PROVO — BYU typically struggles to land prime defensive back talent out of high school, which makes the signing of Micah Harper this past signing period relatively significant.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound athlete from Basha High School was rated a 3-star prospect, and held offers from the likes of Air Force, San Diego State and Nevada, among others. He rested on BYU due to his relationship with the BYU coaches along with everything else the program has to offer.
“The BYU alumni are great people, and I really love the players I met on my trip and felt a real connection almost immediately,” Harper told the Deseret News back in January. “I love both the coaches who were my primary recruiters — coach (Jernaro) Gilford and coach (Preston) Hadley and obviously coach (Kalani) Sitake. I trust them fully and know they all have my best interest in mind.”
So what can fans expect from Harper during the coming season and thereafter?
We sat down with former BYU defensive back Ben Criddle, who also hosts Cougar Sports with Ben Criddle on ESPN960 to break down his film and lend his assessment.
What are your overall impressions of Micah Harper?
“BYU is always in need of great and versatile players on the back end of their defense, and Micah definitely has good athleticism which should develop nicely at BYU.” — Ben Criddle, on Micah Harper
“The first thing that jumps out at you is his versatility, and I love a player that has good versatility. He has decent size for a cornerback, and his senior year statistics show a guy who is everywhere on the field. He didn’t play for a great high school program, so he had to do a lot for them, but he excelled in doing just that.
“BYU is always in need of great and versatile players on the back end of their defense, and Micah definitely has good athleticism which should develop nicely at BYU.”
What specific things did you like about his film?
“Most of his highlights are of him playing offense, but you can still see how he’s a physical player who isn’t afraid of contact. You need that for a guy who will play defense at BYU. I like how he uses his off-arm to stiff-arm and create separation. So even though he’s not super tall, it looks like he has long arms, which is critical for a defensive back.
“So he has good hands, good length and great athleticism, which you want, but he’s also intelligent. The schools that were recruiting him only take the smartest kids, so Micah should be someone who excels academically and his intelligence will certainly aid him in playing football at a high level.
“He could play at safety or cornerback, but at BYU, he’ll likely stay at corner, at least starting off.”
Which former BYU player does he remind you of?
“He really does remind me of Dayan Ghanwoloku with how thick he is and how versatile he is. Dayan was a guy who played everywhere out of high school and ended up playing both at cornerback and at safety for BYU. I could see Micah developing into that sort of player.”
What are your expectations of Micah Harper for his first season?
“I think he’ll make it on a special teams unit, but what’s working against him with playing defense is BYU is pretty deep this year at cornerback. But I think he has a competitive advantage coming from a football family with a dad who played football in college.
“I think there’s a 20% chance of him breaking the two-deep on defense, and again, that’s more of a reflection to the depth at BYU currently, rather than his ability as an immediate impact player.”