As the Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd watched the athletic trainers surround a player on Saturday against The Citadel and realized who was still down on the sideline, it fell the most silent it had been all season.

Damien Harris had just ripped off a 73-yard run – his longest of the season by 30 yards – but as he was tackled, his head appeared to bounce off the ground as he lay on the field for several minutes. As he jogged back to Alabama’s sideline with what head coach Nick Saban later called a mild concussion, he received the loudest ovation of the afternoon.

As his fourth and final season at Alabama winds to a close, Harris checks all the necessary boxes to become an all-time memorable player if he isn’t one already.

Production? Check. He has two straight 1,000-yard seasons and the eighth-most rushing yards in school history.

During the first 11 minutes of this season’s opener against Louisville, Harris had a 13-yard catch on third-and-13, a blitz pickup that allowed another third-down conversion, a 32-yard run and a block downfield that sprung a Tua Tagovailoa rushing touchdown.

Leadership? Check. The senior, who said before the season he was working on becoming a more vocal leader, has been a team captain for four of Alabama’s 11 games this year.

“[I’m trying to lead,] not necessarily with scoring touchdowns or running for a hundred yards every game, but being consistent in how I practice and how I prepare and how I do little things right on and off the field so I can set an example for all the younger guys on our team,” Harris said. “[I’m thinking about] how am I going to set the standard for the young guys and guys that need direction.”

Personality? Check. Harris was trusted to represent the University at SEC Media Days this summer due to his poise and eloquence. His sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either.

“He’s definitely goofy,” running back Josh Jacobs said in the winter. “He’s always trying to make jokes. He’s cool, though. He’s kind of like a big brother, really.”

Lastly, Harris loves the University, showing infectious enthusiasm during and after games, especially when he got his wish of “Dixieland Delight” returning.

When Harris had the choice of forgoing his senior season to declare for the NFL Draft in April, he said practical and emotional factors helped him make the decision to return to Alabama.

“I just love Tuscaloosa, I love being a part of The University of Alabama, and that’s something that brings me a lot of happiness,” Harris said at SEC Media Days. “The mindset across the entire University of Alabama is that we’re champions, whether it’s from an academic standpoint or an athletic standpoint. … Coming back for my senior year wasn’t hard.”

Saban said there was a business component to that as well. He advises players to return to school unless they are likely to be a first-round draft pick, which would promise significantly more guaranteed money and increase the financial burden on the team if it were to release the player.

Harris likely would not have been chosen in the first round had he elected to enter the draft.

“If you have a second- or third-round grade, to me, you have a tough decision to make as to whether you come back and try to move up or graduate,” Saban said at SEC Media Days. “I always tell players it doesn’t do you any good to come back if you’re not committed to coming back and you don’t want to work hard to get better, because then you don’t create any more value for yourself, so you’re just wasting time.”

In August, offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said Harris returning was huge for the offense, both as a pile-pusher and tackle-breaker on the field and a culture-changer off of it.

Each year, Alabama’s players vote on who will become the team’s permanent captains. For all he has done and the impact he has made on Alabama football, Harris appears to be a prime candidate to have his name cemented in front of Denny Chimes forever.