Harding Harper - Football Coach - University of Colorado Athletics

Arizona

Nov 1 (Sat)

TBA

Harding Harper

Title:
Recruiting Assistant - Scouting
Email:
harding.harper@colorado.edu
Phone:
303-492-9787

Harding Harper III is in his first year on the University of Colorado staff as a football recruiting assistant (scouting), as he joined the staff on June 28, 2021.

Harper, 27, came to Colorado from Lycoming College, where he was the linebacker coach for the 2020 season. He was a graduate assistant for the 2019-20 academic year at the University of Missouri.

He began his career in coaching at Centennial High School in Atlanta, Ga., where he served as linebacker coach, assistant defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 2018-19. He also was a visiting intern at Penn State University, afforded the opportunity to explore different areas of a major college football program.

Harper graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science in 2016. A three-year letterman at linebacker (and briefly at fullback late in his redshirt frosh season) for the Commodores under head coach James Franklin, he contributed to winningest period in Vanderbilt football history. A two-time captain, he helped Vandy to consecutive 9-4 seasons and back-to-back bowl victories over North Carolina State (2012 Music City) and Houston (2013 BBVA Compass).

It was at Vanderbilt where Harper first met CU head coach Karl Dorrell, as Dorrell was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Commodores for the 2014 season.

He was born Sept. 28, 1993 in Birmingham, Ala., and graduated from Carver Montgomery (Ala.) High School where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track (he was an all-state performer on the gridiron and had over 40 scholarship offers as one of the top 25 players in the state his senior year). His hobbies include working out and playing video games. Hails from a football family: his father (Harding Jr.) and an uncle (Ronald Harper Sr.) were record holders at Alabama State, and his brother (Montaurius Smith) did the same at Alabama A&M and for the SWAC. A cousin, Roman Harper, played collegiately with Alabama and 11 seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints (safety); he is now an SEC Network host). Another cousin, Ronald Harper, was a safety at Troy University.