Former Alabama running back Damien Harris joined CBS Sports HQ on Thursday to discuss his memories of his time with Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, two coaches to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame later this year.
Harris joined the Crimson Tide in 2015 as a highly touted five-star recruit with big ambitions on his mind, but unfortunately for him, there was a guy in line ahead of him by the name of Derrick Henry, who would later win the Heisman Trophy that year. It was that year that Coach Saban made a huge impact by scaring the true freshman during fall camp.
“I remember it was fall camp, and you know, we had a scrimmage, and he was just, he was pounding me like as far as getting me the football, as far as making me go against the number one defense, and I was tired. And so, then I had to go do my reps on special teams, and of course, I was loafing, and we've all heard Coach Saban talk about loafs many, many times," Harris recalled. "And I remember we watched the film of that the next day, and he literally stood up from his seat, turned around, and looked. And he was like, ‘Where the hell is Damien Harris at?’ And I just kind of raised my hand like, ‘I'm right here, coach.’ And he literally walked up the stairs, probably two or three rows, met me exactly at my seat, and told me I will never play a down of football for him given that kind of effort. And when I say it scared the hell out of me, it did, and that was a part of the reason why I was able to have such a successful career and rush for a thousand yards in back-to-back years and win a couple of national championships.”
Harris went on to describe that he wasn’t necessarily scared of Coach Saban but said that his coaching instilled a fear that made him afraid to let himself and his coach down.
"But you know it wasn't fear truly ... that he struck with you. It was you didn't want to let him down because you knew if you abided by the things that he said, if you bought into his program if you bought into his teaching, his coaching, you were going to be successful. So I was almost scared of letting myself down as much as letting him down because I knew that he was laying out the blueprint for myself, for other guys.”
While at the University of Alabama, Harris recorded two 1000-yard rushing seasons. Harris was a part of two national championships and rushed for 3,070 yards and 23 touchdowns.
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