The Detroit Lions will be without their top three safeties for Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brian Branch is suspended and Kerby Joseph and Avonte Maddox are hurt, so Thomas Harper will start at one of the safety spots this week.
The Lions claimed Harper off waivers from the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season. He played his first 10 defensive snaps of the season in last week’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and had a pass breakup on fourth down.
Harper joined the Free Press for this week’s 5 Questions.
Some questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Tell me about the three most important people in your life to your football journey.
I would say my Notre Dame safety coach, Coach (Chris) O’Leary. My brother (Devin), since he got me into football. And then third, I would say … third is hard.
Too many people to pick from?
Yeah, it’s a lot of people that helped me. I would say Coach (Tim) Duffie from Oklahoma State. That was my Oklahoma State DBs coach.
What did the two coaches mean to you?
Coach Duffie, so I had him my freshman year in college when I was at Oklahoma State. I mean, in high school I only played receiver so he kind of opened me up to DB and the ins and outs of it. I think that’s why he was important. And then Coach O’Leary, I mean, he elevated my game and my knowledge of the game and everything tremendously at Notre Dame.
How about your brother? What does he mean to you?
He just got me into football. That’s always a big thing. He’s three years older than me, but we’re real close. We talk every day. He legitimately got me started. I thought I was going to be a basketball player and then freshman year (of high school) I didn’t play football and he was like, ‘You need to play football. Sophomore year he was like, ‘Man, you need to play football,’ and I finally played.
You didn’t play any football till sophomore year of high school. What was the biggest challenge in starting so late?
I would probably say just the instincts of the game. The route comnbinations and where to be, I played receiver and scrambling, just small stuff like that I think was definitely the hardest. And then just the physicality, too. I had to put on a lot of weight.
What were the benefits to starting late?
Yeah, I think the one benefit was just I feel like I’m not burnt out at all. I feel like I’m just now falling in love with the game, so I think that helps. A lot of people that start too young, they could get burnt out, so I feel like I’m just now starting to fall in love with the game so I think that’s the benefit.
How’d you avoid football growing up in Knoxville, Tenn. I feel like that’s a football town?
I liked to ride dirt bikes and basketball and everything else. I don’t know what it was, I was not into football. My dad played basketball, so that’s probably what it was.
You have to put a 3-on-3 team together from the locker room, you and three teammates. Who are you picking and why?
Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t hooped with anybody in here yet. But I heard Amik (Robertson) is really good, so I’m going to go Amik. I seen Jack (Campbell)’s high school (highlights), so I’m going to go with Jack. Probably … I’ll go T.A. (Terrion Arnold). T.A. says he’s good. I’m going to go T.A.
That’s not a lot of size. What’s your game like?
Oh, I’m a slasher. I’m a slasher. I’m going to create for everybody else.
What’s something you’re into now you never thought you’d be into?
Reading books. I love to do that in my free time. Right now I’m reading a lot of real estate and finance books, trying to plan for the future. So that’s what I’m reading right now, but I like self-help, business books and then I like some history every now and then.
You didn’t like reading as a kid?
I mean, growing up we had to read books for class and that wasn’t – I never hated it but I just never thought I’d read in my free time.
Halloween is a week away. What was your favorite costume as a kid?
Is it Scream? With the white face with the black (hood). Like the ghostface. I feel like I rocked that almost every year.
What was your favorite candy to get?
Starburst.
Let’s end it with a football one: You’re probably going to get your first start as a Lion on Monday. What does this chance mean to you?
Oh yeah. I mean, this is the moment that you live for and I just think to be able to go out there and show my teammates and the coaches that they can trust me and be trusted, that means the most to me, for sure.
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who the heck is Thomas Harper, the new Detroit Lions starting safety?
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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