Tide’s Harris carries it well
The emergence of freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts wasn’t the only significant surprise during Alabama’s 52-6 trampling of Southern California last Saturday night at AT&T Stadium near Dallas.
There was an unexpected look to the running game as well.
After an offseason in which sophomore Bo Scarbrough was expected to continue the Crimson Tide tailback pipeline that was enhanced last year by Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake, it was fellow sophomore Damien Harris who inflicted the most damage against the Trojans. A 5-foot-11, 214-pounder from Berea, Ky., Harris rushed nine times for 138 yards, averaging 15.3 yards per carry.
“Damien did a nice job in camp and did a nice job in the spring,” Tide coach Nick Saban said in a news conference after the game. “We thought he was the guy who would be the most productive at the position. We have a lot of faith, trust and confidence in Bo and are hopeful he will continue to improve and respond, because we would like to be able to play two backs, and those two have the most experience.”
A 73-yard run midway through the third quarter highlighted the big night for Harris, who also had a 46-yard carry.
“I’ve got to give credit to the O-line,” Harris told reporters this week. “Those are the guys who make everything happen. They work so hard in practice every single day, and the biggest thing for me is developing trust with those guys.”
Scarbrough was the first-team tailback in the A-Day spring game and had been working with the first team throughout August. Yet Harris got the start
Saturday night, with Scarbrough entering on the second possession.
The 6-2, 228-pound Scarbrough wound up with 11 carries against USC for 36 yards. He had a 9-yard run and scored from 2 yards out early in the fourth quarter to make it 45-6.
“We’re encouraged by the progress that Bo is making,” Saban said this week. “We would like for him to continue to make a significant contribution for us. This was basically Bo’s first game where he played much, and we weren’t disappointed at all in the way that he played.
“I think attention to detail in some things would probably help him have more success, and that’s why we practice, and that’s why we’re going to continue to try to help him improve on those things so that he can have the kind of success that he would like to have.”
Although Harris had 157 yards last season compared to Scarbrough’s 104, it was Scarbrough who turned more heads down the stretch. Scarbrough had 69 yards to 44 by Harris in November’s 56-6 thumping of Charleston Southern, when each got decent playing time, and Scarbrough had an impressive 9-yard run in the Cotton Bowl rout of Michigan State.
Scarbrough even had Heisman Trophy odds entering the season, leading to expectations Saban hopes can stay among the fans and media and not filter into the locker room.
“I think expectations are an external factor that players have to put out of their mind and understand that,” Saban said. “Whether it’s in preparation or how you manage your roles, you’ve got to focus on the main thing and keep the main thing the main thing, which is ‘What do I have to do to go out there and execute and play well?’
“Creating anxiety for somebody’s expectation or what somebody thinks somebody ought to do is not beneficial to performance at all. We try to get our players to understand that.”
Alabama hosts Western Kentucky on Saturday, which could be a second big game for Harris or a first big showing for Scarbrough. Either way, Crimson Tide coaches are not expecting them to be Henry and Drake overnight.
“It’s a big challenge for us, because all of our running backs are young,” offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said. “I think every scholarship running back on our roster is a freshman or sophomore, which is a strange situation because of the three great backs we’ve had the last two years.
“It’s just another challenge that we have. We have a lot of talent, but it’s our job to get them ready to play.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6524.