Allen Park — It’s been more than a month since the Detroit Lions’ then-battered secondary, fondly nicknamed the Legion of Whom, locked down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.

The Lions entered Week 7 missing four of their five starting defensive backs. The patchwork group, led by Amik Robertson, was phenomenal against quarterback Baker Mayfield, who was viewed as an MVP candidate through the campaign’s first six weeks. The Bucs were held to a season-low nine points that evening, as reserves — from cornerbacks Rock Ya-Sin, Arthur Maulet and Nick Whiteside to safeties Thomas Harper, Erick Hallett II and Loren Strickland — not only held their own, but flat-out balled.

With the secondary’s starters slowly making their ways back to the field, some of the heroes from that October victory have returned to the background. That’s life in the NFL. If nothing else, they showed capable of being trusted in a pinch, and they etched their names into the lore of the 2025 season, no matter how it ends for Detroit.

Harper’s opportunity, however, isn’t quite yet finished. The second-year undrafted product out of Oklahoma State (2019-22) and Notre Dame (2023) continues to fill in for Kerby Joseph, who has missed Detroit’s last four games with a knee injury and will be absent from a fifth when the Lions welcome the New York Giants to Ford Field on Sunday.

Replacing an All-Pro like Joseph is next to impossible, but Harper has performed well above any reasonable expectations. Among the 83 safeties across the league who’ve logged at least 250 defensive snaps this season, Harper’s overall defensive grade from Pro Football Focus (74.0) is tied for 17th. The Lions are one of three teams with two safeties inside the top 20; Brian Branch (76.7) ranks 10th.

“He plays the game the right way. … He’s in his spot at the right time, every time,” Branch said of Harper.

Being able to quickly find his footing is nothing new for Harper, who the Lions claimed off waivers about a week before their season began. Harper didn’t start playing football until his sophomore year (basketball was his first love), and he only joined the team at Karns High School in Tennessee because his older brother, Devin, requested he gave the sport a chance.

Harper’s first play was a kick return for a touchdown.

“I totally went off script,” Harper said. “It was a left return, and I just went right.”

By the end of his debut, Harper saw a future in football. After making plays with so little practice reps, he imagined what he could do if he took things seriously. It also helped that Devin, a linebacker and 2½ years Harper’s senior, was on a similar path. Devin spent six seasons at Oklahoma State, and he’s had stints with three NFL teams, most recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.

“It was super natural,” Harper, 25, said of playing football.

Harper signed with the Los Angeles Chargers after going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was waived following his first training camp and picked up by the Las Vegas Raiders, with whom Harper appeared in 15 games with last season.

He was once again waived in August, opening the door for the Lions to pounce.

Harper was surprised when the Raiders chose to move on, but he’s chosen to operate with the belief that everything happens for a reason. Without that gut punch, Harper wouldn’t be in Detroit.

The Lions came calling less than 24 hours after the Raiders cut him: “I was still shocked, but it was a good feeling knowing that somebody else believed in me,” Harper said.

That belief has proven both prudent and mutually beneficial.

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

Allen Park — Kelvin Sheppard knows what people have thought about the Detroit Lions in years past.

The Lions, under a head coach who came up under Sean Payton, have predominantly relied on their offense to win games in recent seasons. It’s easy to see why. Dan Campbell spent a decade in the NFL playing on that side of the ball, and the Lions roster some the league’s best offensive talent. Why not lean into it?

But in his first season as defensive coordinator, Sheppard set out for his half of the ball to pull more weight. He desired a complementary situation, with the defense helping out the offense as much as the offense had been helping out the defense.

Sheppard’s efforts have largely been successful through 10 games. The defense having the offense’s back is best illustrated in sudden-change situations, when the opponent takes over possession after an interception, fumble, turnover on downs, missed field goal or blocked punt.

The Lions have faced 20 of these moments this season. They’ve given up only two touchdowns, and that’s despite the opponent’s average drive starting within five yards of midfield. There were six sudden-change instances in last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions held the Eagles out of the end zone each time, limiting the damage to three made field goals.

“It started back in the offseason, and it started at training camp. We went into this thing understanding that we wanted to play complementary football,” Sheppard said this week. “We didn’t want to just live on the back of our offense. … That narrative has been such in Detroit, that we win games because of offense. As a defensive player, as a defensive coach, that’s a luxury. But at the same time, it makes you feel a certain type of way.”

The Lions have allowed an average of 21.6 points and 291.8 yards per game this season, numbers that rank 10th and fifth in the NFL, respectively. They’re also near the top of the league in run defense (99.7 yards, eighth), pass defense (192.1, eighth) and, notably, third-down defense (34.4%, fourth).

Getting off the field in those critical moments goes a long way when there’s sudden change.

“We’re the firefighters on this team,” Sheppard said. “What does that mean? If Jack Fox, which he rarely does, shanks a punt, we’re not complaining, nobody’s sucking their teeth. We’re running on the field even faster to make sure we’re able to go put out that fire. That’s the mentality you’ve got to have as a defensive player. No pointing the fingers. No ‘what if’ this, no ‘what if’ that.”

With the defense playing as well as it’s been, and with the offense — outside of an exception versus the Washington Commanders — sputtering since Week 7, some have suggested it’s time for Campbell to have a philosophy change. Campbell’s aggression on fourth down is well documented. It’s worked well in the past because the Lions needed their offense to win them games. Maybe that’s no longer the case, and maybe Campbell should prioritize putting the defense in positions to succeed.

