Karns' Thomas Harper follows brother to Oklahoma State

Wednesday is a light day for Karns football, but still coach Brad Taylor often finds Thomas Harper's car in the lot and the wide receiver on the field doing footwork drills by himself.

That extra work paid off in the form of an offer from Oklahoma State on Wednesday. Harper, rated two stars by 247Sports, announced his commitment on Monday.

He will join his brother Devin, a sophomore for the Cowboys, in Stillwater for the 2019 season.

Thomas Harper had 13 other offers, but this was the one he was waiting for.

"I'm very excited," he said. "After the camp, when they offered me, I told him, 'I'm probably going to end up there with you.' "

They had been talking about playing together. Devin told Thomas, who has visited six or seven times, to do what he wanted but also wanted him to join him with the Cowboys. 

Taylor saw Thomas pick up the extra work last spring. Thomas started going to school early for additional time in the weight room three days a week and getting position- and sport-specific training in during both football and basketball seasons.

"I really felt like he flipped the switch the spring of his sophomore year," Taylor said. "He decided, 'Hey, this is what I want, so I’m going to work at it.' "

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Devin helped in that respect. Thomas spent time on Oklahoma State's campus with his older brother, and the two talk daily. He saw what it's like to play college football and what he'd have to do to get there.

When Devin got that chance, it made Thomas want to play at that level as well.

"Not playing my freshman year, I felt I was behind," said Thomas, who had to sit out with a hand injury. "I wanted a lot more than I was given."

A breakout junior season isn't unusual — that's often when athletes see an increase in playing time — but Thomas took it to another level. He went out and racked up 1,086 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns last season, making him the first player in Karns history to pass 1,000 receiving yards.

"Hopefully we can build off what we did last year for him," Taylor said. "I just want to see the continued work and growing into the leadership role. He led by example last year, and maybe he can bring some kids along with him."

The Harpers are part of a pipeline developing between Karns and Stillwater. It started with Jalen McCleskey, who will be a senior at Oklahoma State this year, and now has continued through Devin and Thomas.