Really caught my eye last night. This is just one play. [video=youtube;wFUKCHDZYfY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wFUKCHDZYfY[/video] That's a pretty good corner he did that to. Last night they showed some of his work at Oregon before he transferred, utility man only guy to throw, run and catch for a TD all in the same season for Oregon. Showed some good traits from the get-go. But last night the footwork and movement for a guy 6'1" and 228 lbs was pretty unreal. NFL Draft Scout has him down for 4.46 speed, with only Tavon Austin (4.38), Markus Wheaton (4.44), Denard Robinson (4.39), Corey Fuller (4.43) and Marquise Goodwin (4.36) as faster...among the top 25 or so seniors. Some plays from his game against Oklahoma this year... NEAR SIDE - Missed connection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=172s FAR SIDE - Much better off press, pass not thrown to him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=252s FAR SIDE - Route, pass not thrown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=327s FAR SIDE - Route, pass not thrown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=377s FAR SIDE - Big catch on CB Aaron Colvin, with replay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=449s FAR SIDE - Route, pass not thrown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=521s FAR SIDE - Route, pass not thrown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=554s FAR SIDE - Blocking for scrambling QB http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=567s NEAR SIDE - More blocking for scrambling QB on TD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=606s NEAR SIDE - Route, pass not thrown. Replay available. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-YUWITX-74&feature=player_detailpage#t=681s Some plays versus Baylor this year... FAR SIDE - Catch vs Baylor, can't break CB Joe Williams' tackle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs-R_XH9go&feature=player_detailpage#t=1427s FAR SIDE - Klein intercepted by CB Joe Williams while throwing deep to Harper. Replay available. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs-R_XH9go&feature=player_detailpage#t=2084s NEAR SIDE - Catch 36 yard vs Baylor over the middle, physically contested, cramped up during play http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs-R_XH9go&feature=player_detailpage#t=3852s FAR SIDE - TOUCHDOWN 7 yard slant vs Baylor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs-R_XH9go&feature=player_detailpage#t=3999s FAR SIDE - Catch 8 yards vs Baylor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs-R_XH9go&feature=player_detailpage#t=4454s FAR SIDE - Throw no catch, he thought he was interfered with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPs-R_XH9go&feature=player_detailpage#t=4522s NEAR SIDE - Deep throw but no catch (drop) vs Baylor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI6YsgmsRG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=143s NEAR SIDE - Catch 15 yards vs Baylor, broken tackle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI6YsgmsRG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=2110s NEAR SIDE - Catch 11 yards on 4th & 10 vs Baylor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI6YsgmsRG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=2268s NEAR SLOT - Catch 11 yards on 3rd & 10 vs Baylor http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI6YsgmsRG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=2940s FAR SIDE - Catch 9 yards on 2nd & 13 vs Baylor, broken tackle, physically impressive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI6YsgmsRG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=3044s NEAR SIDE - Catch 6 yards on 4th & 4 vs Baylor, slant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI6YsgmsRG0&feature=player_detailpage#t=3132s Some plays versus TCU... FAR SIDE - Catch 62 yards vs CB Kevin White of TCU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAKZtQW-Nqw&feature=player_detailpage#t=5s NEAR SIDE - Throw no catch, covered well by CB Jason Verrett of TCU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWpVsvaUrI4&feature=player_detailpage#t=319s Some plays versus Texas... NEAR SIDE - Catch 36 yards vs CB Quandre Diggs of Texas, physical underthrown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj_r177Ku5U&feature=player_detailpage#t=1590s FAR SIDE - Catch 12 yards vs CB Carrington Byndom of Texas, physical http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj_r177Ku5U&feature=player_detailpage#t=1722s FAR SIDE - Screen, stiff-arm and run for 11 yards vs Texas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj_r177Ku5U&feature=player_detailpage#t=1889s Some plays versus Oklahoma State... NEAR SIDE - Catch 14 yards on comeback vs CB Brodrick Brown of Oklahoma State http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=U...=GGgcItcv_cI&feature=player_detailpage#t=179s NEAR SIDE - Throw but no catch vs CB Brodrick Brown, who sat on the route http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=U...