Roman Harper
{{Short description|American football player (born 1982)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Roman Harper
| image = Roman Harper 2012.JPG
| alt =
| caption = Harper with the New Orleans Saints in 2012
| current_team =
| number = 41
| position = Safety
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|12|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Prattville, Alabama, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 1
| weight_lbs = 205
| high_school = Prattville (Prattville, Alabama)
| college = Alabama (2002–2005)
| draftyear = 2006
| draftround = 2
| draftpick = 43
| pastteams = * New Orleans Saints ({{NFL Year|2006}}–{{NFL Year|2013}})
- Carolina Panthers ({{NFL Year|2014}}–{{NFL Year|2015}})
- New Orleans Saints ({{NFL Year|2016}})
| status =
| highlights = * Super Bowl champion (XLIV)
- 2× Pro Bowl (2009, 2010)
- New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame
- First-team All-SEC (2005)
- Second-team All-SEC (2004)
| statweek =
| statseason =
| statlabel1 = Total tackles
| statvalue1 = 819
| statlabel2 = Sacks
| statvalue2 = 18.0
| statlabel3 = Forced fumbles
| statvalue3 = 16
| statlabel4 = Fumble recoveries
| statvalue4 = 5
| statlabel5 = Interceptions
| statvalue5 = 11
| statlabel6 = Defensive touchdowns
| statvalue6 = 2
| pfr = HarpRo21
}}
Roman Harper (born December 11, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft. In 2009, Harper earned his first Pro Bowl invitation (first team) and helped lead the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV. The following year, 2010, he was again selected to the Pro Bowl. In 2015, he helped lead the Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl 50.
Early life
Harper went to high school in Prattville, Alabama, where he was an outstanding safety and returner for Prattville High School. He played Quarterback his senior season and led the Lions to a 9–1 regular season finish. Harper was a first Team All State performer and was also selected to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game.
College career
Harper attended the University of Alabama, and played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. He was a four-year letterman and a three-year starter at safety and finished his college football career with 302 tackles, 5 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, and 3.5 sacks. As a sophomore, he totaled 114 tackles (second most on the team) and also had an interception and a fumble recovery. As a junior, he was a second team All-Southeastern Conference selection. As a senior, he was a first team All-Southeastern Conference selection.[http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/roster/Roman-Harper/fe356d6f-c557-454a-a8f7-02c1175ad429 New Orleans Saints bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618180711/http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/roster/Roman-Harper/fe356d6f-c557-454a-a8f7-02c1175ad429 |date=June 18, 2012 }} for Roman Harper (accessed December 27, 2010).
Professional career
{{NFL predraft
| height ft = 5
| height in = 11 7/8
| weight = 198
| dash = 4.50
| ten split = 1.55
| twenty split = 2.61
| shuttle = 4.34
| cone drill = 7.02
| vertical = 34
| broad ft = 9
| broad in = 8
| bench = 19
| wonderlic =
| arm span = 32 3/4
| hand span = 9 1/4
| note = All values from NFL Combine/Alabama's Pro Day{{Cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/prospects/roman-harper/32004841-5229-3034-2e5f-8342f08ae585 |title=Roman Harper Draft and Combine Prospect Profile |website=NFL.com |access-date=June 5, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Roman Harper, DS #5 FS, Alabama |url=http://draftscout.com/dsprofile.php?PlayerId=16779&DraftYear=2006 |access-date=May 22, 2018 |website=DraftScout.com}}{{Cite web |title=Roman Harper RAS |url=https://ras.football/2020/01/19/roman-harper-ras/ |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=ras.football|date=January 19, 2020 }}
}}
=New Orleans Saints (first stint)=
The New Orleans Saints selected Harper in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2006 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=2006 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2006/draft.htm |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} Harper was the sixth safety drafted in 2006.{{cite web |title=NFL training camps opening without Roman Harper |url=https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/nfl_training_camps_opening_wit_1.html |access-date=May 22, 2018 |website=al.com |date=July 25, 2017}}
On July 27, 2006, the New Orleans Saints signed Harper to a four-year, $3.55 million contract that included a signing bonus of $880,000.{{cite web |title=Spotrac.com: Roman Harper contract |url=https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-orleans-saints/roman-harper-4515/ |access-date=September 7, 2020 |website=Spotrac.com}} Throughout training camp, Harper competed to be the starting strong safety against veteran Omar Stoutmire. Head coach Sean Payton named Harper and Josh Bullocks the starting safety duo to begin the regular season.
Harper started five games in 2006 but was put on injured reserve on October 10. He started 16 games in 2007 and 15 games in 2008. In 2009, Harper earned his first Pro Bowl berth and helped lead the Saints to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history. In Super Bowl XLIV, he led the Saints with 8 tackles and defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31–17.
