Notre Dame nickel Thomas Harper cashing in on his physicality
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The book on Oklahoma State grad transfer Thomas Harper last spring was basically about how much he loved books, since a surgically repaired right shoulder kept him sidelined during his first and only spring on the Notre Dame campus.
The same shoulder, operated on in November for a torn labrum, diluted the visual and statistical evidence from the 2022 season of why the Irish coaching staff was so enamored with the former Cowboys safety, who has emerged at the top of the depth chart at the nickel position occupied by TaRiq Bracy last season.
Harper was able to amass 30 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups in the seven games he did play in last season before hitting the transfer portal in December. And deemed 100 percent healthy now, the 5-foot-10, 193-pound younger brother of Dallas Cowboys linebacker Devin Harper is still a bookworm.
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So when Irish head coach Marcus Freeman made Ryan Holiday’s “Discipline is Destiny” required reading for the team’s seniors/grads, Harper not only embraced the extracurricular assignment, he started applying it to his evolving game on the field.
Per the book jacket, “Holiday draws on the stories of historical figures we can emulate as pillars of self-discipline, including Lou Gehrig, Queen Elizabeth II, boxer Floyd Patterson, Marcus Aurelius and writer Toni Morrison, as well as the cautionary tales of Napoleon, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Babe Ruth.”
“A lot of it is just like mindset and about just being able to control what you can control,” Harper said. “Being able to, regardless of your circumstances, make the most out of it. It all kind of boils down to that.”
Harper’s making the most of preseason camp, 11 practices in through Monday, in part because he absorbed his new playbook with such proficiency last spring. And in part because he brings a physicality the Irish sacrificed with the coverage-strong nickel Bracy (5-10, 185). Particularly against the run.
The size and physicality upgrade also holds true of senior Clarence Lewis (6-0, 202), who’s pushing Harper to try to overtake or at least form a timeshare in the nickel role.
The Irish were No. 21 nationally in total defense last season, but a less-impressive 36th nationally against the run.
“When you’re a nickel team, teams try you in the alley with perimeter play, screens, all that,” ND safeties coach Chris O’Leary said. “So that’s the first thing you have to be able to stop. His (Harper’s) nickel skills, that’s the first thing you see, but you also see him snagging off blocks and making tackles, blitzing with just twitch and violence.
“That’s an element that he’s going to bring to our team this year that’s going to be fun to watch. He’s a high-motor guy. When he’s out there, you can feel his energy. So, he’s brought a lot to our defense.”
Harper played at 180 pounds in his final season at Oklahoma State, and at 165 his senior season at Knoxville (Tenn.) Karns High School, where Rivals deemed him a two-star prospect, and his only FBS scholarship offers came from Oklahoma State and Navy.
“I'm a competitor,” Harper said. “I'm gonna put my hat in there. I'm not scared of contact. That's a big part of my game. I love contact. That's a big thing for me, just not being a liability in the run game.
“I feel like coverage-wise I'm doing what I'm supposed to, and the biggest thing for me is just being able to really just be versatile. When I need to cover, I’ve got to be a corner. When I need to [run] fit, I’ve got to be a safety — just being able to do both at a high level.”
Because he was held out of contact in the spring and there was none during OTAs and player-led practices in the fall, Harper is experiencing hits to his shoulder for the first time since last Oct. 29, against Kansas State.
“I've been thudding a little bit, but I haven't really met anyone in the hole,” he said. “I haven't met [bruising 233-pound running back] Audric [Estimé] in the hole. I honestly feel like it'd be good to get a big hit in practice just for mentally-wise [and not wait for the first hard hit to be in a game] Just, OK, we're good to go.
“Tell [Estimé] I'm looking for him in the hole, man,” Harper added with a laugh. “Tell him.”
Harper takes very few actual reps at either of the safety positions, though he’s learned them well enough to step in if depth ever became a problem. The emergence of freshman Ben Minich in the spring and classmates Adon Shuler and Luke Talich in preseason camp make that less of a likelihood, with upperclassmen Xavier Watts, Ramon Henderson, DJ Brown and Antonio Carter II forming the core rotation.
“T-Harp already plays the game fast and violent,” O’Leary said. “But now you bring a freshman in Adon Shuler, and he’s one of the best (hitters) we’ve got. If you’re an older guy and you see a freshman hitting with violence out there, you’ve got no choice.
“It allows us to double down on who we are and to play really fast. Every one of us on defense and coach Free has noted how much faster it feels like we’re playing on defense compared to last year. On top of that you get into some nuances and coaching points you could’ve before, because you were just trying to figure it out.”
No. 13 Notre Dame opens the season Aug. 26 against Navy in Dublin, Ireland.
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