Najee Harris is now in the center of the Heisman conversation.
He is there with his quarterback (Mac Jones) and receiver Jaylen Waddle to represent the University of Alabama; however, Harris decided to steal some attention from both players with his performance versus Mississippi.
After totaling just 43 yards rushing against Texas A&M, the senior running back turned in a career day on a wet field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
In a matchup that had Jones and Matt Corral trading blows, Harris jumped in an edged-out a pair of backs — Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy — who both rushed for 100-plus yards.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder had his speed, hands, power and hurdling traits on full display at Oxford, Miss.
One question Alabama fans have had about Harris was could he break off long runs?
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Every back in the Nick Saban era possessed the ability to break a big play in open space.
Harris addressed all concerns with two touchdowns runs over 30 yards. He broke loose for a 35-yard run, while eight of his 23 carries resulted in either first downs or scores.
As a former five-star, he set the tone behind an offensive line that generated 306 yards rushing with seven touchdowns on 39 carries.
The Crimson Tide averaged 7.8 yards rushing in a 63-48 win over Ole Miss. For Harris, he tallied a game-high 206 rushing yards with five scores.
He averaged nine yards per carry and got stronger as the game went on. All of the work he did with former Auburn running back, Brad Lester over the summer has given Tide fans the player it wants. Even with his improved abilities as a runner, Harris remains dangerous out the backfield. He caught three passes for 42 receiving yards — including a 24-yard reception in the third quarter and the drive ended with him scoring a 3-yard touchdown run. Harris has now climbed to No. 10 all-time for rushing yards in school history (2,724). He has a stacked list ahead of him that include names such as Johnny Musso, Damien Harris, Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram, T.J. Yeldon, Kenneth Darby, Bobby Humphrey, Shaun Alexander and the leader, Derrick Henry.
His outing against Mississippi earned him Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week.
.@ohthatsNajee22 was on another level ???
Harris as earned @WalterCampFF National Offensive Player of the Week!#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/5YTlteIzak
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 11, 2020
News came on Sunday via the Walter Camp Football Foundation. It took him 13 games to reach 13 rushing scores in 2019, but Harris already has 10 rushing touchdowns in three games for this season.
According to Lester, he told yours truly of Touchdown Alabama Magazine that he was shocked to hear Harris say he’s never had a touchdown run more than 16 to 17 yards. While he knew the aggressive running style of Harris, Lester committed himself to helping Harris get faster.
When it comes to motivation, Lester said Harris never lacked the drive to be great.
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“I knew this was going to be a different year for him (Harris) when he chose to not shy away from pushing his body to be better,” Lester said. “We had a long workout one day back in the summer. We were out there for three to four hours and I wanted to take it easy on him in the next workout. I wanted to keep it light, so I gave him the option of two different workouts. I tried to trick him into taking option A, which was easier, but he chose option B. The second option was a workout that was just as strenuous as the one we had one earlier, but his motivation showed me how much he wants the Heisman. He got my respect that day because a lot of athletes with his talent and ability would take it easy, but he is not like that. I just hope these NFL team really pay attention.”
After taking care of Mississippi, Harris has the task of pounding the best defensive front in the Southeastern Conference.
Georgia brings in one of the top defenses in college football under Kirby Smart, and it looks to shut Harris down.
A major performance from him versus the Bulldogs could lock Harris into being the first back taken in the 2021 NFL Draft.
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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.
