Like his long touchdown run against Vanderbilt, Damien Harris burst through an opening in the defense and pulled away.

Last year, Harris got caught before reaching the end zone on several long runs. Not this year. Not against Vanderbilt. And not against Texas A&M on Saturday.

Alabama's junior running back dropped weight this offseason and feels faster and more capable of finishing these long runs than he did last year.

Coaches wanted Harris to drop weight coming out of the spring, so he changed up his diet. That's paid off. So has Harris giving up one of his favorite snacks.

The food that's been hardest for him to give up as part of the diet?

"Honey buns," he said, smiling. "I love honey buns. I haven't had one in months, since probably June or July, and it hurts to talk about it."

Harris has been rewarded for the willpower.

The Kentucky native has run for 500 yards on just 59 carries, leads the Crimson Tide with seven rushing touchdowns and is tied for fifth nationally with an average of 8.5 yards per carry.

The speed and finishing ability has been consistently on display.

Harris, who didn't say how much weight he's dropped, had the 61-yard touchdown run against Vanderbilt, a 46-yard run against Ole Miss and then the 75-yard scoring run vs. Texas A&M.

Harris continues to produce and, as difficult as it is, continues to avoid the honey buns.

"Damien has played really well for us this year," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "I think he's played really well for us in the past when he's been healthy. He's been able to stay healthy so far this year. Makes good cuts, good decisions, runs the plays the way they're designed to be run. He has good burst and acceleration when there is an opening, and he's made more explosive runs for us than anybody on our team."

Matt Zenitz is an Alabama beat writer for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mzenitz.