Junior Linebacker Dale Neal Gives Strength to Stingy Crimson Defense

One thing Harvard linebacker Dale Neal really wants to do is intercept a pass. "It's a great satisfaction to not only stop a drive, but to actually take the ball away from the opposition and help your own team score," Neal says eagerly.

Neal, a junior, along with John Emery, is a linebacker in Harvard's unconventional "fifty-defense," which employs two linebackers instead of the usual four. Neal and Emery have made a total of 73 unassisted tackles, 31 of them by Neal.

Neal's greatest talents are quickness, speed, and a great deal of football instinct. He is not a big line-backer at 6'1" and 200 pounds, but he craves contact. "I get tremendous satisfaction from really sticking some guy well," he said.

Yovvy Raves

Coach John Yovicsin raves. "Last year, even with an injury, he was the most advanced sophomore linebacker I've had in my 11 seasons at Harvard." Neal missed most of the 1967 varsty season because of a shoulder separation.

The Crimson's unpredicted success this year, Neal says, is the result of the team's extremely hard work during pre-season practice and its amount of hustle--which has shown up in the frequent gang-tackles.

He expects Penn to be the toughest opponent Harvard has faced yet. Halfback Jerry Santini will be the best runner Harvard has had to stop this fall, and a large part of the responsibility for halting Santini will fall to Neal.

Neal's first responsibility is to stop the run, and his second is to stop the pass. Emery is a great help according to Neal because Emery's great pursuit from the backside enables his teammate to be a little more reckless.

Neal played both linebacker and fullback for three years in high school and during his freshman year here when he captained the team. But he has always centered his attention on defense.

Former Harvard defensive line coach Jim Lentz once said, "Defense is emotion." Neal fully agrees and Lentz's statement has remained in his mind. "There are great mental and emotional challenges to meet every Saturday afternoon," he affirms, and on defense "you can totally let yourself go."

Harvard Football

Neal is very enthusiastic about Harvard's football program. He appreciates the fact that none of the players is here on an athletic scholarship, and that subsequently there is not the great pressure that there is elsewhere.

Dale is the middle of three Harvard brothers. His older brother graduated in 1967 and is now at the Business School. His younger brother John is a freshman, and plays cornerback on the football team.

Dartmouth football coach Bob Blackman hoped that Neal might be spending his college years in Han-over. But Neal's father was more convincing and told Dale, "I can't see one advantage that Dartmouth has over Harvard except for woods and trees."