NEW ORLEANS — The media selection committee of the Saints Hall of Fame has selected guard Jahri Evans and safety Roman Harper for induction in 2020, while longtime New Orleans Saints Spanish radio broadcaster Marco Garcia has been chosen to receive the Joe Gemelli "Fleur de Lis" award for his vast contributions to the New Orleans Saints organization.
Harper, 6-1, 205, was selected by New Orleans in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Alabama. The former Alabama standout played in 124 career games for the Saints from 2006-13 and in 2016 with 108 starts and recorded 775 tackles (548 solo), 17 sacks, seven interceptions, 53 passes defensed, 13 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and 43 special teams stops.
Harper also appeared in eight postseason contests with seven starts for the Black and Gold, posting 47 tackles (29 solo), 1.5 sacks, five passes defensed and two forced fumbles. Including two seasons in Carolina from 2014-15, Harper played in 156 games with 140 starts in his 11-season NFL career and posted career totals of 905 tackles, 18 sacks, 11 interceptions, 68 passes defensed, 13 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. From 2006-16, no defensive back in the NFL had more sacks than Harper's 18 and no Saints defensive back has matched his 775 stops in a Black and Gold uniform. Harper was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in 2009 and 2010 and was selected to the Saints All-50th team in 2016.
During his time with the Saints, with the help of the United Way, Phoenix of New Orleans (PNOLA) and St. Bernard Project, Harper has helped spearhead an effort and partnered with teammates to have several homes in New Orleans built for families through the "Hope for the Holidays" program. Through his Harper's Hope 41 Foundation, he has hosted a wide variety of community event programs, such as reading contests, entrepreneur workshops, after school youth activities, summer camps for kids and mentoring programs, Harper was selected as the team's nominee for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.
