Najee Harris Obliterates Florida, Alabama's Record Book at Same Time

ATLANTA — University of Alabama running back Najee Harris' receiving abilities shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody.

They certainly don't to him.

"I have been catching the ball since I was in the fetus position," Harris said after his five-touchdown performance in the Crimson Tide's 52-46 victory over Florida on Saturday night, which captured the program's 28th Southeastern Conference Championship.

Three of Harris' five scores came through the air on plays of seven, 23, and 17, respectively.All of which came in the second quarter, propelling Alabama to a 35-17 lead at intermission.

"When my position is called, being a passing play or position, I try to make the most of it," Harris said. "I guess that showed up tonight."

He finished the game as the Crimson Tide's second-leading receiver with five catches for 67 yards.

"Najee is a really good receiver," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "Always has been. He's worked really hard to fine tune his game as a receiver — learning how to run routes, learning how to run routes out of the backfield, option routes, different things to get.

"He's gotten really good at those kind of things and I think our coaches have done a great job helping him with that."

While the Gators defense had a difficult time containing Harris when he lined up out wide or caught a screen pass in the backfield, he was an even bigger problem on the ground.

Harris toted the rock 31 times for 178 yards and two more touchdowns as he set the SEC Championship Game record for most scores by a single player in a single-game, breaking Auburn tailback Tre Mason's previous record of four set in 2013.

In the process, the 2020 SEC Championship Game Most Valuable Player became the Crimson Tide's all-time leading rusher, surpassing Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry, on a one-yard touchdown score in the fourth quarter.

The Antioch, Calif. native now sits atop the charts with 3,639 yards and that number will continue to grow as Alabama also clinched a spot into the College Football Playoff with the win over the Gators.

Harris, like he has done all season, shied away from the spotlight and gave the credit to his teammates in the trenches postgame.

"It's an honor to be in that position," Harris said. "But I can't thank the line enough for really making this happen for me. I know my name is going to be on there. But just for the offensive line to come and make those holes, really I feel like they should be on the all-time leading rusher, somewhere up there, too."

He also set the school-record for most career rushing touchdowns (44), passing Henry and Mark Ingram II, most career touchdowns by a non-quarterback (53), and tied the Alabama record for most scores in a single game.

Needless to say, Harris returned to the Capstone for his senior year for a moment like what happened Saturday night in Mercedes-Benz Stadium -- doing snow angels in the confetti, wearing a cap that reads 'SEC Champions', realizing the weight of what his team just accomplished amidst a global pandemic.

"A lot of stuff happened this year with the COVID, of course, all the injustice stuff," Harris said. "A lot of distractions out there, a lot of stuff going on we should take seriously.

"Just to have these hats on, it's an honor. At first we didn't know if we were going to play or not. Just, like I said, to have these hats is an honor."