BYU safety Micah Harper tore his ACL in fall camp and will miss the 2023 season, multiple sources confirmed to The Salt Lake Tribune.
Harper announced on social media he will return in 2024.
Harper played in 13 games last year, starting nine of them. He also played in 11 games during the COVID season, making five starts.
The sophomore was supposed to be BYU’s starting safety, anchoring a thin secondary for the Cougars in the Big 12. Now, that final line of defense will be missing a key link.
This is Harper’s second ACL tear. He missed all of 2021 with the same injury.
For BYU, the safety spot was already a concern for new coordinator Jay Hill. The Cougars have veteran Malik Moore, a fifth-year senior, at safety. But Harper was supposed to be his running mate.
Now, BYU will likely have to turn to Talan Alfrey. However, Alfrey has played in 14 games in his career. He did make nine starts in 2022.
Hill said on Saturday he is still waiting for a difference-maker to emerge out of the safety room in the next two weeks of camp. That need became more urgent.
“We probably have six or seven guys that we can win with,” Hill said. “I want to see some more separation over these next 15 practices of somebody stepping up that can be a big-time, Big 12 all-conference defender. That is what we have to continue to see.”
