Tide’s Harris fine with heavier work load
Running back is OK with his heavier load
Alabama running back Damien Harris experienced a different feeling in the hours after Monday night’s Sugar Bowl victory over Clemson, and he liked it.
“Sore,” a smiling Harris said Thursday afternoon in a news conference. “I’m still sore.”
Harris had a career-high 19 carries for 77 yards in the 24-6 win over the Tigers, which was in sharp contrast to the six carries he had in Alabama’s previous game, the 26-14 loss at Auburn on Nov. 25. The 5-foot11, 221-pound junior was by no means running up and down the field in New Orleans, but he averaged a decent 4.1 yards per carry in a matchup of standout defenses.
Getting Harris going was an obvious key for the Crimson Tide. He rushed eight times for 35 yards in the first quarter and had 12 carries for 55 yards at halftime.
“We wanted to establish the run game, and we wanted to establish a physical tone,” sophomore left tackle Jonah Williams said. “Damien does a great job of being a physical runner, but he can also be elusive. He can do a Superman jump when he needs to.
“He’s an all-around great running back, and he was definitely a spark for us.”
The “Superman” remark referenced a fourth-and-1 at Clemson’s 18-yard line midway through the third quarter that Harris converted by leaping over defenders for a 4-yard gain. The conversion enabled the Tide to extend a drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Da’Ron Payne to all but put the game away at 17-6 given the way Alabama’s defense was performing.
When asked about his fourth-down leap, Harris said, “Getting the yard was all I really cared about.”
Harris started 12 of 15 games during the 2016 season and rushed for 1,037 yards, but he took a back seat to teammate Bo Scarbrough during Alabama’s playoff drive that came up short in last January’s championship loss to Clemson. Harris heads into Monday night’s title showdown against Georgia as the Tide’s top ground threat, having rushed 129 times for 983 yards and 11 touchdowns.
His 7.6 yards per carry is significantly higher than Scarbrough’s 4.8-yard average (120 carries for 573 yards), and it’s higher than the 5.5-yard clip for Hurts (148 for 808).
Whether Alabama can get Harris going against Georgia could be just as important with the Bulldogs unleashing the tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel against the vaunted Tide defense. Harris had a previous career high of 17 carries during a 33-14 win over Texas A&M in 2016, when he rushed for 128 yards.
His season high until Monday had been 14 carries in a 27-19 win in October at Texas A&M, where he amassed 124 yards.
“It helped us control the tempo of the game, and we kept the clock moving,” Harris said. “Our offensive line played very well, and I think they were challenged as men all week about how good Clemson’s defensive line was. I think they took it personally. They played with a purpose.
“It was a lot of carries for me, and it was fun. I would never complain about getting too many carries. It was just kind of what the coaches asked me to do.”
Teams arrive
Alabama and Georgia arrived Friday night in Atlanta and will have media sessions this morning inside Philips Arena, the home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. The Bulldogs will head back to Athens after their media obligation for an afternoon practice.
Odds and ends
Georgia five-star quarterback signee Justin Fields announced Friday through social media that he would be enrolling early. … Former Bulldogs inside linebacker Christian Robinson is the new inside linebackers coach at Florida under new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, a former Georgia assistant. … Former Georgia receiver and assistant coach Bryan McClendon was promoted Friday from South Carolina’s receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator to offensive coordinator.