Christian Harris is a perfectionist and his toughest critic.

After every game this season, Alabama’s starting Will linebacker has spent between 30 minutes and two hours explaining everything he did wrong on the field to his family members.

The true freshman is still learning the Crimson Tide’s playbook after joining the program in late May, as well as a brand new position at inside linebacker. But the anxiety surrounding all the newness has settled down for Harris after eight games and 10 weeks of the season.

“He had to slow down,” his mother Ramona Harris told BamaOnLine. “He had to take a step back and say, ‘Wait a minute. I can get this. I can do it. It’s not going to be perfect today, but I’m going to get there. I’m progressing.’ And it’s shown in his play.”

He started Alabama’s second and final preseason scrimmage on Aug. 17 in place of redshirt senior Joshua McMillon, who suffered an ACL injury a week earlier. With two weeks until the 2019 season opener, the true freshman was poised to start in his first-ever college game — less than three months after joining the Crimson Tide’s program as a summer enrollee.

Since then, he has played in all eight games and made seven starts at Will linebacker.

“We knew he was capable. I knew he was very capable. He knew he was very capable,” Ramona Harris said. “But to see him come out, start the first game and do as well as he’s doing at a position he has never played before, it’s a blessing.”

A 4-star recruit out of University Lab (La.) School, Harris was the No. 4-ranked inside linebacker and No. 71 overall prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports. He played wide receiver, defensive back and returned kicks for back-to-back state title teams in 2017 and 2018 and helped the Cubs to 26 straight wins over his junior and senior seasons.

But inside linebacker was completely foreign to the 6-foot-2, 244-pound freshman. While he had to know multiple positions in high school, he wasn’t tasked with quarterbacking a defense.

“I think his biggest hurdle is learning the playbook, getting comfortable with the plays and knowing where to tell people to go and where he’s supposed to go,” Ramona Harris said. “As far as actually playing the position, he’s settling into it really well. It’s just learning the plays.”

What has helped Harris stand out at a place like Alabama, and throughout his football career, is his instinctual reactions on the field that his mother best described as an “untapped gift.”

“Christian can see things on the field that no one else can,” Ramona Harris said. “He has a perception that is like unreal. Christian can see a hole and see a block or see the potential for a block or a tackle, and we’re like, ‘How did he do that?’”

Sure, he has made freshman mistakes this year. But there have also been plenty of times when Harris has displayed his athletic ability and shown why he is playing in his first season.

Entering the ninth game on the schedule, Harris ranks second among all SEC freshman defenders in tackles for loss with five and has totaled 40 tackles to rank sixth among first-year defenders in the league. He has also added one quarterback pressure and one fumble recovery, which he nearly returned for a touchdown against Arkansas but settled for 37 yards.

“He’s done a good job, and he’s really conscientious, works hard at it,” head coach Nick Saban said. “I think the more reps he gets in practice and preparation, the better he plays in the game. He’s a very explosive player. He can run fast. He’s a good cover guy. He plays well in space. So, we’re pleased with the progress that he’s made. We still have work to be done as each and every week presents some new challenges, especially for the young guys.

“But he’s been very conscientious in his preparation, and I think that’s all we can ask at this point, and he has continually improved as the season has gone on.”

Harris is playing more care-free after initially worrying about calling the defense thanks to advice given to him by his older brother, Tylor Harris, who attended Wake Forest, where he was a defensive lineman and competed in the shot put, and went on to play for the Seattle Seahawks. The brotherly advice he received was to “be one percent better every day.”

“And since he’s done that, his game has just excelled,” Ramona Harris said. “He’s calmed down, he’s stopped stressing about learning this call or that call. His goal is to be one percent better every day, and it is showing in his play.”

Teammates like redshirt senior linebacker Anfernee Jennings have noticed that, too.

“He’s progressed a lot,” Jennings said. “Coming in as a freshman and having to play and take on the responsibility here, it’s something you can’t even dream about. It’s hard. I mean, he’s still up to the challenge, and he’s done a great job and continuing to get better.”

Focusing on the positives and not stressing over things out of his control have been things Harris has had to learn to do since his days as a high-profile recruit. A native of Baton Rouge, La., the talented prospect felt pressure to stay home and play for LSU. But Harris’ mother didn’t push either of her sons to sign with the Tigers and said LSU actually recruited Harris “soft.”

“Any time you go to school on LSU’s campus, any time you grow up playing right there, going to school right there, your friends are right there, it’s almost expected that you would stay,” Ramona Harris said. “But I’m fine with it. Christian’s fine with it. He’s becoming a better, stronger man and more independent, and I’m proud of him for that for making that decision.

“And he’s learning how to tune out the naysayers because that was a hard part for him.”

During the recruiting process, Harris received invaluable advice from Saban and Dylan Moses about spurning his hometown team and choosing Alabama, a rival of LSU. For Moses, it was worse because he actually committed to the Tigers and flipped his pledge following a coaching change. Harris, on the other hand, ultimately flipped from Texas A&M to Alabama.

And he had the unwavering support of his mother throughout his recruitment

“My goal has always been — as I told my oldest and I told Christian — you pick the best place for you,” Ramona Harris said. “You have to pick where you’re comfortable. Peer pressure is a beast as far as the kids and parents, and everybody wants you to be at home. But it’s where you’re comfortable at, where you can see yourself excelling in the classroom and on the field.

“But it’s a business decision. It’s a 40-year decision. It’s not a 4-year decision. It is a decision to put yourself in the best place to make you successful for the next 40 years. This is their first adult decision that they will make, and they’re the ones that have to live on that campus every day. They have to go to class. They have to go through the adversities of the ups and downs of things that are going to come along. And they have to be the ones that are comfortable.

“Now, one thing momma’s going to do is once you decide you’re going there, oh, you’re going to stay. You’re not giving up. We don’t play the quit game. Once you’re there, you’re locked in, and that’s it. And you’re going to get through it because there are not a lot of things you’re going to be able to control in life. This is one of the things that you can make the decision on.”

Moses has been someone Harris has leaned on before and after he signed with the Crimson Tide, as the latter has admired the former since he was nine years old. After McMillon’s injury, it looked like the two of them, both natives of Baton Rouge, would be manning the middle of Alabama’s defense this fall. However, Moses also suffered an ACL injury and is out indefinitely.

“It was a dream to just want to see the two of them line up together,” Ramona Harris said. “Unfortunately, Dylan got hurt. But that’s OK. He still takes care of his little brother.”

That little brother is now playing with more confidence and less stress than he had prior to the 2019 season while simply trying to improve one percent each day. The player that is starting at a position he has only had a few months to learn now has eight games of experience and is more prepared than ever to face the next challenge, which just so happens to be LSU.

“When Christian puts his mind to something, he’s going to do it,” Ramona Harris said. “So, I’m not totally surprised that he was able to achieve this. But it’s a blessing. He played more than I expected him to play, and he’s doing really well.”

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).