Roman Harper's Super Bowl experience a bonus for Panthers

Roman Harper’s 10 years of NFL experience show in different ways. One is how he’s a general on the field for his Carolina Panthers defense. Another way is that his hair is already at least half-gray, if not more. But his experience in a Super Bowl game is especially critical for the Panthers as they prepare to face the Denver Broncos today in Super Bowl 50.

Harper, a safety at Alabama from 2002-05, is in his second season with the Panthers, Harper is putting to use the knowledge he gained in his Super Bowl XLIV victory in 2009 with New Orleans to help prepare his teammates for what they’ll be facing against the Broncos.

“It makes it a lot easier because I kind of know what to expect. Nothing really shocks me,” Harper said. “…The biggest thing is emotionally being tuned in to what we have to do. … Enjoy the moment, enjoy the experience of it, but at the end of the day, we understand what we’re there for. It’s only fun when you win.”

Harper and the Panthers defense have a tall task in front of them in defending veteran quarterback Peyton Manning.

“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback for a reason, and he deserves all the success,” Harper said. "Just knowing that right there, we’re going to have our hands full, and we’ve got to be ready to go.”

Harper’s NFL career started in 2006 when he was drafted by the Saints. He stayed with them for eight years before signing with the Panthers. The transition, he said, didn’t take long.

“When I found out I was coming here, I was really excited to be in the same division, to see some of these guys,” he said. “I knew we had an opportunity to be good because we had a good, young quarterback, and I knew they played great defense here. I wanted to go somewhere where they played great defense and be a part of that.”

Harper was a hero in the Crimson Tide's game against Tennessee in 2005, which Alabama won 6-3. Tennessee’s Arian Foster was running full speed for the end zone with five minutes left in a game where both offenses struggled. But in from the left ran Harper, knocking the ball out with his helmet and forcing a touchback that enshrined him into Alabama football lore. Alabama drove down the field a kicked the winning field goal with under 20 seconds left.

“I just think I’m forgotten,” Harper said. "I made one play, one huge play in my career, and they love me forever there. It’s crazy. I’m just glad I can actually say I was a part of that because I go back, and that’s all they talk about.”

The Nick Saban era has given Alabama fans a lot to enjoy, but Harper was at Alabama during a time when the Crimson Tide was suffering under NCAA sanctions. His freshman year, 2002, was the last under Dennis Franchione when the Tide enjoyed a 10-3 record. Then Harper finished his Alabama career under Mike Shula with a 20-17 record.

Even though those years were hard for Alabama fans to watch, Harper is grateful those were the years he played for the Tide.

“I enjoyed my years at the Capstone, and I don’t regret anything: the timing or when I was there, whatever we went through,” he said. “It made me who I am today, and it allowed me to have the success I’ve been able to have in the NFL.”

As it turns out, Alabama wasn’t the last time Harper got to work with Shula as he’s the Panthers’ offensive coordinator.

“Seeing him in throughout the years in the league, he would always talk to me,” Harper said. “When he was a quarterback coach here, and then became the offensive coordinator, and I was on the other side, we’d always talk. It’s really cool being here with Coach Shula. I love him to death, and he’s helped me be the man I am today.”

While Harper himself will happily hand out a “Roll Tide” to the Alabama faithful, he’s found that Alabama fans still hold him in high esteem as well.

“It’s great, it’s all about being a part of something special,” he said. “All my teammates laugh at me because everywhere you go, you’ve got somebody, some random person yelling at me like, ‘Roman, Roll Tide!’ and I’ll tell you, we’re everywhere. Literally everywhere.”

While Harper represents the Joe Kines defensive era, Panthers teammate Kevin Norwood enjoys having another Alabama guy on the roster.

“It’s more of a ‘This is what we did when I was there,’ and how things have changed,” Norwood said. "We don’t get into details. We talk about the fun times.”

Norwood’s fun times included three national championships, and while he likes to give Harper a hard time about having those, Harper said he feels like they’re still his own, too.

“Even though I didn’t win a national championship, I still claim them because it’s all one school, it’s one family, one love,” Harper said. “…All of our blood is crimson.”

He enjoys watching Alabama play now, and has seen a shift in the fans’ expectations.

“It’s crazy because you look at Alabama fans now, and if it’s not a blowout, they’re stressing,” Harper said. “It’s so much pressure on the team. I’m like, ‘People, every game’s not going to be a blowout, you’re not just going to kill people, and it’s OK to lose.’ It’s part of it, and playing the hard schedule they do, and great players all around the country now, it’s really cool to just say I went to the University of Alabama.”