over rivals dates to Bay Area prep days
Long before he hurdled into history, a Rose Bowl moment for the ages, Najee Harris routinely showed off his vertical leap on much smaller stages.
He jumped over a helpless defender from FoothillPleasanton … and one from De La SalleConcord … and another from FreedomOakley … and two from Pittsburg.
Harris, weary of outsized opponents lunging at his legs, often took flight during his days at Antioch High School. He still likes going airborne at Alabama, as he showed Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl game with his memorable hurdle over Notre Dame cornerback Nick McCloud.
“Honestly, it’s just something that came natuLeaping
rally to him,” Antioch offensive coordinator Brett Dudley said recently. “As a big back, a taller back, a lot of guys in high school were going low at him for their own survival.
“It was never something we coached Najee to do, or practiced. I don’t even know how I would drill that with a running back in the future: ‘ Hey, you’re just going to vertically leap over a kid.’ ”
Antioch coaches discouraged Harris from hurdling in high school, because California rules prohibited the practice if the opponent was on two feet ( i. e. not on the ground). Referees called several penalties on Harris, according to Dudley, even if the defender did not always meet the twofeet stipulation.
Another reason Dudley wasn’t entirely comfortable with hurdling: He recalled the terrifying concussion and neck injury Cal’s Jahvid Best suffered when he jumped over an Oregon State defender in a 2009 game in Berkeley.
Even so, Harris’ habit traces to a North Coast Section playoff game in 2014, his sophomore season. Harris took a handoff against Foothill, ran to his right and completely cleared the cornerback for a 5yard gain.
Asked about the origin of his hurdling during a Zoom news conference last week, Harris said, “I don’t really remember the first one. But it was just a way — I got tired of getting chopped in the legs, man, and the ankles. It hurts. So I guess I just started hurdling.”
The hurdle against Notre
Dame belongs in its own realm. On first down at Alabama’s 35yardline, with 4: 55 left in the first quarter, Harris took a handoff from quarterback Mac Jones, bounced to his right, lengthened his stride in preparation — and simply leaped over McCloud, who was standing at the time ( he’s 6foot, 1⁄ 2inch tall).
Harris ultimately gained 53 yards on the play, setting up an Alabama touchdown.
More lasting will be the breathtaking image of him soaring through the air. Magic Johnson, on Twitter, called it the best play he had ever seen, “because that’s the first time I’ve seen a player jump over a defender standing straight
up!!!”
Fourtime AllPro running back Adrian Peterson tweeted simply, “Najee Harris man!!” Soccer player Megan Rapinoe, who had asked Harris to “hurdle someone for me” after he praised her in a news conference, exulted at the sight.
And Dudley hopped off his livingroom couch.
“That was probably the first time I’ve seen Najee do it to a kid who wasn’t even near the ground,” Dudley said. “I literally screamed, ‘ Holy s—!’ out loud.”