Ask Sheppard, though? He sees Campbell’s gambling mentality as a nod to his group: “I love it. I absolutely love it. Because that speaks volumes to me directly that our head coach believes, no matter where I put this defense, they’re going to put the fire out. So, I don’t care if Dan goes for it on every fourth down. It’s our job as defense to go out there and stand tall in that test.”

“We want this to be a complementary team. … We want to win because we win in all three phases of the game, and I think that’s something this team is trending towards. … You see it, when the offense is on, when the defense is on, when the special teams is on, man, we have a chance to do something special this year,” Sheppard said.

rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

(FOX 2) – More than 60 Michigan schools will be released from state oversight after meeting graduation and performance-based benchmarks set by the education department.

Included in the list of 68 schools that no longer need help from the state are 24 Detroit schools, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Education.

Big picture view:

Schools in Detroit, Warren, Melvindale, Oak Park, Highland Park, and Madison Heights make up just some of the Southeast Michigan school districts no longer in need of oversight and support from the state.

The release from state monitoring includes 23 schools under the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Another six Detroit schools will also no longer be identified for specialized targeted support.

In total, there are 68 schools that will be released from oversight. There are still 113 schools that will fall under the umbrella for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI).

Michigan Oversight Eligibility 

Schools are identified as needing Comprehensive Support and Improvement when they meet one of the following criteria:

• The school is in the bottom 5% of schools in Michigan
• Is a high school with a four-year graduation rate of 67% or less
• The school was in a CSI cohort but did not meet CSI exit criteria
• The school was in an ATS cohort but did not meet ATS exit criteria and so supports are elevated to CSI

There is another category for state support called Targeted Support and Improvement. The eligibility criteria for that program includes:

• Schools having at least one student group (such as a racial group, economically disadvantaged students, or students with disabilities) performing in the bottom 25% of each of the school’s components on the Michigan School Index.
• Identified annually

The backstory:

Schools are determined to need state support through the Michigan School Index, which is a requirement from the federal government that states maintain some sort of school accountability system.

The program is used to identify schools that are in need of additional support to help students perform better. Academic outcomes, attendance, and graduation rates are some of the parameters the state measures for signs of improvement. 

Schools may leave the state program if they no longer meet the criteria that made them eligible in the first place, like math and English proficiency over two years. 

Catching up:

According to the 2023-24 results, there were slight gains among Michigan’s schools. 

Of the 3,324 public schools in Michigan, 113 were identified for state support – about 3.4% of all schools in the state. That includes 57 districts entering partnership agreements with MDE, which means they will get specialized support.

“I am very pleased to see that 68 schools—including 33 out of 98 schools that were in partnership agreements with MDE—no longer require additional supports from the department because of the hard work by local district and intermediate school district staff, children, parents, community members and MDE employees,” said Interim State Superintendent Dr. Sue C. Carnell. 

Schools no longer under oversight

There are 68 schools that will no longer use the CSI program for state help:

• Academy for Business and Technology High School, Melvindale
• Academy of Warren
• Barack Obama Leadership Academy, Detroit
• Beecher High School (Beecher Community School District)
• Fair Plain East Elementary School (Benton Harbor Area Schools)
• Buchanan Virtual Academy (Buchanan Community Schools)
• Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Detroit Leadership Academy K-8 (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Ann Arbor Trail Magnet School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Blackwell Institute (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Bunche Preparatory Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Burns Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Carver STEM Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Central High School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Cooke STEM Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Davis Aerospace Technical High School at Golightly (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Garvey Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Henderson Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• J.E. Clark Preparatory Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Marquette Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Noble Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Nolan Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Palmer Park Preparatory Academy (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Priest Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Pulaski Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Wayne Elementary School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Oak Park Service Learning Academy
• Pleasantview Elementary School (East Pointe Community Schools)
• FlexTech High School, Brighton
• Eisenhower School (Flint Community Schools)
• George Washington Carver Elementary School, Highland Park
• Ottawa Hills High School (Grand Rapids Public Schools)
• Dickinson West Elementary School (Hamtramck Public Schools)
• International Academy of Flint
• John R. Lewis Elementary School (Jackson Public Schools)
• Joy Preparatory Academy, Detroit
• Washington Writers’ Academy (Kalamazoo Public Schools)
• KEYS Grace Academy, Madison Heights
• Gardner International Magnet School (Lansing School District)
• Lyons School (Lansing School District)
• Mt. Hope School (Lansing School District)
• Wexford Montessori Academy (Lansing School District)
• Mildred C. Wells Academy, Benton Harbor
• Multicultural Academy, Ann Arbor
• Oakland FlexTech High School, Farmington Hills
• Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (Port Huron Area School District)
• Saginaw Preparatory Academy
• Arthur Eddy Academy (Saginaw Public Schools)
• Jessie Loomis School (Saginaw Public Schools)
• Westfield Preparatory High School, Redford

There are also schools that will exit additional targeted support:

• Burton Glen Charter Academy
• Bow Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Detroit International Academy for Young Women (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Munger Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Spain Elementary-Middle School (Detroit Public Schools Community District)
• Dove Academy of Detroit
• Hamilton Virtual School (Hamilton Community Schools)
• Tyrone Elementary School (Harper Woods School District)
• Holt Junior High School (Holt Public Schools)
• Michigan Collegiate Middle/High School, Roseville
• New Paradigm College Prep, Detroit
• Parchment Middle School (Parchment School District)
• Beech Elementary School (Redford Union Schools)
• Grogan Elementary School (Southgate Community Schools)
• Clarence Randall Elementary School (Taylor School District)