Notre Dame nickel back Thomas Harper opts out of Sun Bowl
One more Notre Dame player is opting out of the Sun Bowl. Graduate nickel back Thomas Harper, who is out of eligibility after this season, will sit out the Dec. 29 bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Harper has not made an official announcement as to his status for the Sun Bowl, but he was not at Tuesday’s practice. A Notre Dame spokesperson confirmed to Blue & Gold that Harper will not play in the bowl game. The spokesperson also said that Irish head coach Marcus Freeman was not trying to mislead when he said Saturday that there would not be any additional opt-outs; he was just unaware that Harper had not announced his.
The coaching staff and team had been aware of the defensive back’s decision since bowl practices began.
Harper was exactly what Notre Dame needed from its nickel back this season after transferring from Oklahoma State. He finished the year with 39 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 passes defended. He was electric as a pass rusher on his 22 blitz attempts, finishing with 8 total pressures including those 2 sacks.
Harper stood out as a run defender, too, compiling 17 defensive stops and earning an 83.7 Pro Football Focus run defense grade. His tackling and pass-rush grades were even better, coming in at 88.9 each.
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In coverage, Harper allowed 26 receptions on 43 targets for 236 yards, good for a more than respectable 5.5 yards per attempt when targeted. He struggled against star Ohio State slot receiver Emeka Egbuka, but Egbuka is one of the toughest slot assignments in college football. For what Notre Dame needed in between top-tier cover corners Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart, Harper got the job done.
Harper is Notre Dame’s seventh and (we think) final opt-out, following Hart, junior running back Audric Estimé, junior offensive tackle Joe Alt, graduate quarterback Sam Hartman, junior right tackle Blake Fisher and graduate linebacker Marist Liufau. In his place, senior cornerback Clarence Lewis will likely start at nickel later this month in El Paso, Texas.
Interestingly, freshman cornerback Christian Gray got some work in the slot in individual drills. Gray has played exclusively on the outside throughout his first season.
The Irish have Harper’s replacement for 2023 lined up in former Arizona State defensive back Jordan Clark, who committed to Notre Dame as a graduate transfer Dec. 5. Like Harper before him, Clark has one year of eligibility remaining.
