(Editor's note: New Orleans Saints safety Roman Harper, an 11-year NFL veteran and two-time Pro Bowler, was a first-team All-SEC pick at Alabama in 2005. He offers his thoughts on the Crimson Tide's Monday night title-game matchup against Clemson and his experiences as an Alabama player, as told to College Football 24/7's Chase Goodbread).
It's very easy to be in an NFL locker room and be from the University of Alabama.
It's instant credibility.
It's instant props.
That's something I appreciate. I haven't had a lot of guys from Alabama as teammates. Mark Ingram and Robert Lester are two that I've played with. D.J. Pettway was with the Saints for a while, but that's about it.
Mark, he's like a little brother to me. I knew him before he got to the league and I've seen him flourish now that he's arrived. He's like family to me. His fiancee is my wife's Godsister, and we introduced them. So that's a whole different connection -- we truly are a family. It's not just words. He's grown a lot as a man, as a person in his faith, as a father. Everybody sees all the on-the-field things, but I've seen the way he's grown off the field and I'm very happy for him.
Stephone Anthony is the only Clemson guy in the Saints locker room right now. I know C.J. Spiller very well. He's a good guy, but Steph's the only one there right now. Mark and I have gone back and forth with him about this game, of course. But most guys don't bet against Alabama. It's hard to get guys to bet against Alabama. We're too dominant. We show up, and we don't mess up. But you can't run away when it's the SEC Championship Game or a playoff game.
I watch Alabama football every Saturday, it doesn't matter what else is going on. They're on ESPN pretty much every week, so it's easy to find them. One reason it's so important to me is that I was born and raised in the state of Alabama. That's not always the case with all these guys. I went to school in Prattville, Ala., and I feel like I represent the state every day. I make sure people know that's where I'm from. I grew up closer to Auburn than Alabama, and the majority of people in Prattville pull for Auburn. I saw that whole in-state rivalry and I understood growing up what the magnitude of it was. When you grow up in Alabama, you see that Alabama-Auburn rivalry everywhere.
The Saban way
What I like about Nick Saban, besides the fact that he treats me well when I'm there, is that Alabama is always prepared. They don't lose to teams they're not supposed to lose to. You don't see many close games. You don't see a lot of nail-biters. They prepare like they're playing against Clemson every week, whether it's Mississippi State, Florida or Charleston Southern. They put out a great product every week no matter who the opponent is. You don't see games where they just don't show up, which you see so often in other programs.
Talent-wise, you get exactly what you recruit. And for six or seven years now, they've had the No. 1 or No. 2 signing class in the country, and it shows. Not only that, but Nick Saban and his staff make those guys better in terms of development.
Alabama is recruiting itself at this point because of the exposure the program is getting, and the great tradition there. Everybody wants to be with a winner, so it's a pretty easy decision to go there right now. And it shows on draft day when they've got first-round picks every year. Julio Jones is a good example. He's always had the body and the speed, but now his route-running has gotten so much better than when he first came into the league. He's worked at his game and now he produces every week and puts it on tape. He's the best receiver in the game. He'll be an all-time franchise guy for the Atlanta Falcons, and he if he continues his career the way it's going, he could be in the Hall of Fame.
Breaking down 'Bama's defense
I'm a big Reuben Foster fan. I've seen this guy since he was a freshman, when he used to blast people on kickoff coverage. Back then I was thinking "I don't know who this guy is, but he's going to be in the league because he can run and he can hit." When he gets to the ball, he gets there with bad intentions. But this Jonathan Allen cat, he just continues to disrupt things up front and make plays. I don't know who their best defensive player is, but there's so much talent on all three levels, especially up front, it's crazy. You've got first-round picks at all three levels of that defense. I think this is the best defense Alabama's had in its history. And I say that begrudgingly because I feel like when I was in college, we had a great defense for two years, but unfortunately we didn't have the offensive firepower they have now.
I've loved watching Eddie Jackson develop. I didn't know at first if he would be enough of a thumper as a tackler. Safeties have to tackle. Still, his ball skills and big-play ability -- when he gets it in his hand, he's off the charts. But I saw him at the Peach Bowl and he has good size. And he's humble -- I talked to him for a little while and enjoyed getting to know him. Ronnie Harrison is so explosive as a tackler. He gets to the ball with bad intentions, too. He's still young, but the guy makes plays. Alabama gets these top players in and they learn how to play in an NFL system under coach Saban. Minkah Fitzpatrick gives them so much flexibility because he can play corner, he can play nickel, he can play safety, he can do it all. He's physical, he can tackle and he can cover. And there's depth. When one guy goes down, they always seem to plug someone in who is right there with the starters.
How Alabama will beat Clemson
I'm the biggest Dabo Swinney fan there is. He was the wide receivers coach at Alabama when Mike DuBose first offered me a scholarship. That's how long I've known about this guy, and to see him do great things at Clemson has been special, but to know where he's from, playing at Alabama, I'm a big fan of his.
I think Clemson is better this year than last year. I think they still have a few holes defensively, but I think overall, they're more confident because of the battles they've been through. They know who they are as a team. Deshaun Watson is great. He'll be the best quarterback Alabama faces all year long, just like he was last year. With the amount of success he had against Alabama last year, you know he'll be confident coming into this game.
Alabama has to control Watson, we can't turn the ball over offensively, and our defense has to dominate things. We've got to be smart offensively and run the ball effectively. We can't put too much on this freshman quarterback's shoulders (Editor's note: UA's Jalen Hurts is attempting to become the first true freshman QB to win a national title since Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985). We've got to be smart about that. He can help win the game, but it doesn't need to be on him to carry the team. We've got to get some takeaways on defense. If we do that, I love our chances. Clemson has turned the ball over all year long. If we can go out and take advantage of that, we'll be fine.
This change at offensive coordinator seven days before the game, it has me a little nervous. But I'm still confident and I trust this coaching staff. I feel like we're the better team regardless. (New offensive coordinator) Steve Sarkisian hasn't called a game in a while. It won't be easy. You don't ever see this kind of thing with what happened on that. These coaches are highly paid and it takes skill to call a game. Anybody can draw up a play on the board when the players aren't moving, but in the flow of a game, it takes real skills to call the plays. Sarkisian has those skills, I know, but he hasn't done it in a while. I hope he's on point. It's definitely going to be tough, but if Nick Saban thought this move was the best move to make, then I trust him.
I love Dabo, and I know he's going to make it close. Clemson isn't scared of Alabama. I'm confident that Alabama will get it done some kind of way, even if it's by one point. We've got to get to 17 national titles. Seventeen in '17.
Follow Roman Harper on Twitter at @Harp41.
