BRENT WILKINSON

When Harvard linebacker Joe Azelby took his act from the Ivy League to the NFL this summer, he left behind a gaping, 228-lb hole in the Crimson linebacking corps.

Yet, senior Brent Wilkinson, in his first start for the Crimson gridders Saturday at Columbia, filled that hole with a delicate balance of talent, luck, prayer, teamwork--and guts.

The defensive play that all armchair quarterbacks will remember is the fourth-quarter Wilkinson interception return for a touchdown that turned a precarious Harvard lead into an insurmountable Crimson advantage.

But how will the unassuming Wilkinson remember his visit to paydirt?

"I knelt down, said a prayer, thanked God, and said, 'I'm tired as hell," he said after the game.

The play began to unravel when, with just over 3:20 remaining and Harvard holding a slim 27-21 lead, Crimson lineman Bill Ross--to whom Wilkinson gives much of the credit for the TD--put a fearsome rush on Lion quarterback Henry Santos.

His arm hit by Ross, Santos got off a wobbly, desperate throw intended for All-Ivy tight end Dan Upperco.

Instead, the pass hit, Wilkinson squarely between the numbers.

"It fell right to me," he recalled yesterday, still enjoying the Crimson's 35-21 season-opening victory. And the heat and fatigue that the senior felt would stop him were overcome by a couple of nifty Crimson blocks that paved the way for him to trot into the end zone.

Fight On

Ironically, Wilkinson's first touchdown since his days on the freshman team was probably not even his biggest play of the day.

Perhaps the biggest play of the one-game-old season came with just 19 seconds left in the first half and Columbia threatening to cut the Crimson lead to three points.

With first-and-goal from the four. Santos tried to roll into the end zone. Only thing is, an obstacle named Brent Wilkinson stood in his way.

And when the Lion quarterback made a final leap for the goal line, the 6-ft. 2-in, 203 lb. Harvard linebacker, who had come all the way from the middle of the field to the corner flag--shedding blockers along the way--closed the door.

Santos landed on the one-yard line and, as a result, Harvard ended up with its 17-7 lead still intact at halftime.

"An all-out, major league play," Harvard defensive coordinator George Clemens said of the stop.

But Wilkinson says it was a play that he won't always remember. In fact, the Quincy House resident says he doesn't even remember it now. "I was getting the defense lined up," he explained, "and I don't remember whether it was me who made the hit or not."

A couple of great plays do not a great game make, however.

"Those big plays are the ones that anybody's grandmother could see," said Clemens. "Wilkinson played an extremely solid game throughout."

Specifically, he shook Lion linemen, played superbly on past coverage, and shut down the corners that Harvard had to control to contain the suprisingly competent Columbia offense.

Wilkinson, however, is quick to share the credit for his defensive success. "Any big plays are the product of the defense working together," he says. "I happen to be the one getting the attention."

And though Saturday's exploits of junior fullback Robert Santiago and the past wonders of Azelby still overshadow those of the newest Crimson star, Wilkinson doesn't feel shortchanged.

"When somebody like Santiago runs 65 yards down the sideline, people are going to stand up and yell. Ballcarriers are going to be the center of attention," he says.

Until Saturday, Wilkinson was certainly not even close to the center of attention; in fact, he wasn't even a proven entity. Although he won a varsity letter last year, the Mount Vernon, Ohio native saw significant action in only two games.

So were his exploits against Columbia a suprise to him? Not really.

"Our defense is designed to keep the linebacker free," he says. "The defense as a whole did the job."

But no one did the job quite like Brent Wilkinson.