Former Alabama running back, Damien Harris was no different than many other high-profile recruits who thought they were going to start right away in Tuscaloosa as freshmen.
Harris reflected on this time in his life on CBS Sports HQ recently and revealed the moment Nick Saban made it clear what his expectations for his players were.
The Kentucky native flashed back to a practice where Alabama’s offense used him to run the football repeatedly against the starting defense. He was also still expected to do his special teams duties. This led to Harris to taking some plays off and ‘loafing.’
Saban expressed his disappointment the next day while watching film.
“I remember we watched the film of that the next day, and he literally stood up from his seat, turned around and looked and he was like, ‘Where the hell is Damien Harris at?’” Harris said. “I just kind of raised my hand like, ‘I’m right here, coach.’ He literally walked up the stairs probably two or three rows, met me exactly at my seat and told me I will never play a down of football for him, given that kind of effort. When I say it scared the hell out me, it did. And that was a part of the reason why I was able to have such a successful career and rush for a thousand yards back to back years, win a couple national championships. But you know, it wasn’t fear truly…It was you didn’t want to let him down.”
Harris rushed for 2,779 yards and 21 touchdowns while helping Alabama win two National Championships during his time in Tuscaloosa.
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