Najee Harris could be in an NFL training camp right now, but instead, he’s just hoping Alabama’s fall camp not only starts but finishes so that the Crimson Tide have a chance to compete on the field this season.

Despite coming off his best season on the field at Alabama, Harris made the decision to turn down the opportunity to turn pro and instead returned to Tuscaloosa for one more season in order to showcase his continued growth on the field and improve his NFL Draft stock.

Last weekend, with speculation growing that college administrators could pull the plug on the sport, players from around the nation took action and started the #WeWantToPlay movement.

Among the many players to issue that message was Harris.

Known as being one of the more reserved members of the Crimson Tide football team, Harris shared his take on why so many college football players joined the movement.

“We started something to say, ‘We want to play.’ Athletes want to create value for each other this season,” Harris said during a Friday Zoom call. “We work hard, we work hard for this. Just to say we aren’t going to play is heartbreaking. So we thought we should do that.”

Considering the uncertainty of the upcoming season and several high-profile players deciding to opt-out for the season, has Harris given any thought to a potential opt-out?

“No. Not once,” Harris answered. “I haven’t thought about opting-out.”

While that’s a personal decision every player has to make for themselves, Harris is well aware he has little opportunity to improve his stock sitting out the season. The senior returned to Alabama for a reason and he’s determined to finish strong — if the SEC will let him.