J.C. Harper is in his third season with the Lumberjack football program, but he is entering his first season as the `Jacks' head coach. Harper was named the school's 18th head coach in December, 2006.

In his first season, Harper was given the task of guiding a youthful defensive unit through the rigors of one of the nation's toughest schedules. During his second year on the job, Harper began to see some of the fruits of his labor. Harper turned a defense that finished near the bottom in every statistical category in 2005, into the most effective defenses in the league. The `Jacks led the Southland Conference in scoring defense, rush defense and total defense during league games in 2006.

Harper's athletes have also been recognized at the conference, regional and national level. The Lumberjack defense has produced nine all-conference athletes, including two first-team and two-second team selections, under Harper. SFA has also produced three All-American selections and two all-region honors during the past two seasons.

The 2006 season marked the second consecutive year that SFA has produced the league's top tackler. Former Lumberjack Ryan Luedecke made the switch to linebacker as a senior and recorded a career year in 2005. Luedecke led the SLC in tackles on his way to honorable mention All-America honors. This past season Harper found success with another player making the switch to linebacker in Damian Perkins. Perkins became an impact player during his first season on defense leading the league with 92 tackles, including 11.5 for losses.

Following the 2006 season, senior defensive backs Keldrick Holman and Freddie Parish were invited to play in the Magnolia Grid Iron Classic. The classic is an all-star game that pits seniors from the NCAA Division I-A level against seniors from the NCAA Division I-AA level. It also marks the second consecutive season that SFA has had a member of its defense invited to play in the game (Darrell Bennett in 2005).

An 18-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Harper was at Western Michigan prior to joining the SFA staff. He was the defensive coordinator for coach Gary Darnell in 2004 and served as the defensive line coach in 2003. His defensive line was ranked as the third-best in the MAC in 2003. He also coached Jason Babin, a first-round draft pick of the Houston Texans, while at Western Michigan.

Prior to Western Michigan, Harper spent four seasons as an assistant in the SLC helping Northwestern State and McNeese State to three playoff appearances in four years. During his tenure at both schools, Harper coached the 2002 SLC Defensive Player of the Year, Roy Locks (Northwestern State) and an AP All-American (Jake Morrison).

Harper was the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for Scott Stoker at Northwestern State in 2002 when the Demons posted a 9-4 record and earned a I-AA playoff spot. The Demons were first in the SLC in total defense in 2002, giving up only 276.6 yards per game.

Harper also spent a season as the defensive coordinator at Southwest Missouri State in 1997 and served an earlier stint as the defensive line coach at Western Michigan in 1996. He spent four seasons as the defensive line coach at Southwest Missouri State from 1992-96.

Following a four-year playing career at Clemson, where the Tigers won three ACC Championships, Harper began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at North Carolina under Mack Brown and later served two seasons as a graduate assistant for coach Lou Holtz at Notre Dame. He coached in the 1991 Orange Bowl and the 1992 Sugar Bowl with the Fighting Irish.

Harper and his wife, Marcie, are the parents of a son, Michael (1).