Marcus Harper II has been a key part of the Ducks’ offensive line for two seasons now. As he goes through spring practices and prepares for a huge upcoming season for Oregon football, fans should get ready to frequently hear his name during Duck games.
I sat down with Harper to get to know him better ahead of the fall season and let me be the first to tell you that you should get to know him too.
Harper, an interior lineman, is from Chicago and started his career at Oregon in 2020 under Mario Cristobal but has since stuck around despite multiple coaching changes.
“We’re winning, that’s the biggest thing,” Harper said. “Why drop off and go to someplace that’s not gonna produce like how we produce here at Oregon? It’s only made me better as a man, as a player, as a leader.”
Current head coach Dan Lanning joined Harper and the Ducks in 2022, and since then, Oregon has had quite a bit of success.
Since Lanning took over the Oregon program, the Ducks have gone 22-5, with just 2 losses in the 2023-24 season. Harper has appeared in every game for Oregon over the last two years.
“ is a leader,” Harper said. “I can truly say, being around a lot of coaches in my time at Oregon, he’s a true leader, relentless… He demands that, daily, it isn’t just something that he says.”
We talked a bit about spring practice in Eugene and getting ready for the beloved Spring Game.
“A standout moment was just how much us as a team has continued to hit the ground running and pick up where we left off last season,” Harper said. “To see we haven’t missed a beat… This has a lot of similarities to last year’s team.”
As spring ball unfolds, new faces like Dillon Gabriel, Evan Stewart, Jabbar Muhammad, and more have flown to Eugene to join their new flock.
With so many new faces, ensuring that everyone is on the same page is vital. Harper, who is one of the more veteran players, continues to step into a larger leadership role to ensure that happens.
“Outside of the O-Line room, just leading the whole team now,” Harper said. “It’s a great challenge for me to step up to.”
In 2023, the Oregon offensive line was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, which eventually was awarded to Washington’s offensive line. With starting center Jackson Powers-Johnson heading to the NFL, the Ducks’ O-Line will look a little different this fall.
But can the unit be just as good?
“We definitely have the capabilities of winning this year,” Harper said. “That’s something we say daily in the offensive line room.”
Looking at the upcoming year, the Ducks have a tough road ahead of them. As Oregon heads to the Big Ten, the Ducks will face some of the greatest collegiate football programs in the nation.
However, Lanning doesn’t have them focusing on the fall quite yet.
“Heading into the Big Ten is a great challenge,” Harper said. “These are matchups you’d dream of making in NCAA but now we get to see that in real life… We’re really just focused on spring but when that time comes we’ll take care of that.”
I’m Back🥂 pic.twitter.com/vORxUxAlUp
— Marcus Harper II (@Marcus2_H) January 14, 2024
When he announced that he would be returning to Oregon for his fifth season with the Ducks, he posted a video to social media. The song in the background? Enough Talking by Big Boogie.
Music means a lot to people so I had to ask Harper why he picked that song.
“That’s crazy, nobody’s ever asked me and paid attention to that,” Harper said. “Just let my pads do the talking for me… A lot of people haven’t said anything about me in prior years so just making sure my pads are a little bit louder.”