One NFL Draft pick did something really cool for the community before he was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Najee Harris, who was a running back at the University of Alabama, visited a homeless shelter, Greater Richmond Interfaith Program located in California, as they hosted a draft watch party for him. It’s a place that is very personal to Harris as his family lived in the shelter for several years.
“Just to see him as a grown man with this kind of opportunity for him today and to know that he lived in this shelter among many other places their family had to move around and lives as a homeless man just speaks to the anything is possible,” Kathleen Sullivan, executive director of the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, said to ABC 7 News. While visiting the shelter, Harris brought food for the current residents.
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Whatever team drafts Alabama’s Najee Harris is getting a special person. Today he threw a draft party for kids at the homeless shelter where he lived for several years growing up. He told me it was emotional the first time he went back to visit. @kron4news #NFLDraft #RollTide pic.twitter.com/JadBIFh4pd
— Kylen Mills (@KylenMills) April 30, 2021
“That little time we had helped my family out to find another place to stay so just giving back to communities and giving back to places like this means a lot to me,” Harris said. There was a time I needed a helping hand. They gave us an opportunity to get back on our feet. So it is my job to give back.” Harris, 23, went on to be one of the top running backs in college football. He had a breakout season in 2020, rushing for 1,466 yards and 26 touchdowns to help Alabama win the national championship. The productive season also led to him being named to the All-SEC First Team and a Unanimous All-American.
Harris was drafted by the Steelers No. 24 overall, which is not a big surprise considering he was projected to be drafted by the team for months. “We were very excited that he was there for us,” Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert told reporters on Thursday night. “When we went through our scenarios, it was an easy decision by us to say, if Najee Harris is available, we will pick him. He’s an exciting player, and like we said, he’s a three-dimensional running back coming from a professional offensive system.”
“He’s got a nice combination of size, strength and athleticism,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “His picking vision is excellent in terms of finding holes. He shows patience while doing that. He’s a complete back. He’s very good in the passing game, whether it’s routes out of the backfield or aligning outside the backfield. There’s not a lot of holes in his overall game, and I think those are the things that made him an attractive selection.”
