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Nick Saban confident in RB Damien Harris heading into 2017 season
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Alabama’s backfield is absolutely loaded, to put it plainly, heading into the 2017 season.
With Bo Scarbrough and Josh Jacobs returning and 5-star recruit Najee Harris joining the mix, the Crimson Tide will have one of the most powerful running games in the SEC.
However, a 1,000-yard rusher — Damien Harris — is sometimes overlooked, though he ran for 1,040 yards and four touchdowns in 2016.
Coach Nick Saban told AL.com that he doesn’t overlook Harris, though, and expects him to make a big impact this fall:
“Damien has played a lot of good football for us,” Saban said. “He’s a very talented guy. He’s a rare combination of make-you-miss, burst, acceleration, speed. Has enough power as a player. He’s a good receiver. Damien’s biggest thing is, how do we get him to play with consistency at a high level all the time? There’s times that he’s battled some nagging injuries. And last year, he had some phenomenal games early, got a little bit nicked up and never really came back the same. We know he has the capabilities to be a dominant player for us, and hopefully he can stay healthy this year and be able to do that. But we have a lot of faith, trust and confidence in Damien Harris.”
If Scarbrough is healthy, he’ll likely be the starter this fall, but there will be plenty of work to go around.
Harris has proven he can be a valuable runner when healthy, so it wouldn’t be a big surprise if he turned in another outstanding season.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
