SEC Football: 10 best returning players for the 2020 season

4. Najee Harris, RB, Alabama

As a highly touted 5-star recruit, many were waiting for Alabama running back Najee Harris to finally break out and look like a star. But entering the 2019 season, that hadn’t happened. Frankly, it didn’t totally happen at the start of that campaign either. By the end of last season though, Harris looked like the ultra-athletic, super-physical and dominant force that everyone had been waiting to see.

Harris ended last season with 209 carries for 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns while also adding 27 catches for 304 yards and seven touchdowns. Mind you, he put up those numbers as the Crimson Tide were heavily focused on utilizing the passing game as their primary option, speaking to how good Harris was. With Tua Tagovailoa gone now, he may play a bigger role and could be a Heisman dark horse as a result.

3. DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama

Even while sharing the wide receiver room with two first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith still managed to put up gaudy numbers for the Crimson Tide. But while many expected him to join his teammates in the professional ranks, it was Smith who made the decision to play one more year under Saban and he should be set for a starring role.

In 2019, Smith finished the year with only 68 catches given the number of mouths to feed but still had an incredible 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season, including a record-breaking day with 274 yards and five touchdowns against Ole Miss and a 213-yard, two-score day against LSU as well. Though the quarterback situation will change, Smith is now the guy for the Alabama offense and appears ready to fill that role seamlessly.