The Pittsburgh Steelers were always Najee Harris' first choice, even prior to being selected as the franchise's first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft last month.
During the latest episode of the Steelers' The Standard video series on their official website, Harris reveals that his "team was all hoping for Pittsburgh."
"Us as an organization, my team was all hoping for Pittsburgh," Harris said. "I personally thought it would be a good fit for me, how good Coach [Mike] Tomlin is and just the people there and stuff like that. I mean, I followed the 9ers because I'm from the [San Francisco] Bay [Area], and the Steelers because I like watching the Steelers, for like 5-6 years now. It's crazy that I'm actually a part of the team I was watching. It worked out."
Harris was selected by the Steelers at No. 24 overall during the first-round of the 2021 NFL Draft on April 29.
Harris, who ranked as the No. 1 running back and No. 2 overall prospect for the 2017 national recruiting cycle, was the top running back prospect selected in Thursday's draft and was projected by ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. to be selected by Pittsburgh in his mock draft last month.
The senior led all FBS running backs with 26 rushing touchdowns and ranked third nationally with 1,466 rushing yards, which led all SEC players.
Harris was also credited for driving nine hours from Dallas, Texas to Tuscaloosa after his Dallas-Birmingham flight was cancelled due to lightning to support his former teammates at Alabama's Pro Day earlier this month, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
"Alabama RB Najee Harris’ flight from Dallas to Birmingham was cancelled last night due to lightning, so with no other travel options available, Harris drove nine hours to make it to Alabama’s Pro Day by 10 am today. He’s not even working out today but wanted to support teammates," Schefter tweeted.
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