Did you see Bo Scarbrough run over that guy? How does the freshman Najee Harris look so far? Will Josh Jacobs get more carries this season? Is Brian Robinson going to redshirt or will he be a special team contributor his freshman season?
These are all popular questions regarding the running back position heading into the 2017 season. Another question that should be asked is, ‘Why doesn’t Damien Harris get more attention for the things he’s accomplished?’
It’s a valid question too.
Harris rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season and averaged 7.1 yards per carry. He rushed for two touchdowns.
He flashed all of his talents on a mesmerizing run against Ole Miss. He ran off left tackle, following the block of tight end O.J. Howard, used good speed to get into the secondary, ran through an arm tackle of a defensive back and used his strength to pull a defender to the 1 yard line.
It’s that skill that Harris will display again this season.
“Learned a lot last year,” Harris said. “I think the biggest thing that this team has learned is that we got to finish. We had a great year last year, and all we can think about is the fact that we didn’t finish the way we wanted to. I think that’s the biggest lesson that’s the biggest lesson that we are taking from last year. I know last year’s over. I know that chapter’s closed, but we’ll never forget that and we’ll use it to our advantage this coming year.”
“(Me individually?) I guess it’s all the same. I know that I have to do a better job of finishing as well as everybody on the team because if we can all do it individually and collectively as a team we’ll be able to finish better. Every individual on this team thinks that we have to do more to finish. You hear Coach (Nick) Saban talk all the time about sustaining, so that’s kind of where we are.”
Recently asked what he thought about Najee Harris, the freshman that has captivated the entire fan base, he made it clear this group of running backs isn’t about singling anyone out. They’re a unit.
“There’s a lot of things that impress me about a lot of people,” Harris said. “I mean Najee’s a great player, but we’ve got guys like Brian Robinson, Josh (Jacobs), Bo (Scarbrough), myself, a lot of guys on the whole offense that are just doing really great things right now. We’re all competing at a high level. We’re just focused on getting better, and as a team, we just look at the offense and we want to see what all we have to do to get better, whether it’s certain guys playing certain positions and do certain things. No matter what it takes, we’re willing to do whatever to make this offense better.”
Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0229.
