Marcus Harper II's Prep for the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft

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00:00The 2025 NFL Draft, fewer than three weeks away at the end of this month in April, and we are very

00:07excited now on this Friday morning on the early line on Sports Grid to be joined by Oregon

00:12offensive lineman Marcus Harper II, joining us bright and early, even before 7 a.m. local time

00:19in Eugene, Oregon. Marcus, we appreciate the time as always, man. Excited to talk about your

00:25preparation and process getting ready for the NFL Draft. Man, I appreciate you guys having me on,

00:30and early morning does not disturb me at all, man. Not at all. It is part of the work ethic

00:37that has made Marcus Harper II one of the best interior O-linemen in all of college football.

00:43I'm going to read some stats right now, and Marcus, get your reaction. In the 2024 college

00:47football season, 376 pass-blocking snaps. Zero sacks allowed. 2023, 432 pass-blocking snaps.

00:57Zero sacks allowed. 2022 campaign, 343 pass-blocking snaps and zero sacks allowed. Do you know which

01:05stats these stats belong to which player in college football, Marcus?

01:11That sounds like a resume built for Big Mark. That's all three years of his career,

01:15if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, that is exactly the three years for Marcus Harper II as the starter

01:22along that offensive line for Oregon. So, Marcus, tell us, what does it take in that mentality

01:28to make sure you are protecting the most prized possession of football, that being a quarterback?

01:33Well, one, you got to take pride in what you do. I take a lot of pride in making sure that

01:38my quarterback is upright and making sure he can do it and fulfill his duty at the best of his,

01:42to the best of his ability. Ever since I got inserted in the lineup three years ago, I told

01:47myself like, man, I don't want to be a guy that's hit one, hit wonder. I like doing my job at a

01:56high level, and I like winning. I like my quarterback throwing touchdowns. So if that

02:01resulted in me going three years and keeping him upright, no matter who's behind me, so be it.

02:06You know what I'm saying? And I take pride in making sure that that's a squeaky clean resume

02:10and continue to do my job at a high level. I mean, that's it, man, protecting the quarterback

02:15the way to do it. But I want to get into the real important things. Back in the 1990s, when I was

02:20rummaging through Division III football, look good, play good, be clean out in the field. The

02:25Oregon Ducks, the cleanest uniforms in the history of sports. How do you have so many combinations?

02:31And the swag must have been available out there with Nike. Yeah, I feel like for me, it was all

02:36about making sure my drip was consistent. I've seen a lot of different things on Saturdays in

02:43the locker rooms, and I'm like, man, I can't do it. So I needed to make sure I had a consistent

02:48drip, something that worked for me, you know, still fit into the mode of like what I would

02:52like to do, but it wasn't all the extra bands and everything. I got to go play, dog. I'm not

02:56trying to third quarter. I'm not trying to go get Mason Graham, but I got to deal with like a sweaty

03:00form band and then throw that off to the side, dog.

03:04That's perfect. So Marcus, three years as a full-time starter along the interior of that O

03:09line for Oregon, but you spent all five years of your collegiate career with the Ducks. That's a

03:15rarity in this new climate and new era of collegiate sports. What about you, Gene,

03:20kept you at Oregon the entire time you were playing college football?

03:24Yeah, it was a family appeal, and honestly, I didn't find any other place in the country

03:29where I wanted to go and wanted to dominate. I knew I could set the stone here in Oregon

03:33and do my thing. And like I said, I did that, so why go anywhere else?

03:39Going into the NFL here, we know the preparation certainly is going to be tough. What have you

03:42learned on your journey to take that elevation to the next step for you here?

03:47Yeah, just do everything. It's a job now. You know, everything beforehand was, you know,

03:51whatever you did before, just times it by 10. So I'm getting my trainers down here in Texas

03:56soon, and we're going to, you know, work the script and, you know, I'll be ready.

04:02So you think of it very much as a job interview. For whatever NFL franchise

04:07is lucky enough to draft Marcus Harper II to have him anchor that O line,

04:11what are they getting in Marcus Harper II, the football player and the person?

04:16Yeah, confident, dominant. I'm going to do it at a high level, and I'm going to do it with a

04:19smile from time to time. That's something I pride myself on. I'm going to do everything

04:23with confidence, and if I don't have the answers, I'm going to make sure I figure out

04:27someone who does have the answer that I'm looking for, and then on occasion off the field,

04:30I'm going to do it with a smile, too. Like, this is a child's game with a king's ransom.

04:34We work too hard to not enjoy ourselves and not have fun. You get a leader. You get someone who's

04:39going to hold himself to a higher standard than everyone else, and I'm going to do that through

04:43and through. So, I mean, you know the best thing that you need in the offensive line room is a

04:47leader, and someone who's going to, you know, dominate from first snap to last snap while he's

04:51out there on that field. So, that's what Marcus Harper II is.

04:54And you can see that personality off the field, the host of the Big Mark Show.

04:59Marcus, when your long NFL playing career is done, if you want a spot at the SportsGrid Network,

05:04you talk to DRS or myself. We'll get you one, my friend. I can guarantee that.

05:08Early risers.

05:08We appreciate the time here on this Friday. Best of luck as you get ready for the NFL Draft,

05:14and have a great weekend. Hour number three on the early line comes way up next.

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