Alabama-Notre Dame isn’t one of those regional matchups where there’s significant roster overlap. They don’t necessarily cross paths on the recruiting trail so there isn’t quite the familiarity of, say, an Alabama-Clemson playoff game.
The Najee Harris-Ian Book connection is the exception.
These two go back to the 7-on-7 days in Northern California, the Alabama running back and the Notre Dame quarterback. They were, in fact, teammates at TMP and a formidable passer and receiver combo in the offseason exhibitions.
“Ian’s my guy,” Harris said Tuesday in the buildup to the 3 p.m. CT Friday Rose Bowl game in Arlington.
Book and Harris “hit it off” right from the beginning, TMP coach Terrance Leonard told The Indy Star in 2018. They had chemistry on the field and it paid off in tournament wins up and down the west coast for a TMP program that also produced Cincinnati Bengal running back Joe Mixon.
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They paired up to win a 2015 regional title in Sacramento with Book throwing three touchdowns to Harris, according to PassingDown.com’s coverage. One of those snags, the site reported, was a one-hander.
“He’s an awesome guy to play with,” Book said Monday. “And I just remember going down to LA and having 7on7 tournament, and the plan was if we were ever down, you just throw it up and Najee would go catch it. He was playing receiver for us. And he did that. That’s how we were able to win some games.”
Harris was, of course, one of the nation’s top recruits from an early age. He got a lot of attention that he clearly didn’t enjoy from watching and reading interviews from that time period.
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Now a senior playing his final games, Harris reflected on the fame he gained as a prospect.
“I didn’t like it. It’s too much attention, way too much attention for me,” he said Tuesday. “I think I just showed up here. I just showed up. I didn’t even tell them I was coming here. I just showed up. I was tired of it. I popped up at the airport with Tua. And I didn’t even know all the recruits that was here. So first day of practice, I seen all these recruits I knew in high school. I look around I’m like, man, we’ve actually got a pretty good recruiting class here.”
What Harris did like was the competition of the 7-on-7 circuit.
It was an opportunity to do the talking on the field and Book was the kind of quarterback who helped showcase that talent.
“The way he dissects defenses really and how he throws the balls in tight pockets and stuff like that, he does a good job at it,” Harris said. “Even now, today, he does an amazing job of getting the ball to his playmakers and really being a leader, a focal point of his offense. Just back in 7-on-7, when we played, it was fun to play with him. Really just an honor.”
And that team had no excuse to succeed with a few future stars on the roster. Both Book and Harris finished in the top-10 of this season’s Heisman voting with Book ninth and Harris fifth.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.
