Najee Harris starting back at step one in transition to NFL

[Steely McBeam]

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Running back Najee Harris had enough success at Alabama to make himself a first-round pick this year, but the Steelers rookie knows that his past exploits won’t matter much.

Harris spent the weekend at Pittsburgh’s rookie minicamp and told the media that he’s started learning lessons about life in the pros. One was that the people watching practice were reporters rather than boosters and the other was that the change in competition means he will be rebuilding his game from the ground up.

“In college, the competition level is nowhere near the NFL, so for me, I always tell myself I’ve got start back to step one, so I’m starting back at step one, so all the basics now I’ve got to relearn and try to become better at, like be more explosive, footwork, having better eyes, catching the ball better, be a more explosive player, because like I said, the competition level, the difference between college and NFL is two different places,” Harris said, via AL.com.

Another change for Harris is the amount of film work he’s doing. He said he is “going to be utilized everywhere, so they want me to know multiple positions” and that means more studying than he did at Alabama. Harris noted he doesn’t have any other school work, however, and that leaves ample time for him to prepare for life in the NFL.