Everett Assumes 'D' Mantle

Compare the two, but be careful. The name just wasn’t made for this kind of stuff. It wasn’t designed for the literary allusions that sportswriters dream of, wasn’t tailor-made for the delightfully violent allusions to hell and Infernos. The words, instead, read plain. Simple. Conspicuously, they lack that loud, Italian vivacity—that zest which leaps off the tongue with a vigor so perfectly becoming of a punishing linebacker.

No, quite unlike the last leader of the Crimson defense, Dante Balestracci ’04, senior Bobby Everett’s name wasn’t born for the headlines. At first glance, it certainly doesn’t seem born to make football players quake and shiver.

But to those who don’t know, again, be careful.

Be careful because it’s just a name—and the man himself is a completely different story.

OUT OF THE SHADOW

So what’s in a name, anyway?

For starters, it depends on which one you’re talking about. To Everett, Harvard’s first-team All-Ivy strong-side linebacker, “Dante” means more than one thing. A year ago, it meant “the best player I’ve [ever] played with,” an all-time All-Ivy force, a guy to look up to and learn from.

Now, it safely signifies one thing: the past.

Or maybe more specifically, the new burdens that come with the present. The responsibilities of life as the experienced veteran, the leader, the one everyone else on your suddenly young defensive unit turns to.

“The fact is, I’m one of the few guys who’s seen real game time,” Everett said. “We have lots of weapons, but I need to be the person who calms people down, gets people excited when the time comes. I need to help everyone else understand, as far as preparation, that they know what they’re doing.”

“Bobby’s not hesitant to raise his voice if he has to,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy echoed. “He’s not one of those guys who talks just to hear himself speak, but if something’s not going right, he takes it upon himself. He’s not worried about being popular, he just wants to win.”

And that mindset is going to be critical for Harvard’s success this year. The season will likely feature 10 straight Saturdays when coordinators attempt to send two blockers Everett’s way and, for the first time, pencil in No. 43 as the primary one to stop.

“When all the attention was on [Dante], it did help me a lot, and I prefer to fly under the radar,” Everett said. “But this year, there’s not going to be anyone like that to take the spotlight away.”

So shouldn’t he be concerned about shouldering the load? Nervous about taking entire lines head-on? About assuming the role of the new Bobby Everett without, well, an own old Bobby Everett of his own?

“I’m not worrying too much about people coming after me,” Everett laughed. “I hope they do that, because if they focus too much on me, [junior middle linebacker] Matt Thomas is seriously going to kick the shit out of them.

“Seriously,” he repeated.

FEAR FACTOR

But what about the future?

Now that we know what must be done, ask Bobby Everett what his goals are. For the individual who had the Crimson’s top time in the pro agility test over a year ago, you might find that the answer is simpler and more honest than you might think.

While all his teammates and coaches can do is rave—Murphy called him “one of the top three quickest kids on our team, and that includes [everyone],” and “mentally, physically tough”—the answer is not as obvious or clichéd as “win.” Nor is it as obsessive as “98 tackles, 12 sacks, 5 interceptions,” though that would all be nice—and, in the end, that all may very well be true.

“When we walk out on the field, I want teams to be afraid of us,” Everett said, calmly. “It’s not a quantitative goal, but that’s how you have to be to play championship defense. That’s what I hope.”

And, early on, that may be the biggest challenge of all. As the team is laden with proven, prolific options at virtually every offensive position, the Crimson has been touted as a squad that will win solely by running up the score, not by shutting down its opponents.

Paradoxically, while Everett may not fly under the radar any more, his entire defense might.

“We’ve always been known for our offense,” he said. “This year, we want them to start recognizing the defense we play, too. Though most of the guys are untested in game situations, people are going to be surprised. If they double-team me, someone’s going to be free and make a play.

“As the season wears on,” he continued, “I just want to hear them go, ‘Oh crap. Here’s the Harvard defense.’”

But as Everett knows, the accomplishment of that desire ultimately weighs heaviest on him.

At the Crimson’s final pre-season warm up—an intra-squad scrimmage—a Harvard alum and former member of the Crimson sat close to the field with his young nephew and son in tow. Retrieving his copy of the football media guide, he placed his finger on Everett’s photo on the cover and said simply to the two boys, “Guys, we’re looking for No. 43. He’s the guy we’re here to see. Just watch him.”

They won’t be the only ones.

—Staff writer Pablo S. Torre can be reached at torre@fas.harvard.edu.