=GGgcItcv_cI&feature=player_detailpage#t=220s FAR SIDE - Incomplete fade in end zone vs CB Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=U...GGgcItcv_cI&feature=player_detailpage#t=1130s NEAR SIDE - Catch 15 yards on CB Brodrick Brown of Oklahoma State http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=U...GGgcItcv_cI&feature=player_detailpage#t=1774s NEAR SIDE - Catch 2 yards on CB Justin Gilbert of Oklahoma State off a scramble (late throw) http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=U...GGgcItcv_cI&feature=player_detailpage#t=3158s NEAR SIDE - Catch 17 yards on CB Kevin Peterson of Oklahoma State, on a comeback http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGgc...pkpp0-o3iBw&feature=player_detailpage#t=4580s NEAR SIDE - Catch 41 yards on CB Brodrick Brown of Oklahoma State, flea flicker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPDRHA0K83Y&feature=player_detailpage#t=396s The thing that interests me is the potential he's been severely underrated due to under- and dis-use. Harper seems to work the perimeter and I think Lockett works the slot. Quarterbacks like Colin Klein in addition to being runners, they don't get the ball very well to the perimeter, preferring the slot for a lot of reasons. Klein's timing is not good. Harper was never going to get sexy numbers in that offense. Even so Harper led with 860 receiving yards. I watch some of Harper's games and they're a total snooze fest. You can see exactly how and why he's generally being overlooked. Long stretches without even the promise of any action to Harper or the receivers. Can go the whole game and see maybe 2 or 3 opportunities. He seems to be a guy that gets a little disinterested when he's going through long stretches of not being even close to getting the ball in his hands. But when he starts to get more opportunities, that's when he lights up like a Christmas tree, and that's what I saw out of him last night. Overall I think what intrigues me about him is how big, strong and physical he is while displaying the quick feet to get open and do things with the ball in his hands after the catch. Speed isn't the only thing the Miami receivers unit needs. They need physical strength like that because it's missing. They don't have anyone that will physically wrestle a football for a challenged catch, or someone who will physically break a tackle attempt after a short screen play. These are things you'd like to have. They can help you score touchdowns. He reminds me of James Jones. He doesn't seem to me like a threat to go over the top of players even though he's got 4.46 speed. But then, Colin Klein was a guy that would generally underthrow those deep passes anyway. He's fairly new to the receiver position. In that way I think when a Joe Philbin looks at him he's likely to see a larger version of Randall Cobb who was similarly a QB/Wildcat convert to the WR position. He's not a player that is going to go high in the Draft but he has my interest.
Definitely a Combine invite. He's playing in the Senior Bowl actually so he's well respected for a senior.
He caught my eye during that game as well. I think I even commented on him to my son, who was in the room. It was based on how #3 moved, but I didn't realize he was that big. Of course, I then forgot about him since I don't think I saw him targeted again.
From having watched quite a few of his games now, that's how it goes in that K-State offense. He gets targeted in bunches, and then the offense becomes so run-heavy or they just start doing things where you wouldn't see him getting the ball, and before you know it the game is over. It's got to be hard for him if you think about it.
The biggest problem I see with Chris Harper is despite the 4.46 estimate of his 40 yard dash time which comes in behind only Marquise Goodwin, Tavon Austin, Denard Robinson, Markus Wheaton and Corey Fuller amongst top 25 senior receivers...he's not getting open a lot on the vertical. Or at least the separation closes up quickly with the ball in the air. But one reason for that is because Colin Klein doesn't really seem capable of hitting a vertical throw in stride. He underthrows everything to Harper and counts on him to come back to the ball and make something happen physically, which he often does. Or in some cases it's not even Colin Klein. As you saw in the Oregon game, Klein gave the ball to his halfback Pease, who had every intention of hitting Chris Harper on a deep ball. Harper ran his vertical against CB Troy Hill (4.51) and beat him vertically, but Pease was assailed in the backfield and had to make the guy miss before he could turn around and throw it, so the ball came WAY late, forcing Harper to come back to it, and giving Brian Jackson time to catch up and assault Harper in the face as he was trying to pull in the ball. But nonetheless when you watch CB Joe Williams of Baylor (4.52) easily keep up with Harper on a vertical route and then intercept a pass that gets underthrown to the inside, yeah you can blame the throw but the fact of the matter is Harper didn't create much of a window there. He's a big body and very strong, shows strong hands and the ability to make physically contested catches. There are some great examples of physically contested catches against the likes of Aaron Colvin of Oklahoma, Carrington Byndom of Texas, Quandre Diggs of Texas, Chance Casey of Baylor and Joe Williams of Baylor. The best part of his game though is his run after the catch, which he showed in the bowl game and he's been showing all