Ben Roethlisberger on when he knew Steelers running back Najee Harris could be great

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Najee Harris has already made a strong impression on veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Harris, a former star at Alabama, was selected by the Steelers with the 24th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

As a rookie, Harris has been fairly productive in an inconsistent Steelers offense. On the season, he has 237 carries for 873 yards and six touchdowns. Harris also has 60 receptions for 397 yards and three touchdowns. But to Roethlisberger, he knew Harris would be great when he saw how he responded to a slow start last week.

“I had a talk with Naj maybe halfway through the third, before we really started to make our run last week,” Roethlisberger said on Wednesday via Al.com’s Mark Inabinett. “And I just told him – I knew he was frustrated, as we all were – and I just told him, ‘Hey, what you do the rest of this quarter and the fourth quarter will really determine kind of the person and the player that you’re going to be moving forward with this city, with the fans, with this team, because you’re going to be here for a long time.’”

Harris, Steelers fought back last week after a slow start

Last week, the Steelers took on the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. Minnesota jumped out to a 23-0 lead at halftime. Instead of giving up, Roethlisberger wanted to see how Harris responded as the Steelers tried to fight back.

Fight back is exactly what Harris and the Steelers did, albeit falling short in the end. Pittsburgh scored 21 fourth-quarter points, and Harris finished with 94 yards on 20 carries along with two total touchdowns.

“He probably has every right to kind of back off and, not quit, but just start ‘Let’s send another back in’ or not run hard,” Roethlisberger continued. “I said, ‘Whatever you decide is going to endear yourself to these fans.’ And you look, I think we had a third-and-short. Was it third- or fourth-and-short? And he ended up bouncing off three guys, running back this way, running the guy over. And just catching a touchdown, blocking – some of the things he did in the third and fourth quarter, I think, spoke volumes of the person and the player and the heart that he has, and I think he’ll always endear himself to the fans and to us as a guy that’s never going to quit and never give up.

“Maybe I didn’t need to say anything to Naj. Maybe he was going to do it anyway. I don’t know. But I just wanted him to know where I was coming from. I wanted to see what he had. I know people wanted to see it. He showed up and did it, and I thought it was great. I was proud of him.”

If his rookie season is any indication of the future, the Steelers made the right choice by taking Harris in the first round. In his four-year Alabama career, Harris rushed for 3,943 yards and 46 touchdowns, adding 80 receptions for 781 yards and 11 scores.

The Steelers are currently 6-6-1, sitting at the bottom of the AFC North.