Reports: Alabama RB Najee Harris expected to return for senior season
Another prominent Alabama player has decided to return for his senior season.
According to multiple outlets, the Crimson Tide will have running back Najee Harris back on the field in 2020. Harris is not expected to make an announcement on social media, according to 247Sports. Alabama has not offered any official comment about Harris ahead of the Jan. 20 deadline for underclassmen to formally declare for the NFL draft.
Harris led Alabama with 1,224 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing this season. He also had 27 catches for 304 yards and seven touchdowns. Harris was part of a three-way rushing attack for the Tide alongside Damien Harris and Joshua Jacobs in 2018 and finished second on the team with 783 yards and four scores.
The 2020 class of running backs is a deep one with players like J.K. Dobbins (Ohio State), D’Andre Swift (Georgia) and Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin) already declaring for the draft. Harris may not have been a Day 1 choice, but likely would have been a mid-round selection. With another standout season in the SEC, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Harris could move up draft boards in 2021.
Three other Alabama draft-eligible juniors — linebacker Dylan Moses, wide receiver DeVonta Smith and offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood — have announced their intention to return in 2020 as the Tide tries to get back to the top of the College Football Playoff after missing it for the first time in the format’s existence.
While those four will be back in Tuscaloosa, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, offensive lineman Jedrick Wills, receivers Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, linebacker Terrell Lewis and safety Xavier McKinney have all declared for the NFL draft. Yahoo Sports NFL draft analyst Eric Edholm has all six as first-round picks in his most recent mock draft. Trevon Diggs, a senior cornerback, also lands in the first round.
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