Thomas Harper (American football)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
| No. 12 – Detroit Lions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | November 5, 2000 Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 189 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Karns (Karns, Tennessee) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Oklahoma State (2019–2022) Notre Dame (2023) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2024: undrafted | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Thomas Westley Harper (born November 5, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Harper was born on November 5, 2000, in Knoxville, Tennessee.[1] He grew up playing basketball before trying out for the Karns High School football team as a sophomore.[2] With the Karns football team, he became a top wide receiver and defensive back.[2] He was an all-district, all-region and team MVP selection while being the first player in school history with over 1,000 receiving yards.[3]
Harper totaled 1,086 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior, being named all-state, and then had 1,279 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior, also ending his high school career with 155 tackles, 16 passes defended and three interceptions.[1] A two-star recruit, he committed to play college football for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the only Power Five program to give him an offer, which allowed him to join his brother Devin, a linebacker.[4][5]
College career
Harper appeared in 12 games as a true freshman in 2019, mainly on special teams, recording 13 tackles.[1] The following year, he appeared in all 11 games, one as a starter, and recorded 31 tackles while earning second-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors.[1] In 2021, he played 12 games and totaled 20 tackles with 1.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs).[6] He won a starting role in 2022.[7] That year, he made 30 tackles and 1.5 TFLs while appearing in seven games.[1]
In 2023, Harper transferred to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for his final season of eligibility.[8] With Notre Dame, he appeared in 11 games and posted 39 tackles, six TFLs, three passes defended and two sacks.[9] He opted out of the team's 2023 Sun Bowl victory over Oregon State due to injury.[10]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+1⁄8 in (1.78 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | 29+3⁄8 in (0.75 m) | 8+7⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.47 s | 1.50 s | 2.50 s | 4.39 s | 7.11 s | 42 in (1.07 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) | 18 reps | |
| All values from Pro Day[11] | ||||||||||||
Los Angeles Chargers
After going unselected in the 2024 NFL draft, Harper signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent.[12] He was waived on August 27, as part of the team's roster cuts.[13]
Las Vegas Raiders
On August 28, 2024, Harper was claimed off waivers by the Las Vegas Raiders.[14] He was waived on August 28, 2025.[15]
Detroit Lions
On August 29, 2025, Harper was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions.[16]
Career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
NFL
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2024 | LV | 15 | 5 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | DET | 12 | 9 | 37 | 26 | 11 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 27 | 14 | 63 | 39 | 24 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
College
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sack | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2019 | Oklahoma State | 12 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Oklahoma State | 11 | 1 | 30 | 26 | 4 | 0.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | Oklahoma State | 12 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Oklahoma State | 7 | 7 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 11 | 10 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 2.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 53 | 18 | 132 | 89 | 43 | 2.0 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |