Alabama Football: Will Najee Harris rush for 1,000 yards in 2019?

Najee Harris has patiently waited his turn to be the starting running back for Alabama football. What will he do with his opportunity?

Alabama is one of the best schools for running backs to make a name for themselves. Ever since Nick Saban has been at the helm of Alabama football, players like Glenn Coffee, Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and Derrick Henry have carried the team. It is now time for Najee Harris to do the same thing.

However, things are different for running backs now. Alabama likes to use a stable of running backs as opposed to one work horse. They also have one of the best pairings in college football with Tua Tagovailoa and Jerry Jeudy. With that connection, the need to run the ball 50 times a game just isn’t there anymore.

With other running backs like Brian Robinson and Trey Sanders in the mix, Harris will have to fight for carry. However, I think he has the skill to be a key back and rack up yards on the stat sheet. He has the footwork to make players miss in between the tackles, and he can do just about anything in the open field. He has the jukes, the trucks, and the hurdles to stun crowds. He risks his body on just about every play, but he always falls forward on runs.

As a sophomore, Harris got 783 rushing yards on 117 carries. If he got as many carries as Damien Harris, the leading rusher for the Tide, did last season, he would reach the 1,000-yard mark. It’s not that simple, but I think he will get there. Firstly, I think he will get more carries than Damien Harris did as a senior. Harris had to fight off both Josh Jacobs and Najee. Jacobs was a first-round back, and Najee is too talented to keep off the field.

Najee Harris will have to fight off plenty of talent, but the only back that contributed at all last season was Brian Robinson. The freshmen backs are incredibly talented, but they will have to wait their turn.

Unless Robinson has a breakout year similar to what Jacobs did last season, I don’t see how Najee Harris doesn’t reach 1,000 yards rushing. He is just too talented to avoid touches. The potent passing game will open up running lanes, and Harris is more than talented enough to take advantage of them.

Najee Harris has patiently waited his turn to be Alabama’s starting running back. Now that his time has come, he will make the most of every rep he gets. If he avoids an injury, I can’t think of a way that he doesn’t reach 1000 rushing yards on the season.