The 2016 ODU Football season is over, but ODUSports.com will continue to deliver information on the Monarchs, whether it be photo galleries, highlight videos, or in today's case, a Q&A. Today's Q&A is with junior to be wide receiver, Isaiah Harper.
Q: What made you choose Old Dominion?
A: I am from the area originally, and we don’t have any big schools or professional teams in the area. I knew ODU was on the rise, so I wanted to be part of something big in the place I grew up.
Q: What is your major?
A: I am a psychology major.
Q: Favorite thing to do around the Hampton Roads area?
A: Hanging out on the beach.
Q: When did you first start playing football?
A: I started playing football in third grade. It was flag football for Great Bridge recreation center.
Q: What got you into football?
A: My older brother, Leroy Harper. He played at Great Bridge High School and Christopher Newport University. He was a DIII All-American and inspired me to play.
Q: How did it feel to get your first touchdown this past season?
A: It was crazy. The great thing about it was my family was seated right at the end zone, right in front of where I scored. I looked up and they were all just jumping up and down, it made it that much better.
Q: That play was reviewed, were you able to see the replay, did you know it was a touchdown?
A: I knew my foot had touched down, I just didn’t know how close it was to out of bounds. I knew my backfoot hit first, and that was what was being reviewed. Once I saw the replay I knew it was a touchdown.
Q: What do you think you can improve on in the offseason?
A: One of the biggest things is being a vocal leader on the team. Recognizing plays and everything is good, but having the team chemistry and being able to be a leader on the team is where I need to step up.
Q: With Zach Pascal graduating, how do you think you can fill the hole he leaves behind in the offense?
A: He left a big hole to fill, but I still talk to him and he is helping me out. The coaches here are great, it will be a tough challenge but it can be done.
Q: Who is your favorite athlete and why?
A: My favorite athlete is Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver). He is one of the smaller receivers in the league, came from a smaller school, but he works hard every day. I follow him on snapchat and I see him working out two or three times a day. He inspires me to keep pushing through.
Q: If you could have one super power, what would it be?
A: Telekinesis. I think about this all the time. I want to be able to move things with my mind. There’s this movie called Chronicle, where they can fly using their mind. So you can get two powers for one.
Q: Favorite Food?
A: Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo
Q: Who is on your game day playlist?
A: Gary Clark Jr. I love the guitar.
Q: Favorite Movie?
A: Captain America Civil War. I am a big Marvel fan.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be?
A: I always wanted to go anywhere in France. Either Paris or Marseille. I took French in high school, so I am comfortable reading and writing in French. I just want to go somewhere to see a different culture than the US, experience something different.
Q: What is something people don’t know about you?
A: I try and put everything on the table, a lot of people think I am a quiet guy. After you get to know me, I would say I am interesting and fun.
Q: How does it feel being so close to home?
A: I love being close to home. I go home every Sunday. I have a big family, and we have dinner every Sunday at my Grandma’s. That’s all I know. Every Friday there is a group chat with my cousins, aunts, and uncles telling you what you are supposed to bring to dinner on Sunday. You must drop it off on Saturday at a certain time and my Grandma starts preparing food then. It’s like Thanksgiving every Sunday.
Q: What was the transition into college as a wide receiver like after playing running back in high school?
A: It was tough at first, I could not have done it if I didn’t redshirt. Having that year to not only prepare my body, but to learn the plays. High School and college football are so much different. It is so much faster here. I had to get my body right. I came in as a small guy and I couldn’t catch. Funny story, Coach Scott made me get my eyes checked and get contacts because that’s how bad I it was. I would run extra routes after practice, that extra year gave me a lot of time to get in extra reps that I really needed before I stepped on the field.
Q: One of the biggest things this coaching staff has preached is ball security. How were you able to relay that and hang on to the ball?
A: Since I was a running back, you are taught at a young age about protecting the ball. It was not much of an issue for me, on the team we had some issues but the coaches nipped it in the butt early. We run drills with the defense where we hold on to the ball and the defense must strip it. It is a competition that makes all of us better.
Q: First bowl game in school history, talk about the week in the Bahamas?
A: That was a great week. There was not a whole lot planned, so we did get to enjoy it. We knew we were there for a reason, to win. We got to go to a shelter for kids when we were down there, and they were so happy to see us and excited. That made my whole week, putting smiles on those kids’ faces.
Q: What was your favorite part of the week?
A: My favorite part was going to the shelter. There was one group that went to the clinic, but I was with the one at the shelter. We played basketball with them, kicked the ball around. We talked, they told us their stories and we told them about being a football player and things like that. We couldn’t relate with them completely, but they enjoyed having us.
Q: What was the overall experience of the bowl game and the weeks leading up to it for the team?
A: Having a long season is tough; those three weeks leading up to the bowl game brought us closer together. There were no more distractions, it was just us. It was a great time without any problems.
Q: How do you use that bowl game win as momentum for workouts, the spring game, and the 2017 season?
A: Well the bowl game was not our number one goal. Our number one goal was to win C-USA. We didn’t get to do that this year, so we want to push forward and reach all three of our goals next season.