‘Workaholic’ Najee Harris quickly endearing himself to Steelers, fans – Pittsburgh Steelers Blog

PITTSBURGH — Operating to his left, Najee Harris took the handoff from Ben Roethlisberger on the second play of the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ workforce run interval Saturday afternoon.

Virtually immediately, he met a swarm of defenders, together with Professional Bowl defensive lineman Cameron Heyward. Harris, although, didn’t cease.

Virtually like a magic trick, he bounced off and thru the scrum and continued to string out the run, turning what appeared to be a damaging play right into a 5-yard acquire.

“Not each play goes to be blocked,” Harris stated Saturday. “And I do know that. I believe what separates the operating backs, from the nice one and an beginner one is when a play isn’t blocked for what it was, what can he create? That’s what I attempt to do. I attempt to create as a lot as I can when the play just isn’t blocked.”

With an unproven offensive line in entrance of him, the first-rounder’s success in his rookie season might very effectively hinge on that skill to create one thing from nothing.

Afterward, a reporter in Harris’ media scrum in contrast the run to one thing out of the Walter Payton period — one which occurred effectively earlier than the 23-year-old Harris’ time. Nonetheless, he laughed when one other reporter steered he was too younger to know the Corridor of Famer Payton.

“Come on now, I do know Walter Payton,” Harris stated. “Gale Sayers, come on now. Herschel Walker. The place else you wanna go? Berry Sanders, yeah.”

Harris is aware of all of the greats, and simply 9 practices into his first coaching camp, exterior expectations have already pegged him as one of many subsequent ones.

“This younger man goes to do nice issues with the Steelers,” one fan tweeted.

“This man would possibly go down as the very best Steeler in historical past if the on-field product matches his persona,” one other added.

Drafted to assist Roethlisberger win a Tremendous Bowl within the twilight of his profession and usher within the subsequent technology of nice Pittsburgh operating backs, Harris’ demeanor and expertise make him the proper potential star to bridge the outdated guard and the following period of Steelers soccer.

Step one to doing that’s constructing a relationship along with his 39-year-old quarterback. Early in Saturday’s apply, Harris and Roethlisberger had an prolonged one-on-one dialog on the sideline as they labored to get on the identical web page.

“He continuously desires to get higher,” Roethlisberger instructed ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio. “He would not have this perspective that he is aware of all of it, or he is a celebrity or something like that. You seize him, you pull him apart, you discuss to him about one thing, and he understands that you just’re attempting to assist him and that he can do the little issues to get higher.”

Throughout rookie minicamp, Harris and the opposite drafted offensive rookies went over to Roethlisberger’s home — although, as Harris stated, describing it as a home doesn’t fairly cowl it: “I can’t even name it a home. I went to his constructing. I went to his constructing, his compound. That factor is large.” Harris hung out with Roethlisberger, however he additionally went swimming along with his children.

On the sphere, the pair are nonetheless engaged on their chemistry and timing. Harris, drafted as a lot for his pass-catching skill as his spectacular runs, had a pair of drops Saturday. The day earlier than, Harris dropped a play-action cross from Mason Rudolph on Roethlisberger’s off day, however he rebounded with a 12-yard run on the following play.

“That’s a part of the game,” Harris stated. “You give me the very best participant, I guess he dropped a pair balls, too. Lot of drops yearly in soccer. That’s a part of the game. It’s not about what number of you drop, it’s about coming again the following play and doing one thing to make up for it.”

Harris’ strategy of ingratiating himself with the group hardly stops with the quarterback.

He and normal supervisor Kevin Colbert have constructed a fast rapport, a lot in order that Harris even did an impersonation of Colbert and talked about an inside joke that features the pair swapping music suggestions throughout his interview Saturday afternoon.

“I used to be taking part in Sam Cooke and I used to be like, ‘Hey, who’s this?’ And he’s like, ‘I don’t know who that is,’” Harris stated, trying to mimic Colbert’s voice. “You know the way he talks. He’s been sending me some stuff. He doesn’t even know who Sam Cooke is.”

He’s additionally endearing himself to the coaches along with his fabled work ethic. Documented as having a tireless motor in highschool and faculty, Harris started the NFL chapter of his legend earlier this summer time when Roethlisberger instructed reporters that operating backs coach Eddie Faulkner needed to kick Harris out of the Steelers’ apply facility throughout OTAs as a result of he wanted to go house to his household.

“It seems he is a man that enjoys the drudgery, the issues that possibly others do not,” coach Mike Tomlin instructed Paolantonio. “You see that oftentimes in guys like him. He is a workaholic. I believe he is exhibiting these traits, which is superb clearly, by way of him being able to do the issues that we’ll want him to do for us in 2021.

“He is tireless. He is tireless out right here. He is tireless within the classroom setting, and I believe all of that helps him and us.”

Earlier than every coaching camp apply, Harris and Tomlin discuss concerning the plan for the day, and Harris implores Tomlin to let him tackle larger, stronger linebackers within the Steelers’ backs-on-backers drill. That’s how he wound up taking over 215-pound inside linebacker Marcus Allen on Day 1 and 242-pound outdoors linebacker Alex Highsmith within the subsequent padded apply.

“(Tomlin) understands as a result of he likes to compete,” Harris stated. “Once in a while he would possibly say, ‘Oh, nah, nah, nah.’ However for probably the most half, he’s like yeah, for positive, you are able to do no matter you need.”

For Harris, going up in opposition to linebackers of various sizes is as a lot a psychological problem as it’s a bodily one — and it ensures he gained’t be shocked by something.

“Me, choosing out all the blokes, me desirous to go up in opposition to D-ends, it’s instructing me mentally, to make use of higher method,” he stated. “In the event you see me on the market, you see me declaring or yelling out for larger guys stuff like that simply so I can get that rep so in a recreation it gained’t be one thing new to me.”

Harris’ first recreation expertise gained’t come till later this week when the Steelers journey to Canton, Ohio to tackle the Dallas Cowboys within the preseason-opening Corridor of Fame Recreation. However in 4 public practices at Heinz Area, he’s already gotten a superb style of Steelers followers’ fervor for his or her new operating again.

“The fanbase right here is unmatched,” Harris stated. “I got here from Alabama and we had an enormous fanbase, however right here in Pittsburgh, they’re slightly bit crazier than ‘Bama ones.”

For each fan sporting a JuJu Smith-Schuster, T.J. Watt and Roethlisberger jersey into Heinz Area for the open practices, it appeared there have been two of Harris’ No. 22. He drew cheers from the group when he ripped off a long term or walked over to the sideline close to the 1000’s unfold out within the stadium’s decrease bowl.

As quickly as he was drafted, he talked about attending to know the Pittsburgh group, about serving each followers and individuals who actually wanted assist, persevering with the initiatives he started in his Bay Space hometown after which took to Alabama.

“I do know followers are out right here and need me to signal stuff,” Harris stated. “However I can’t. There’s a algorithm I’ve obtained to observe myself. All of the followers on the market calling my title, I’m sorry. It’s simply part of the protocol. I’m following it. However there’s going to be a time the place I can discuss to the followers and do all that stuff. There’s going to be a time the place I can discuss to the group extra. However proper now, since [it’s] my rookie yr, I’m attempting to get my toes moist, I’m attempting to do what I can to make Pittsburgh comfortable, GM comfortable, Ben comfortable, workforce comfortable.”

There’s nonetheless greater than a month earlier than Harris fits up and makes his regular-season debut at Heinz Area, however he’s already a larger-than-life determine making everybody round him comfortable.

It’s far too early to label him as the following nice, however in Pittsburgh, it may be too late to mood expectations.