Harper was released by the Saints on February 12, 2014, after eight years with the team.{{Cite web |last=Patra |first=Kevin |date=February 12, 2014 |title=Saints release Jabari Greer, Roman Harper, Will Smith |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/saints-release-jabari-greer-roman-harper-will-smith-0ap2000000325473 |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=NFL.com}}
=Carolina Panthers=
On March 15, 2014, Harper was signed by the Carolina Panthers.{{Cite web|url=http://www.panthers.com/news/article-2/Panthers-sign-safety-Harper/b6c42d28-d9f3-44eb-8861-f151cac9aa55|title=Panthers sign safety Harper|website=www.panthers.com|access-date=June 7, 2016}} During his debut performance for the Panthers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Harper recorded 2 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception.{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/carolina-panthers-tampa-bay-buccaneers-20140907027/|title=Carolina at Tampa Bay {{!}} September 7, 2014 {{!}} National Football League {{!}} Yahoo! Sports|website=Yahoo Sports|access-date=June 7, 2016}} During the Panthers week 5 win over the Chicago Bears, Harper recorded his second interception of the season against Jay Cutler.{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7792/|title=Roman Harper {{!}} Carolina Panthers {{!}} National Football League {{!}} Yahoo! Sports|website=Yahoo Sports|access-date=June 7, 2016}} Harper won NFC defensive player of the week for his performance in week 17 against division rival Atlanta Falcons. Harper recorded 6 tackles, 1 pass defended, and a 31-yard pick six. In Harper's second season with the team, The Panthers finished the season with a team record 15 wins. They went on to defeat the Seahawks and Cardinals in their first two playoff games. On February 7, 2016, Harper was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, he had two tackles, but the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201602070den.htm|title=Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016|work=Pro-Football-Reference.com|access-date=September 2, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nfl.com/liveupdate/gamecenter/56834/DEN_Gamebook.pdf|title=Super Bowl 50 - National Football League Game Summary|work=NFL.com|access-date=September 2, 2017}}
=New Orleans Saints (second stint)=
On June 7, 2016, Harper agreed to return to the Saints, where he was expected to play a role in the leadership of the defense while serving as a backup to the Saints' younger safeties. He signed a one-year, $1.065 million contract with the Saints.Nick Underhill, [http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/16032164-172/veteran-safety-roman-harper-to-return-to-new-orleans-agency-says "Veteran safety Roman Harper to return to New Orleans Saints, agency says"], The New Orleans Advocate, June 7, 2016.
=Awards and championships=
- 2009 - Super Bowl XLIV Champion
- 2009 - Named to first NFL Pro Bowl
- 2007 - Ed Block Courage Award
=NFL statistics=
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | NO | 5 | 27 | 25 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2007 | NO | 16 | 90 | 75 | 15 | 4.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 19 | 31 | 1 | 8 |
| 2008 | NO | 15 | 89 | 82 | 7 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2009 | NO | 16 | 102 | 84 | 18 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2010 | NO | 15 | 98 | 76 | 22 | 3.0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 2011 | NO | 16 | 95 | 73 | 22 | 7.5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2012 | NO | 16 | 115 | 88 | 27 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 21 | 41 | 0 | 11 |
| 2013 | NO | 9 | 39 | 27 | 12 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | CAR | 16 | 62 | 39 | 23 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 11 | 31 | 1 | 10 |
| 2015 | CAR | 16 | 73 | 46 | 27 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2016 | NO | 16 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| colspan="2"|Career || 156 || 818 || 639 || 179 || 18.0 || 15 || 5 || 0 || 11 || 148 || 13 || 41 || 2 || 67 |
Key
- GP: games played
- COMB: combined tackles
- TOTAL: total tackles
- AST: assisted tackles
- SACK: sacks
- FF: forced fumbles
- FR: fumble recoveries
- FR YDS: fumble return yards
- INT: interceptions
- IR YDS: interception return yards
- AVG IR: average interception return
- LNG: longest interception return
- TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
- PD: passes defensed
Community work
Harper and his mother, Princess Harper, founded the Harper's Hope Foundation in 2009. The primary goal of the foundation has been, “to strengthen families and enhance their emotional, social, and spiritual health through educational programs, enrichment activities, and economic development.”
In July 2010, the foundation hosted its first annual "A Sainted Weekend" Celebrity Golf Tournament and Silent Auction.
Harper became a member of School of the Legends (SOTL) in 2010.{{cite web |title=Veteran Running Backs Offer Rookies Advice in Exclusive School of the Legends Interview |publisher=Business Wire |date=June 3, 2011 |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110603005764/en/Veteran-Running-Backs-Offer-Rookies-Advice-Exclusive |access-date=December 6, 2011 }}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{commons}}
{{Footballstats |espn=9629 |yahoo=7792| pfr=H/HarpRo21}}
{{Saints2006DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl XLIV}}
{{New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Roman}}
Category:Players of American football from Prattville, Alabama
Category:Alabama Crimson Tide football players
Category:American football safeties
Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players