Najee Harris returns to homeless shelter where he once lived for NFL Draft party

Former Alabama star running back Najee Harris’ story has been well publicized.

Harris was in middle school when he lived at the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program homeless shelter, known as GRIP, in Richmond, California, before his family eventually moved to Antioch, where he was a high school star.

The Tide back blossomed into one of the most coveted players in the country before heading to Alabama. Once at Alabama, Harris blew into a superstar, and prior to Thursday night’s NFL Draft, Harris picked up the tab for a draft watch party held at the homeless shelter where he once lived. He even made a return visit.

The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Harris with the No. 24 pick in Thursday night’s first round. Although he’ll likely have a great professional career, Harris won’t ever forget where he came from.

“We have a lot of memories here,” Harris said about returning to GRIP. “That was a time in my life when we was really low. It brought back a lot of memories of what we was going through at the time.

“It was an emotional thing for us. Just doing this, makes me and my family feel a lot better and just giving appreciation for everything.”

You can see a snippet from the interview below from sports reporter and anchor Kylen Mills of KRON 4 News.

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

SDS Staff

Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.