Najee Harris is excited to play for Alabama during the 2020 season.
Alabama running back Najee Harris decided to return to school for his senior season and is one of many reasons why the Crimson Tide offense is expected to be explosive yet again. He ran for 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns a season ago and will enter the 2021 NFL Draft as a top running back prospect.
It is easy to wonder if Harris regrets his decision to return to school given the COVID-19 pandemic, even though there was no way of predicting this would happen. He made it clear that he never swayed on his decision and never once considered opting out of the season.
Najee Harris wants to play
Speaking to reporters through Zoom, Harris explained his decision to bypass the NFL Draft and why he’s not opting out.
“When I make a decision, I stand firm on it,” Harris said Friday. “I don’t have no regrets on it. I wanted to come back with my team and just grind it out through another year. We didn’t know what was going to happen now, but I feel like we now have a really good team. No matter what, I’m so happy that I came back, and I don’t regret nothing.”
Hindsight is easy in this scenario, but Harris now has a chance to improve his draft stock given the SEC plays its schedule. A player shouldn’t be faulted for being committed to his team.
Choosing not to opt-out is another decision that shouldn’t draw criticism. He clearly has trust in the safety provided to him at the school.
It is unfair to put one’s self into the shoes of a college athlete. They are adults who can make their own decisions and Harris is still set for a nice payday in 2021. For now, he is trying to shoot up the school leaderboards and pass Derrick Henry as the all-time leading rusher. That will be difficult in a shortened season but remains possible given Harris’ abilities.
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.