Imagine Nick Saban walking up to you before his season-opening press conference toward reporters and he names you the starting linebacker.
As excited as you may be to tell your closets family members and friends, you are also bubbling over with impatience, nerves and anxiety.
Christian Harris had only been at the University of Alabama for two months, prior to Saban breaking the news to him.
He probably heard things from teammates and saw things on social media that ranged from ‘he looks the part’ to ‘he will be a day one starter,’ but all Harris is thinking on is not trying to mess up a drill and have Saban throwing his straw hat at him.
The 6-foot-2, 244-pound four-star from Louisiana fully understands his abilities; however, it does not change the fact that he is human and humans get scared. He got his first career start versus Duke and although it went well, the game against South Carolina overwhelmed him.
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Saban had to calm the freshman down in that moment, but assured both him and the media on Alabama still having confidence in Harris. It has taken a few games, but he appears to have settled in after last week.
At weakside linebacker, Harris collected six total tackles in the meeting with Southern Mississippi – including 1.5 tackles for loss.
One play, in particular, that speaks to the game slowing down for him was when he starts on the opposite end of the formation, reads the gap where the ball is going, sheds an offensive lineman, shoots the gap and blew up the running back for a loss of yardage.
Harris’ big-time tackle had teammates excited for him.
He led the charge for a group of true freshmen that all made an impact in the Tide’s 49-7 win over the Golden Eagles at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
In speaking with Henry Ruggs III during Monday’s player interviews, he said that he talked to Harris leading up to the Duke game.
*Segment on Harris starts at 4:33 mark
“I literally talk to Christian every day,” Ruggs said.
“I have him in one of my classes, so I try to make sure he is not nervous about anything. Going into the Duke game and the second game, he was really nervous. He would be in class telling me ‘I really can’t focus on school, because I am thinking about football.’ I tell him, ‘you have been playing football all your life. The field is not going to change. Nothing has changed. You are just on a bigger stage with more people watching.’ You can tell that the game is slowing down. He is starting to make more plays and becoming a factor on defense.”
A much more relax, yet focused Harris is fourth on the roster in total tackles (17) as he enters Saturday’s meeting with Ole Miss. He stands behind Shane Lee (true freshman) in individual drills for inside linebackers and the two want to help defensive coordinator, Pete Golding make this unit an elite one in college football.
With the help of a potential top-15 draft pick at wide receiver, Harris has now settled into his role.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
