When the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Najee Harris with their first-round selection in 202, they knew they were getting a phenomenal athlete. Harris had wowed football fans all over the world with his exceptional abilities, including the ability to fly. Really. Harris can literally take flight and hurdle over defenders. Now Harris shares the time that the league created a rule to try to keep him from hurdling.
ESPN
Steelers' Najee Harris hurdles over a Cincinnati Bengals defender.
Harris spent four years at Alabama playing under Head Coach Nick Saban. During his time with the Crimson Tide, he played in and helped them win two National Championships. He was a Doak Walker Award winner and a unanimous All-American.
He certainly racked up the rushing yardage in college. He played in 51 games over four seasons and rushed for 3,843 yards in 638 attempts, averaging six yards a carry. He scored 46 touchdowns (the 26 scored his senior season were the most in the NCAA).
Harris doesn't only run, he also has great hands. He had 80 receptions for 781 yards and another 11 touchdowns. During his junior year, he scored seven receiving touchdowns, which was the most for a running back in college football that year. He finished his college career as the all-time leader in rushing yards (3,843), total scrimmage yards (4,624), and touchdowns (57) for the Tide. Harris even got some attention for the Heisman Trophy and came in fifth in the voting in 2020, losing to his teammate receiver DeVonta Smith.
While Coach Saban might be one of the most gifted coaches ever in college football and definitely knows how to recruit, Harris was widely considered one of the top two recruits in 2017 by most scouting agencies when he was in high school. There was a good reason why Harris got offers from every top program in the nation, but he decided on Alabama in 2015 and stuck by his word.
Sports Illustrated
Steelers' Najee Harris was a top recruit coming out of Antioch High School.
He attended Antioch High School in Antioch, California where he dazzled everyone who saw him. When he left Antioch, he was one of the best backs the area, the nation, had ever seen. He rushed for 7,948 yards and 94 touchdowns during his four years in high school. He was averaging 9.5 yards per carry and rushing for nearly 200 yards a game.
While Harris gained notoriety for his bruising style, he could frequently be seen dragging defenders behind him when he played for Alabama, he had another secret weapon. He can hurdle other human beings.
Steelers' Najee Harris Said Not Everyone Wanted Him To Fly
Recently Harris appeared on an episode of Steelers teammate, Cam Heyward's podcast, Not Just Football With Cam Heyward. Heyward asked him about hurdling, when it started, and how he knows when to employ it?
"When I'm turning the corner and I see this DB you got two things you're gonna do. If I see him coming at me low then I'm gonna go high (mimics hurdling). If he's coming to get me straight on, then I'm gonna lower my shoulder and hit him."
Harris is not someone you would expect to be hurdling over huge defenders. He is about 6'2" and 230 pounds with thighs like tree trunks. During his time at Alabama, he gained national attention for his acrobatic feats. This included a mind-blowing leap over University of Notre Dame defender Nick McCloud before Harris ran for 53 yards.
Roger Steinman, AP
Alabama's RB Najee Harris hurdles over Notre Dame CB Nick McCloud during the Rose Bowl in 2021.
He hurdles defenders so much that it became a bit passe for his Tide teammates. Smith told the media it is something they see all the time. Saban said that he tried to coach it out of Harris, but it didn't work, so he just embraced it. Harris mentions Saban being angry about it when Heyward asked him if his high school coach got mad when he started doing it. Harris said it got much worse.
"They actually made a rule for me in high school that I couldn't hurdle. It was the Najee rule. I was in the Bay Valley Athletic League and they said I couldn't hurdle. Then I went to college and you know Saban, 'Can't do this sh*t 22, this isn't high school!' He kept seeing me do it and he was like, 'You can do it, but just make sure you be safe.'"
While he started to hurdle to avoid painful tackles, he said that at times, he lands funny, sometimes even on his neck - so he knows he has to be careful. But he likens football to chess, not checkers, saying that what he does is strategic and well-planned.
It is hard not to be dazzled by watching someone Harris' size go out and leap over another very large human being. Harris has not been routinely breaking those 50+ yard runs like he was in college, of course, the defenders he plays against now are of a different caliber.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers RB Najee Harris makes another gravity-defying leap over a defender.
What do you think of Harris hurdling over defenders? Do you think it is overly risky or do you feel the ends justify the means if he is able to pick up additional yardage? Click to comment below.
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