Standout Lineman Chooses Harvard

There’s an old joke that the “N” on the side of Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska stands for “knowledge.”

But with respect to a certain top-ranked, highly-recruited lineman named Zach Copple, it now stands for something a little different.

“No thanks.”

Confronted with the choice between a full-ride athletic scholarship at perennial national title-contender Nebraska and Division I-AA, non-playoff-attending Harvard, Copple decided that he ought to get more out of college than gridiron glory.

Like, say, a Harvard degree.

“A lot had to do with academics,” Copple said of his head-turning decision. “A degree from Harvard is a lot different from a degree from Nebraska, Texas or Oregon. Not that they’re bad schools, but when it comes to grad school or getting a job after college, Harvard’s reputation is a little bit better.”

It’s hard to argue against Harvard’s academic reputation. But let’s face it, saying that Harvard has an athletic “reputation” implies that people without ties to the university actually care about what happens on that patch of land across the river from the main campus. In general, if you’re a high school football stud with NFL dreams, your first stop on that road is going to be a school like Nebraska, Virginia, Oregon, or Colorado State—all schools that heavily recruited Copple.

But there are a select few professional players who spend their college years in the Ivy League. And Harvard coach Tim Murphy, knowing where Copple was coming from, artfully suggested to the kid from Lincoln Southeast High to get in touch with another Nebraska transplant—former Crimson captain, starting tight end and one-time NFL player Chris Eitzmann ’00.

“We don’t get a lot of kids from Nebraska,” Murphy said. “They don’t really know what it’s about, how will they fit in. Sometimes their perceptions are great in some respects—like academically—but not so great in other respects. They perceive a lot of arrogance, a lot of pretensions, or that you need to come from money. We try to give them real information.”

The alum and the recruit, along with Copple’s father, went out to lunch and put Copple’s concerns to rest.

“Eitzmann answered a lot of questions for me—about people, about doubts I had, about development I would have as an athlete,” Copple said.

Copple also spent time with junior center Andy Smith, junior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and sophomore lineman Will Rodger, who helped dispel some other concerns.

“I was worried people would be studying all the time,” Copple said. “I like to have fun. I don’t mind studying during the week but on the weekends I like to go out and meet people. They showed me that the people were just like myself.”

And most importantly, Copple realized that a football program like Harvard’s was, in fact, compatible with his future goals.

“My dream is to play in the NFL, of course I’d love to play in the NFL,” Copple said. “I realize my chances aren’t that great—no one’s are—but after talking to Chris Eitzmann, he convinced me if you’re good enough to play in the NFL then you’re going to play, whether it’s [coming from] Division III or Division I. You can develop your skills anywhere.”

Fortunately for Crimson football, Copple’s choice to develop his skills on the turf at Harvard Stadium means that an already impressive recruiting class gets an unprecedented boost. Copple was, according to rivals.com, the sixth-ranked player coming out of Nebraska and the 52nd ranked player at his position in the country. He was named to the All-State team his junior and senior years, playing both offensive lineman and defensive tackle. He’s listed at 6’4, 275 lbs, but claims that off-season training has boosted him to 305 lbs.

“I’m getting in shape—getting bigger, stronger, faster—so when two-a-days come around I can go back and prove something,” Copple said.

The former two-way lineman will probably play on the offensive line for the Crimson, possibly at left offensive tackle. And while he’s not concerned with starting just yet, the graduation of seniors Joe Mujalli James Bakken and Joe Traverso, coupled with the injuries that riddled the front five this season, might leave room for the newbie.

Murphy admits to being excited with his recruiting coup, but remains practical.

“The distinction I make is that he’s a tremendous prospect,” Murphy said. “He’s physically mature, he’s had a distinguished career with a lot of accolades. But there’s a difference between a prospect and a great collegiate athlete, so we’ll see.”

Time will tell on Copple’s college performance, but for the moment the potential D-I star is happy to be wearing crimson—even if many of his friends and high school teammates are sporting Cornhusker red.

“The main thing is that it wasn’t anybody’s decision but my own,” Copple said. “All the people who pressured me to accept the full ride from Nebraska—it’s not their life.”

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu./