Two years ago, Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry rushed time after time to help power Alabama to college football’s national championship.
Last season, Bo Scarbrough had the hot hand at running back and nearly led the Crimson Tide to another national crown before breaking a bone in his leg early in the the third quarter of January’s title-game loss to Clemson.
Damien Harris has been Alabama’s leading running back this season, but he heads into the national semifinal showdown against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day with two very intriguing averages. The 5-foot-11, 221-pound junior from Richmond, Ky., is collecting 8.2 yards per carry but only 9.2 carries per game.
“I’m just here to do whatever’s best for the team, and part of that is trusting in the coaches and trusting in the game plan that they’ve set up,” Harris said this past weekend in a news conference. “I don’t think anything about that. Whatever the coaches think is best for the team, that’s what they’re going to do, and it’s our job as players to believe in them and trust in them.”
Alabama held its third on-campus practice for the Sugar Bowl on Monday, working indoors for two hours in full pads, and it was the first with Jeremy Pruitt back as defensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide have focused on the fundamentals through three days but will turn their attention to Clemson this afternoon.
Harris has rushed 110 times for 906 yards and 11 touchdowns, including 75-yard touchdown runs on consecutive October weekends against Texas A&M and Arkansas. Alabama has spread the wealth under first-year offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, as each of its top five rushers – including sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts – averages more than 5.0 yards per carry in an attack averaging 265.3 rushing yards a game.
Yet two years after Henry rushed 46 times for 271 yards in a 29-13 win at Auburn, the Tide went a different route in last month’s 26-14 Iron Bowl loss. Harris had just six carries for 51 yards, averaging 8.5 yards per carry, while Scarbrough added six rushes for 46 yards, a 7.7-yard clip.
“I was fine with our play-calling,” head coach Nick Saban said after his only regular-season loss of the past two years. “Play-calling is like anything: If it works, it’s a good play, and if it doesn’t, it’s a bad play.”
Harris has never experienced a Henry workload, but he does subscribe to the concept of improving as the game wears on. He has yet to rush 20 times during a contest, with his 18 carries in last year’s 33-14 win over Texas A&M representing his career high with the Tide.
This season he has had just four games with double-digit rushes, topped by a 14-carry, 124-yard outing at Texas A&M.
“I definitely think it’s important to improve as the game goes on,” said Harris, who also has eight receptions this season for 66 yards. “The first couple of plays, you go out and feel your way and kind of assess how the defense plays. As the game goes on, the more carries you get helps you get a better understanding of how a certain play works.
“The more you play, the better feel of a game you have.”
Also factoring into limited carries for Harris this season has been Alabama’s ability to shred half of its Southeastern Conference opposition by scores of 59-0 (Vanderbilt), 66-3 (Ole Miss), 41-9 (Arkansas) and 45-7 (Tennessee). His 8.2 yards per carry would rank in the top five nationally, but the NCAA requires a minimum of 10 carries a game.
Harris will certainly head to New Orleans fresh, with the Tide going 36 days between games.
“It doesn’t really matter what people think as far as who should get the ball or what we should do on offense,” Harris said. “No offense, but I think Coach Saban knows what he’s doing. He’s been doing this for a while, and he’s had a lot of success.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.