5 Alabama players to watch in NC game who will play against Miami football in 2021 opener

Sophomore linebacker Christian Harris

Sophomore linebacker Christian Harris leads Alabama in tackles in 2020. Harris was a freshman All-American in 2019 after starting 12 out of 13 games because of injuries to the Crimson Tide. Harris has 73 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 tackles for loss in 2020. That tops 61 tackles and 7.5 TFLs.

Despite leading Alabama in tackles, Harris was snubbed from the All-SEC team. Harris has the ability to take games over.  Six times this season, Harris had seven or more tackles. Harris had a season-high 11 tackles against Kentucky and had 10 against Tennessee and Texas A&M. Harris will be a key against Ohio State.

The Crimson Tide weakside LB will be focused on Ohio State running back Trey Sermon. Sermon leads the Buckeyes with 868 yards rushing and four TDs. In the last two games, Sermon has 522 rushing yards and three TDs. Harris is one of two young LBs that Alabama has who will be a corps of the Crimson Tide defense in 2021.

Harris has exceeded his expectations as the 14th ranked signee for Alabama in 2019. Harris was the 110th ranked player and sixth-ranked LB in the Class of 2019. Freshman Will Anderson was the 17th ranked player and top-ranked defensive end in the Class of 2020. For Alabama, Anderson plays the Jack LB position.