Tenacious D: Football Shows Promise and Progress at Spring Game

With a lingering taste of disappointment from last season and a sense of untapped potential for next season, the Harvard football team closed out its four-week spring practice regimen on Friday afternoon with the annual Crimson-White Spring Game at Harvard Stadium.

As the customary final time to suit up and play before September, the Spring Game provides a showcase for the standout talent of the Crimson's experienced team as well as an opportunity for new faces to make an impression.

On Friday, the veterans certainly solidified their hold on their starting jobs this fall, but the real story was the improvement of previously weak areas for the Crimson and the spirited play of relative newcomers who may make a splash come autumn.

In particular, fans at the stadium were most pleased with the renaissance of beleaguered placekicker Robbie Wright. Last season, the freshman struggled in his role as kicking specialist, going 3-for-8 on field goals and missing two potential game-winners in Ivy contests. Toward the end of the season, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy had lost confidence in his kicking game and decided to go to a "four down" offense rather than botch further field goal attempts.

During the Spring Game, though, the rising sophomore showed why he was such a touted recruit coming in last fall. In the fourth series of plays, the defense held the first-team offense to fourth and long from the 18-yard line. Wright trotted out to the field and calmly drilled the 35-yard field goal.

The feat was met with an ovation from the crowd of 100 spectators and Wright later showed the potential power of his leg by comfortably converting a 42-yard attempt.

Wright, who also moonlights as the team's punter, also had a booming punt after the halftime break and strengthened his hold on both kicking assignments.

In addition to the special teams improvement, the Crimson also demonstrated why many are picking it to compete for the Ivy title next year.

In the first-team offense's first series, rising senior quarterback Neil Rose found his favorite target-rising junior wideout Carl Morris-repeatedly while also spreading the ball around and showing his mobility and strength on several QB sneaks.

Rose, who set most of the significant passing records last season, heads into the fall as the unquestioned leader of an explosive offense. Behind Rose is a rising star in junior quarterback J.C. Harrington. Harrington quarterbacked the second-team offense and was impressive with his improvisational playmaking ability and his pocket awareness. Both Rose and Harrington will ensure that Harvard is the most talented team in the at the quarterback position.

The receiving corps will be led by returning starters Morris and seniors Dan Farley and Sam Taylor. Morris, who was a Second-Team All-Ivy selection last year and set the school record for receptions in season with 60, is on pace to eclipse the all-time receiving records of Terence Patterson '00. Farley and Taylor will be complemented by the solid tandem of Andy St. Pierre and Ryan Neff and the tight end position should be filled admirably by rising junior Luke Justice.

In other words, the Crimson air attack looks to give opposing secondary's some serious headaches. But, as last season showed, Harvard's suprising ground assault was just as important to the explosive potency of the offensive.

Rising juniors Matt Leiszler and Nick Palazzo will anchor the Crimson backfield and will be joined by classmate Rodney Thomas. Though Leiszler turned in his usual gritty and smashmouth running performance at the Spring Game, it was Thomas who turned several heads.

The rising junior tailback plunged into the endzone for an early score and demolished the second-team defense with his shifty moves and aggressive north-south running style. Though none of the Crimson's tailbacks are larger than 5'9, they all pack a powerful punch and will provided much-needed balance to an already talented offense.

On the other side of the ball, Harvard has improved dramatically. Defensively, the Crimson will be lead by its 128th captain, tackle Ryan Fitzgerald and its most valuable defensive asset from last season, rising sophomore Dante Balestracci. Balestracci, who amassed more tackles as a freshman than former Crimson standout linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski, will led a linebacking corps that also features Mike Cataldo, Shawn Parker and John "The Doctor" Perry.

The Crimson secondary also looks to have improved dramatically from last season. The secondary, which picked off Rose twice and Harrington once in the Spring Game, will feature returning starters Niall Murphy, Dan Miree and Willie Alford.

At the final whistle, the White team (first and second-team defenses) had prevailed over the Crimson team thanks to a late surge in defensive intensity. Despite the outcome, though, both elements of Harvard's team are improved from last year squad, which was relatively young and inexperienced.

This coming season should be a successful one if the Crimson can capitalize on its existing talent and tap its underlying potential.

It's a great time to be a Crimson football fan, and if it's any indication by the eager looks on the players' faces, next season should be a memorable one indeed.