Alabama's Christian Harris Feeling More Confident in Year Two
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Yes, the University of Alabama defense has its unequivocal leader back with redshirt-junior linebacker Dylan Moses.
But, an x-factor for that unit could be sophomore linebacker Christian Harris, who dazzled last Saturday night against Missouri, recording six tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack.
He was flying all over the field, looking faster, bigger, and stronger than a season ago, and that's a scary sight for opposing offenses to come.
Harris spoke to the media on Monday afternoon to delve into what makes this year different than his freshman campaign.
"I do feel a lot more confident out there on the field now than I did last year," Harris said. "I think a lot of that has to do with the playbook. I feel a lot more comfortable playing now. Having Dylan Moses next to me, it kind of gives everyone on the defense a little bit of confidence. Because he makes all the calls for me. I just got to go out there and play football like I’ve been doing since I was five. It makes things a lot easier for me. Like I said, I feel a lot more confident. I can play fast and show people what I can do."
Moses and Harris' connection isn't new.
The two played together before they arrived at the Capstone at University Lab in Baton Rouge, La., and Harris was just as blown away by Moses' performance over the weekend like many Crimson Tide fans.
“It was pretty amazing. I played with Dylan in high school, and it’s crazy to see how he really hasn’t changed as a player. Dylan is just relentless, going 100 percent regardless of what’s going on. We talked about it after the game, how crazy it was that two dudes from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, growing up with each other and getting to play together against another team at this high level.
The Louisiana native assessed the defense's play from over the weekend and gave his reaction to being named one of the program's players of the week.
“As a team, the front seven, I think we did a pretty good job with communications," Harris said. "I think we may have had a couple of missed assignments. We’re going to go back on that this week and look at it and try to fix it and prepare for [Texas] A&M this week so we don’t make as many mistakes as we did last game. I think in the first half we did pretty good, but we didn’t really finish in the second half and that’s something Coach really wants the right focus on, especially not giving up any points in the fourth quarter. That’s something we really strive on, so that’s a little bit of a disappointment in us. We’re going to bounce back with it [this] week. As far as being player of the week, that’s cool. I don’t really pay attention to stuff like that. I just try to go out and execute Coach’s game plan and do whatever I can to help our team to be in the best position to be successful. If awards come with that, so be it, but I’m just trying to do what I can for the team.”
Texas A&M is now on deck for Alabama and its the first game inside Bryant-Denny Stadium this season on Saturday, and with limited seating capacity, Harris knows each and every one of his teammates are going to have to bring their own energy to avoid second-half lapses like last week.
“Being a football player, regardless of if there are fans or no fans, you get to compete against another team, it’s another opportunity for you to show the world what you can do," Harris said. "Regardless if fans or not, it’s another opportunity that you want to take advantage of. I think having fans out there is going to help 100 percent because I love our fans and having people out there are the craziest fans I’ve ever had. But I think not having that many fans in the stands if you are competitor, it doesn’t really play a factor in the way you play.”
