Devin Harper (born May 13, 1998) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

Early years

Harper attended

Karns High School Karns High School is a public high school in the Karns community of Knox County, Tennessee administered by the Knox County Schools public school district. A growing population in western Knox County established in 1913; prior to this time, stud ...

. He was a two-way player at

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

and

. As a junior in 2015, he was a part of a winless team. As a senior in 2016, he contributed to a 3-7 record, while collecting 1,403 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns, 40 tackles (5.5 for loss), 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and averaging 213

all-purpose yards All-purpose yards or all-purpose yardage is a gridiron football statistical measure. It is virtually the same as the statistic that some football leagues refer to as combined net yards. In the game of football, progress is measured by advancing t ...

per game. He rushed for 345 yards in a single-game against

South-Doyle High School South-Doyle High School is a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' accredited high school in unincorporated Knox County, Tennessee, near Knoxville, operated by the Knox County Schools school district. The school community is composed of ...

. He received All-District and All-Knoxville Interscholastic League honors. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. As a senior, he led the basketball team to the sectional round of the District 3-A Playoffs, while receiving District 3-AAA Player of the Year and All-Region honors.

College career

Harper accepted a football scholarship from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, with the intention of playing

. As a

redshirt freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2017, he played mostly playing on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, tallying 5 tackles and one blocked punt. As a sophomore in 2018, he appeared in all 13 games with one start, recording 44 total tackles (5 for loss), 2.5 sacks, one pass defensed, one forced fumble and an interception returned for a touchdown. He had 9 tackles against the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. Harper played through a painful junior year in 2019, wearing a cast during a part of the season. He appeared in 10 games with one start. He amassed 34 total tackles (5 for loss) and 3 sacks. He had 6 tackles against the

. As a senior in 2020, he appeared in all 11 played with one start. Two games were canceled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He posted 37 tackles (sixth on the team), 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, one interception and one pass defensed. Harper was also an All-Big 12 academic honoree. He had 5 tackles against

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. As a super senior in 2021, he enjoyed his best season, becoming a full-time starter along with being voted a team captain. He started 13 out of 14 games, finishing the season with 96 tackles (second on the team), 10 tackles for loss, 6 sacks (third on the team), 15 quarterback hurries (second in school history), 2 passes defensed, one forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries. In the 2021 Bedlam matchup against

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, he was a key part in defending their offense, tying a career-high 10 tackles (7 solo), and with less than 2 minutes left in the game, he forced a throwaway pass, a 5-yard loss sack, tackled quarterback

Caleb Williams Caleb Williams (born November 18, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the USC Trojans. Williams played for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2021 before transferring to USC as a sophomore in 2022, where he won several player of the year awards, i ...

short of the first down marker on three consecutive plays, while helping the Cowboys close a 37-33 win. He had 10 tackles in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, contributing to one off the biggest rallies in school history for a 37-35 win against the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Harper was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the sixth round, 193rd overall, of the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

with Achilles tendinitis on October 29, 2022. He appeared in 3 games, playing mostly on

. In the

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

NFL season, due to

DeMarvion Overshown DeMarvion Germanic Lee Overshown (born August 13, 2000) is an American football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas. Early years Overshown attended Arp High School in Arp, ...

's season-ending injury, Harper was made first-string

strongside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

on the Cowboys' depth chart. He was waived by the team on September 28.

Cincinnati Bengals

On September 29, 2023, Harper was claimed off waivers by the

. Harper plays for the team solely in a special teams role on return coverage.

Personal life

Harper was born to his parents Kevin and Alacia. He is the older brother of Notre Dame

Safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

, Thomas Harper.

References

External links

Dallas Cowboys bio

Oklahoma State Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Devin Living people 1998 births Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee American football linebackers Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Dallas Cowboys players Cincinnati Bengals players