[1][2][3] As a junior, Harper appeared in 7 of 9 games for the 1958 Michigan Wolverines football team,[4] three of them as the starting left halfback.

[6] As a senior, Harper started all nine games at the left halfback position for the 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team.

[8] At 2:08 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, 1960, Harper made the opening kickoff in the first regular-season game in the history of the Buffalo Bills.

[11] Playing against the Los Angeles Chargers on October 2, 1960, Harper kicked the second field goal in team history.

He died of complications of multiple myeloma at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township, Michigan.