Josh Harper
{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1991)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Josh Harper
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Josh Harper at the Senior Bowl.
| current_team =
| number =
| position = Wide receiver
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1991|12|1}}
| birth_place = San Jose California, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lbs = 185
| high_school = Stockton (CA) St. Mary's
| college = Fresno State
| undraftedyear = 2015
| pastteams =
- Oakland Raiders ({{NFL Year|2015}})*
- Calgary Stampeders ({{CFL Year|2016}})*
- Oakland Panthers ({{IFL Year|2019}}-present)
| status =
| highlights =
}}
Josh Harper (born December 1, 1991) is an American former professional football wide receiver for the Oakland Panthers of the Indoor Football League. He played college football with Fresno State.
Early life
Harper attended St. Mary's High School in Stockton, California, where he played football, basketball and ran track. He played numerous positions including wide receiver, safety, running back, punt returner and kick returner for the St. Mary's Rams football team. He finished his high school career with 164 receptions for 2,669 yards and 28 receiving touchdowns.{{cite web|url=http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/josh_harper_716637.html |title=Josh Harper Bio - Fresno State Official Athletic Site |accessdate=October 14, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021205737/http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/josh_harper_716637.html |archivedate=October 21, 2014 }} In track & field, Harper competed as a sprinter, recording personal-best times of 12.04 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 24.22 seconds in the 200-meter dash.{{Cite web|url=http://ca.milesplit.com/meets/54736/results/93374|title = Tri-City Conference - SJS 2009 - Combined Prelim & Final Results (Raw)}}
Harper was ranked by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit.[https://rivals.yahoo.com/LSU/football/recruiting/player-Joshua-Harper-102708 Rivals.com] He was recruited by Cal, Arizona, Arizona State, Nevada, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, Washington and Washington State.
College career
Harper was redshirted as a freshman at Fresno State University in 2010. As redshirt freshman in 2011, he played in 11 games with three starts and recorded 35 receptions for 497 yards and five touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2012, Harper played in only five games due to injuries.[http://www.recordnet.com/article/20121025/A_SPORTS0205/210250333 Injuries only thing slowing Harper] He finished the season with 24 receptions for 333 yards and four touchdowns. As a junior in 2013, he had 79 receptions for 1,011 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 games.[http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/27/4091803_fresno-state-football-josh-harper.html?rh=1 Fresno State football: Josh Harper healthy, ready to be difference-maker] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017071455/http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/08/27/4091803_fresno-state-football-josh-harper.html?rh=1 |date=October 17, 2014 }} Harper entered his senior season in 2014 as a starter.[http://www.recordnet.com/article/20140926/Sports/140929706 College Football: Harper continues to shine for Fresno State]
Professional career
=Oakland Raiders=
After going undrafted in the 2015 NFL draft, Harper signed with the Oakland Raiders on May 8, 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/raiders-announce-undrafted-free-agent-signings/e21f1fe3-1a0f-4faa-9a06-bc31597a95ca|title=Raiders announce undrafted free agent signings|work=Raiders.com|date=May 8, 2015|accessdate=September 26, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915025935/https://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/raiders-announce-undrafted-free-agent-signings/e21f1fe3-1a0f-4faa-9a06-bc31597a95ca|archivedate=September 15, 2017|url-status=dead}} On September 1, 2015, he was waived by the Raiders.{{cite web|url=http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/raiders-announce-transactions/0af48f3c-56f3-4165-82d7-134c40d5f0d0|title=Raiders announce transactions|work=Raiders.com|date=September 1, 2015|accessdate=September 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927220600/http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/raiders-announce-transactions/0af48f3c-56f3-4165-82d7-134c40d5f0d0|archive-date=September 27, 2016|url-status=dead}}
=Calgary Stampeders=
On June 13, 2016, Harper signed with the Calgary Stampeders. On June 19, 2016, he was released by the Stampeders.
=Oakland Panthers=
On November 4, 2019, Harper signed with the Oakland Panthers.
Personal life
He is the youngest of nine children born to Willie Harper, who played in the NFL as an outside linebacker.[http://www.omaha.com/huskers/fresno-state-s-josh-harper-son-of-former-nu-great/article_e4fcf248-c64b-523b-b8f7-04e8ce5439ee.html Fresno State's Josh Harper, son of former NU great, hungry for Husker rematch][https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-draft-josh-harper-fresno-state-receiver-family-willie-harper-father-matthew-harper-siblings-combine-prospect Family ties Josh Harper to NFL, success]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
He is uncle of the rapper Saweetie and first cousin of actor Gabrielle Union.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20141021205737/http://www.gobulldogs.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/josh_harper_716637.html Fresno State Bulldogs bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Josh}}
Category:Players of American football from San Jose, California
Category:Players of Canadian football from San Jose, California
Category:American football wide receivers
Category:Fresno State Bulldogs football players
Category:Oakland Raiders players
Category:Calgary Stampeders players
Category:St. Mary's High School (Stockton, California) alumni