Nicario Harper: DB · Illinois.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nicario Harper
Plays like an extra linebacker near the line. The three seasons span three programs and three head coaches: Jay Hopson, Scott Satterfield and Bret Bielema. The first career honor came in 2020: All-America (NCAA). One game to point at: 17 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Nebraska — Week 6, 2023.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
48 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interception. 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.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
LancasterOnline Oct 25
Yahoo Sports Oct 25Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| 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 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 3 | L 13-30vs No. 7 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 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
4%2 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
48tackles this seasonTFL rate
4%2 TFL48 tackles · 2 for loss · 2 pass breakups · 1 interception.
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
Pass share
51.4%
413 pass / 390 run
Plays / game
66.9
12 games
Team sack rate
8.8%
457 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
More tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #180 at the position.
Selector Grid · 2020
How it ended
Three seasons, at Southern Miss, Louisville and Illinois, 57 tackles — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA
Named All-American (2020)
named by 1 selector
Coaching lineage · 2017–2023
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 3 schools: Jay Hopson, Scott Satterfield and Bret Bielema.
