Alabama RB Najee Harris explains highlight hurdle against South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Najee Harris is going to want to see this one again. The starting running back provided the most memorable moment of Alabama’s 47-23 victory over South Carolina on Saturday when he recorded a 42-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-2 during the second quarter.

The play saw Harris shrug off one defender at the 31-yard line before jumping over another at the 17-yard line on his way to the end zone.

"I haven't seen it yet, I've got to see it," Harris said. "I try not to hurdle actually. But I guess watching film, I just know what I'm going against player-wise, so I guess that was the time to do it."

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Harris might not have seen the highlight yet, but his teammates sure did. Following the game, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa smiled while telling reporters he’s used to watching the five-star back make those kinds of plays by now.

“That’s just Najee,” Tagovailoa said. “You look at something like that, he’s been doing that since high school. Since our freshman year, he’s been jumping over guys and running guys over. So that’s nothing new.”

That might be Najee, but it isn’t Tua — and it won’t be anytime soon.

“Oh no, not me,” the quarterback assured reporters. “I think coaches will take me out if I start doing stuff like that.”

Harris’ hurdles aren’t exactly popular with Nick Saban. However, as long as they keep on working and the star back stays off the injury table, the head coach has no complaints.

“He did a great job,” Saban said of the play. “He made one guy miss. He broke another tackle, he jumped over another guy. Pretty good.

“I always tell him not to do that. I just think it could be dangerous. But he’s got a good feel for it.”

Harris finished the day with 123 yards of total offense, tallying 87 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions while adding 36 yards on seven carries. His first touchdown came on a wheel route as he caught a 24-yard pass from Tagovailoa on Alabama’s opening drive.

“He’s a great weapon,” receiver Henry Ruggs said. “He’s going to do what he has to do. He’ll block if he needs to, and obviously he has hands and his run after catch is incredible.”

Despite Harris’ big day, Alabama again struggled to sustain success on the ground. The Crimson Tide was held to a season-low 76 yards, averaging just three yards per carry on the afternoon. It was the first time Alabama has been held under 100 rushing yards since 2014 when Arkansas limited the Crimson Tide to 66 yards on the ground.

Alabama’s lack of production Saturday was negated by a career day from Tagovailoa, who threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns. However, the fast-flying aerial attack kept the Crimson Tide’s defense on the field for 86 plays — something Saban feels could cost his team in future games.

“We’ve got to control the ball on offense. And I know we got lots of yards, but we only had 76 yards rushing, so we’ve got to be able to run the ball better,” Saban said. “Not that we ran it poorly, we just didn’t run it enough. A lot of the plays that we ran today are called runs or RPOs. We end up passing because they’re playing six guys in the box. So, it’s not the play-calling as much as it is the design of what we’re doing.”

Through three games, Harris has 156 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries, an average of 5.03 yards per attempt. He’ll get his next opportunity to add to those totals next week as Alabama faces Southern Miss on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

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