year. You'll see his power after the catch as he stiff-arms people like Terrance Mitchell of Oregon and Adrian Phillips of Texas, or when he literally drags along like he's giving bus rides to the likes of Daytowion Lowe of Oklahoma State or both Elisha Olobode and Kevin White of TCU on the same play. He did the exact same thing dragging Baylor DE Chris McAllister (6'2" and 255 lbs) for an extra 7 yards and that was after Harper's momentum had already been stopped as he physically broke the would-be tackle attempt of Joe Williams on the play. But it's not just power because for a man that is 6'1" and 234 lbs you would not think he would be able to move the way he does. On one play in the Bowl game against Oregon, he gained 21 yards by making CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu eat the dirt with a sweet move after the catch. On another play against Oregon he scooped to the inside after the catch and created some more yards, and then cut back to the outside again making Ifo Ekpre-Olomu once again jam up his gears and trip, and created a few more yards after catch. The speed and quick feet do show up in his ability to get open on comebacks, hitches and out routes. On the play against Ifo Ekpre-Olomu where he made him eat dirt, he gave himself that opportunity by creating the separation underneath needed to catch that ball and run with it. He also ran a hitch and created separation but for whatever reason Klein didn't want to throw it, so he tagged his route upward and then physically created more separation with his hands as Ifo Ekpre-Olomu adjusted to keep him up with him, then hitched again and created a window for Klein to throw to him. He created separation against Ifo and the other corners on Oregon several times throughout the day. He generally tore up Oklahoma State CB Brodrick Brown with that ability to create separation on comebacks, and created a lot of separation on comeback routes against Aaron Colvin, though the ball didn't come to him on those plays. I think a big problem for him is he plays in an offense that often forgets about the passing game, and he plays with a quarterback who often forgets about the perimeter and prefers to throw inside to slot receivers like Tyler Lockett. He'll go whole stretches of games where he's just a hood ornament, essentially. And because of that, he can get a little bit lax during some of these stretches. But then when his number is called, he lights up like a Christmas tree and looks quicker. He reminds me in some ways of Rishard Matthews whom the Dolphins just drafted last year in the 7th round. But I think he's physically stronger and makes more physically contested catches. The latter was one of the criticisms I had for Matthews, even though I liked him quite a bit. Matthews doesn't show very often the ability to come down with a ball in those 50/50 physically contested situations. That I think is one difference between Harper and Matthews. Chris Harper represents something that is missing from the Dolphins' offense. The Dolphins have the ability to create separation underneath like Harper does, but they don't do anything with physical strength. Brian Hartline is the opposite of strong and physical, and Davone Bess doesn't really fit that bill either, doing his damage more with just his quick feet. Essentially the Dolphins don't have a guy with James Jones' or a Jordy Nelson's physicality. Harper reminds me of a James Jones. But where James Jones is maddening for his ability to make physically challenged catches and then turn around and drop easy balls, I just haven't seen Harper drop many passes. Just one, in all the games I've watched. In Chris Harper the Dolphins could very well add the ability to make plays after the catch with physical strength, and also the ability to make physically contested catches which is another thing they do not have currently. You probably won't have to go very high to get a Chris Harper unless he unexpectedly blows the doors off the Combine, but I think he'd be a good role player in a passing offense. To me he's like a version of Da'Rick Rogers that doesn't have the baggage.
Absolutely, he fits the bill there. K-State had some slot guys they liked better from a quickness standpoint, and perhaps they didn't think those guys would be good on the outside, else I think we'd have seen Harper work the slot there more often. Essentially, I think he's Da'Rick Rogers without the baggage.
That's what I was thinking, too. I wouldn't mind having a big, quick, physical slot receiver, especially if we happen to add Mike Wallace, Greg Jennings, or a wiry Markus Wheaton. Definitely see the Rishard Matthews comparison.
Sorry for leavin you hangin, certain coaches on the Kstate program have not been happy with how Turners been utilized..They feel they wasted the talent.
definitely. Could be a surprise sleeper. Wonder if that type of information might elude some NFL teams?
Doubtful. Coaching staff will not hide that they think they under-used a guy and wish they'd have done a better job on his behalf. It's the kind of thing they might even be eager to share with scouts, because they want to help the kid get as good standing as he can.
With Klein having such a special season controlling the ball, it was hard for his position coach to get him reps..
