Senior defensive back for Illinois. 2023: 1 interception, 2 pass breakups, 48 tackles.
6′0″ · 205 lb · Atlanta, GA
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 2711 nationally · Signed with Southern Miss
Statement game17 tackles · 1 TFLvs Nebraska (FBS) · L 7-20
Top 0.1% tackles game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
4 defensive back for Illinois. 2023: 1 interception, 2 pass breakups, 48 tackles.
Nicario Harper
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Across three seasons and three programs, three head coaches: Jay Hopson, Scott Satterfield and Bret Bielema. One game to point at: 17 tackles, 1 TFL against Nebraska — Week 6, 2023.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Three seasons at Illinois, 57 tackles — his college career is complete.
His career
The role got bigger.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Lovie Smith → Bret Bielema. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: sacks (24th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road3g | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 7.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 4.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2023
Tackle volume for the position in part-time-starter range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Two-star recruit. Now #180 at the position.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Illinois | 48 | 28 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | Louisville | 7 | 4 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2018 | Southern Miss | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 57 | 33 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 7 · 2023
W 27–24
at Maryland
7 TOT · 5 SOLO · 1 TFL
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 on the road.
With L. Altmyer — 206 yds · 2 TD · 1 INT · QBR 63.1 · 29 rush yds (13 car) · H. Robertson — 43 AVG · 2 IN 20 · 53 LONG
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | L 13-30vs Penn State | 3 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 23-17vs Florida Atlantic | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 19-44@ Purdue | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 7-20vs Nebraska | 17 | 7 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 17 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 27-24@ Maryland | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 21-25vs Wisconsin | 8 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 27-26@ Minnesota | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | L 43-45vs Northwestern | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 48 | 28 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 |
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
48 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interceptions. 2 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Player DNA
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
His 2023 production profile sits closest to Kelechi Nwachuku’s 2022 season.
Matches Kelechi on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a graduate, his production profile tracks closest to Owen Goss's graduate season at Arizona (2024).
Matches Owen on
Player DNA