The initial task was questioning Marcus Harper II on how Oregon was adjusting in Jackson Powers-Johnson’s absence.
See, Powers-Johnson or “JPJ” wasn’t just the team’s Rimington — best center in the nation — award winner. He was the strength of the Ducks.
One moment he could be on a mean-streak, laying down one of his patented pancake blocks. The next he could be running across the end-zone with his arms spread wide like a sprinter.
“I like to practice breaking the tape because I think I’m fast,” Oregon’s 6-foot-3, 320-pound former center said of his photo finish, “If the Oregon track team wants me I think I’d be good at the 100 meter or shotput … I think if there was a ten meter I’d be good at that one too.”
Mean, gritty but full of personality. Those simple but brutish wings on Oregon’s helmets? That was him.
But to learn about Harper II and the rest of Oregon’s o-line’s adjustment to “Big Jax’s” absence, Tom Cicero would have to temporarily take center stage.
Entering high school, Harper II had never played football.
His parents had enrolled him in any and everything, but didn’t want him to play the sport until high school, and —quite simply — Illinois is a basketball state.
“Around like sixth and seventh grade, I was just itching to play football.” Harper II said with a smile.
Starting freshman year, Harper’s itch finally went away, but it’s safe to say his transition to football wasn’t seamless….in more than a few ways.
“The first time I put my pads on, my helmet buckle was all the way up to my forehead. It was so bad, I was very new to the sport,” Harper II said with a laugh.
That’s where Cicero comes in, the offensive line coach at Homewood-Flossmoor High School took the then-freshman Harper II under his wing.
He made 15-year-old Harper sit and watch practices and become a “sponge” for information. Harper II describes Cicero as a “great fundamentals and technique coach,” something key in his success now in Eugene. But, Harper II also admits Cicero could be “crazy hard on him.”
“I had never been in the football world,” Harper II said. “Obviously I’m thankful for it now, but when I was 15, 16, I hated it.”
Harper II saw varsity playing time his sophomore year and took off, earning his first D-1 offers. His third season? Oregon came calling and once he visited it was a “no-brainer” to commit.
“He knew what I was capable of,” Harper II said of his former coach, “When I didn’t even know what I was capable of.”
It wasn’t always easy for Harper II — being a second-year on varsity tends to be difficult — but Cicero always believed in him.
“One, you didn’t have to do that,” Harper II said. “Two, there were times I wanted to give up on myself and he wouldn’t budge, he wouldn’t give up on me, he explained why, but I’m honestly glad he didn’t.”
Fast forward to 2024, Harper II recorded an outstanding 81.1 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking number in 2023, a number he looks to improve on but knows wouldn’t be possible without his former coach.
“Any chance I get, I want to say, ‘I really appreciate you,’” Harper II said. “No one in my family knew how to mold me, he saw a raw guy and took me and molded me into the offensive lineman I am today. He laid down that foundation of what it looks like.”
Now back in Eugene for his senior season, Harper II hopes to get to “phase three” of his development.
Harper is regaled for his personality and frequently greets reporters with a smile. All 320 pounds — a weight that he is experimenting with this spring to see what benefits his style of play most — of him, standing above average-sized humans.
He’ll talk about Iapani (Poncho) Laloulu’s impressive emergence as a freshman, and how he expects a big step out of his play in his senior season. He’ll be sure to mention that the o-line will be fine, regardless of JPJ’s absence. But most of all he’ll smile, laugh and “always make sure to thank Cicero for what’s gotten him here.”
This is who Harper II is, an easygoing person with a job meant for maniacs. A huge dude with a big smile who loves to hit other people.
And talk about the man that has gotten him to this point.
“I love him,” Harper II said of Cicero. “And I think he loves me too.”
