REPLACING GEROY NO EASY TASK FOR JUSTIN HARPER
Receiver in blockbuster Simon trade vows to get in better shape before feasting on defenders
Size is the prize the B. C. Lions obtained when they rocked the Canadian Football League world by trading iconic veteran Geroy Simon to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in January.
In return, the Lions got a draft pick and Justin Harper, an unheralded receiver who arrived bigger than advertised for the CFL team’s threeday mini- camp in Surrey this week.
At 6- 3 and 240 pounds, the 28- yearold native of Catawba, N. C. looks more like an NFL tight end than the sleek CFL slotback the Lions would like him to be.
“I’m overweight right now,” Harper admitted Wednesday. “When I got released in Baltimore I definitely went into a depression stage. I thought football was over for me. I put on the weight. I was big- time heavy. Coming out here definitely shows me what shape I have to be in for training camp ( which opens June 2 in Kamloops). I’ll definitely be lighter when you see me again.”
Depression and binge eating go hand in hand, and Harper’s midriff is proof of that. After being released by the Baltimore Ravens, with whom he spent three years on the practice roster, Harper ballooned to the size of a guard. Picked up on the rebound by the Roughriders last March, he saw limited action in his first CFL season and was deemed expendable in the Simon trade.
“I was 250- plus, 255 easy ( in Saskatchewan),” he said. “I was with the Ravens for three seasons. Did I take advantage of my opportunities in the NFL? No. It hurt and bothered me when I got released. I thought I was done. But it’s amazing how God works. An opportunity has opened up for me in the CFL, and I’m going to take advantage of that opportunity.”
Since the Lions’ mini- camp involves only 20 players on offence — quarterbacks, receivers and running backs — and no linemen, other than a pair of centres to snap the ball, Harper’s thickness is noticeable. He was 215 pounds when the Ravens selected him in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft from Virginia Tech. Scouting reports described him then as a player who needed to beef up to handle the physical play when cornerbacks pressed him.
Placed on the Ravens’ scout team, Harper mimicked Randy Moss, Andre Johnson and other big- bodied pass catchers in practice and tantalized the coaching staff enough with his potential that they kept him around for three seasons. “If Justin Harper can just learn to finish, he can play in this league,” said Baltimore offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
Harper literally dropped the ball in that regard.
However, as a Raven with an NFL imprimatur, he made an impact in ways that stats could never measure.
One of seven siblings raised by a single parent — his grandmother, Oddie Harper — Justin established the Oddie Cares Foundation, which teams with social services in his hometown to provide turkey dinners and toys for the disadvantaged at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
He sports a tattoo Oddie’s Boy on his right arm in tribute to the retired North Carolina hosiery mill worker who raised two generations of kids, 13 in total, including six of her own, in a three- bedroom house in Catawba.
“She’s definitely a strong woman, and a reason I do the things I do,” Harper explained. “We feed over 200 to 250 families with our turkey drive every year. We do free football camps for kids, about 500 in total, in the summer. If school kids need something they can contact us and we’ll try to help them out. My grandmother cared for us, so why can’t we care for others? She helped pick me up after I got cut by the Ravens and made me realize there is life outside football.”
Football is Harper’s main concern this week, though, and it’s good to know that his head coach, Mike Benevides, seems unperturbed by the extra pounds his new recruit is carrying.
“This isn’t about fitness,” Benevides said, referring to the mini- camp. “I don’t expect an athlete to be at peak performance right now. There’s no question we’ll help a guy out if he needs some help in that area over the next six weeks ( until training camp opens).”
Known for unloading veteran players once their value peaks, Lions GM Wally Buono has made it his mantra to get younger and bigger. Harper is a prime example. The Lions have been assembling complementary pieces in their receiving corps with size in mind. Ernest Jackson, Courtney Taylor, Nick Moore, Shawn Gore, Akeem Foster, even veteran Paris Jackson, who will be used in a limited role, represent the embodiment of NFL- style targets.
“Our receiving corps is bigger now than it’s ever been,” Benevides said. “He ( Harper) is a long, rangy, prototypical NFL receiver. One thing we’ve talked about in the off- season is trying to create a bigger target zone for Travis ( Lulay). You’re talking about large, athletic receivers with big hands. Those are great tools to have in your tool chest. We’re going to have an ultracompetitive camp this year. ”
Whether Harper has the appetite for the competition will be readily observed in early June, if he shows up in Kamloops with a lean and hungrier look.