Najee Harris:
Ex-Antioch star expected to play in No. 1 Alabama’s opener against No. 3 Florida State.
Tianna Hicks was hard to miss at Antioch High football games last season — planted in the stands near midfield, wearing her son’s No. 2 jersey, exulting every time Najee Harris bounced off overmatched tacklers and fled downfield.
So why would this weekly habit change just because Harris now plays for Alabama? Hicks moved to Birmingham, found a job and will drive to Atlanta to watch Harris make his college debut Saturday against Florida State.
“I have to follow him,” Hicks said in a phone interview this week. “I’ve
“I have to follow him. I’ve been watching him play all his life, so I’m not going to stop now.” — Tianna Hicks, on her son, Alabama running back Najee Harris
been watching him play all his life, so I’m not going to stop now.”
Harris, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2017 — and the subject of The Chronicle’s multimedia series “Najee Chronicles” — could make an immediate splash in the college football world. Not surprisingly, his blend of size (6-foot-2, 227 pounds), speed and elusiveness translated to the next level in his early months at Alabama.
His crazy-athletic hurdle in Alabama’s spring game didn’t hurt. Nor did his diligent work habits and reliable hands as a receiver.
Harris is listed as the co-thirdstring running back on Alabama’s
depth chart. Juniors Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris officially are co-starters, and then Harris and sophomore Josh Jacobs (recovering from a hamstring injury) are listed as equals in the next spot.
More germane is this: Head coach Nick Saban, almighty king of Alabama football, unequivocally said Harris will play in Saturday’s marquee, season-opening showdown between the top-ranked Crimson Tide and No. 3 Seminoles.
“I don’t think there’s any question he’s done an outstanding job in his development here through spring practice and fall camp,” Saban said of Harris on a conference call this week. “Right now, he is going to have an opportunity to play in this game, and I think he’ll make a significant contribution to our team throughout this season. We’re very excited he’s here.”
It clearly helped that Harris graduated early from Antioch and enrolled in school in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for the spring semester. He lives in a two-bedroom apartment with freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, another decorated recruit.
Harris, like all freshmen football players at Alabama, is not allowed to speak to the media. His mom acknowledged it was a “big transition” going from Antioch to Tuscaloosa in the middle of the school year, even though the living conditions helped Harris acclimate.
“It’s not normal dorm living,” Hicks said. “These football players get the treatment. They’re fed constantly.”
Still, the Bay Area and the South might as well be on different planets. Hicks, who has lived on the West Coast nearly her entire life (mostly the Bay Area and Seattle), suspected as much but didn’t fully know until she arrived in Birmingham in February.
“The South is a whole new world,” Hicks said. “They’re great people, but we both don’t know anybody out here; you’re trying to have a social life, but you’re a Westerner and these are Southerners. We’re both having that issue.”
Football-wise, Harris adapted quickly by most accounts. He enrolled early, in part, so he could participate in Alabama’s spring practices, and that gave him a jump-start in learning the offense and adjusting to the speed of the game.
He gained 70 yards in 17 carries in the spring game, showing why so many schools — including Michigan, Cal, USC and UCLA — coveted him.
Michael Casagrande, who covers the Crimson Tide for the Birmingham News and al.com, said Harris “created a lot of buzz” with his spring-game performance. That buzz lingered through the summer, to the point where Casagrande compared it to last year’s buildup with quarterback Jalen Hurts, who went on to have a terrific freshman season.
Saban, naturally, preached patience with Harris.
“He’s got great size and speed, and he’s very instinctive as a runner,” Saban said. “He’s a good receiver. For all freshmen, the knowledge and experience, understanding the offense, having the confidence — those things only come with repetition and playing experience. We’re going to be very patient with his development.”
As Harris dives into his inaugural season, his mom offers a familiar, comforting presence. Harris switched to No. 22 (Hurts wears No. 2), the same number once worn by Alabama running back Mark Ingram, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2009.
So, on Saturday at MercedesBenz Stadium, an exuberant woman in the stands will wear a Crimson Tide hat, leggings and a No. 22 jersey with “Najee’s Mom” across the back.
“I’m going to be all Bama-ed out,” Hicks said. “That’s my baby playing, so I gotta represent.”