Arkansas State, Harris eclipsed the century mark for the first time in his college career, rushing for a team-high 135 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
“He’s done a really great job, and it’s really nice to see him have a breakout day just because of all the hard work he’s put in in practice,” Alabama tight end Hale Hentges said. “Stuff like that from Najee is hopefully going to continue because he’s a really important player for us and we’re going to need him down the stretch.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Harris has posted an 85.3 rushing grade this season and has avoided a total of nine tackles, including his hurdle last week. The sophomore will have a chance to add to his highlight reel Saturday as Alabama opens up conference play at Ole Miss at 6 p.m. CT. The Rebels feature the nation’s 24th worst run defense, allowing opponents a whopping 202.5 yards per game on the ground.
That's a number Harris and Alabama will surely look to jump on.