Najee Harris Hurdles a Defender in One of the Most Incredible College Football Plays of the Year

If you watched the Rose Bowl on New Years Day and you DIDNT have your jaw on the floor during that Najee Harris play, I genuinely dont know what to tell you. That wasnt football. That was a highlight reel from a video game. Alabama’s star running back straight up HURDLED a Notre Dame defender who was standing almost completely upright.

Harris takes the handoff and starts going to work. Notre Dame defender Nick McCloud is there to make the stop. Except instead of getting tackled, Harris just… jumps. Over a grown man. Sports Illustrated captured the moment perfectly – even Nick Saban admitted he tries to teach Harris NOT to do it.

The play went for 53 yards and set up a touchdown. This man is 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds. Hes not some little scat back. Hes a full-sized power running back who decided the laws of physics were suggestions.

Magic Johnson literally tweeted that it was the best play hed ever seen. Everyone was losing their minds. It was that kind of play.

CBS Sports scouting report on Harris specifically mentions his propensity for wanting to hurdle defenders. Because yes, its spectacular. Its also risky.

Harris is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The way NIL deals and the transfer portal have transformed college athletics means players like Harris have more visibility than ever. Alabama went on to win the game. But that hurdle would still be what everyone remembered.