Holy Trinity

RYAN FITZPATRICK

In a year and a half as Harvard’s starting QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick, a master of improv, has carved up record books on the fly.

As arguably the Ivies’ premier signal caller, his rise has coincided with the school’s new-wave offensive juggernaut. At times, his combination of skill and speed has been nearly impossible to defend.

Fitzpatrick, improbably, has never received All-Ivy honors. But he’s simply a victim of circumstance.

The 2003 season came tumbling downwhen Fitzpatrick suffered a freak injury on Oct. 11 against Cornell. An unidentified Big Red defender crashed atop Fitzpatrick, breaking a bone in his hand. At the time, Fitzpatrick led the nation in total offense. The Crimson was 4-0 before and 3-3 after.

“I did view last season as a missed opportunity,” Fitzpatrick said. “We had such a talented team. That’s one of the things with a championship-caliber team, is how it deals with injuries. We just weren’t able to overcome them.”

Fast forward to 2004, and Fitzpatrick is all-systems-go. He says he has never been more prepared.

“We’ve been practicing for what seems like months,” he said. “And I went into camp one step ahead.”

Add to that, he says, a much-improved bevy of skill players. Receiver Brian Edwards returns to work after spending the summer in Cambridge perfecting routes and improving his timing with his quarterback—the importance of which, Harvard coach Tim Murphy said, was “unquantifiable.”

Throw in sophomore receiver Corey Mazza and speedy TB Clifton Dawson, and the offense will be both versatile and dangerous.

“We’re all a year older now,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re more on the same page.”

And most importantly, “the body is 100 percent healed,” Fitzpatrick confirmed.

“Physically I’ve never seen him better,” Murphy agreed. “He’s a little bigger but he’s stronger, quicker, throwing the ball extremely well, and had a very strong preseason.”

In other words, the 2004 edition of Ryan Fitzpatrick could be even better. To ensure this, Murphy said a more pocket-oriented Fitzpatrick will be on display this season.

“We’re both cognizant of the fact that teams that maintain their starting quarterback through 10 games have a better chance of competing for a championship,” Murphy said. “The bottom line is that we—and Fitzy—are going to pick our spots.”

If all goes according to plan, Harvard’s under-decorated captain could steer his way to the very top of the school record books. The all-time leading career marks of 41 touchdowns (Fitzpatrick has 26) and .624 completion percentage (.619), both held by Neil Rose ’03, are within range.

Who knows? Maybe Fitzpatrick could even be All-Ivy for the first time, ever.

—ALEX McPHILLIPS

CLIFTON DAWSON

Clifton Dawson has never been “just a running back.” Smashing Ivy freshman records despite limited touches during the first half of last season, his talent as a pure runner is beyond question.

“Everyone,” captain Ryan Fitzpatrick said, “knows he’s a great running back.”

The perfect hybrid of power and speed, Dawson bullies opposing defensive lines before effortlessly bursting past hapless secondaries. He is, on the ground, a touchdown waiting to happen.

But while Dawson’s one-dimensional dominance suffices to earn him the label “great,” his talent, Harvard coach Tim Murphy suspects, extends well-beyond just taking Fitzpatrick’s handoff before plowing full speed ahead.

Unseen by most, Dawson has quietly woven himself into the Crimson’s passing attack. No, holding off a charging linebacker or a blitzing corner isn’t a quantifiable statistic, but the quarterback he’s protecting won’t hold that against him.

“He’s the best pass-blocking running back I’ve ever seen,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s something that kind of came about last year. You’re just not going to get by him.”

But Murphy hopes to extract a little more versatility from one of the Ivy League’s most potent weapons.

“If we can get [Dawson] the ball in simple ways,” Murphy said, “then it’s probably more effective than handing it off when he’s got 11 people trying to chase him down.”

To do that, Murphy has tweaked an offense that thrives on the deep ball by emphasizing several passing plays that will create mismatches for Dawson outside the seven-man box employed by most defenses.

The switch has required Dawson—who has always placed a premium on honing his running skills and thought about catching the ball as an afterthought, if at all—to refocus his effort’s on what is arguably the weakest aspect of his game. But, according to Murphy, the talented speedster has had little trouble softening his hands, no matter what he says.

“He’s very humble—he’s a quiet, humble kid—but the bottom line is that he is probably our most improved receiver,” Murphy said. “He’s improved dramatically. We don’t have any question that he’ll do a good job catching the ball.”

—TIMOTHY J. McGINN

BRIAN EDWARDS

Last April, when spring practices rolled around, a casual observer might have noticed surprisingly few familiar faces in the Crimson wide receiver corps. Gone was James Harvey, shifted over to defense to shore up a weakened Harvard secondary. Gone was Rodney Byrnes, ineligible to play to due academic reasons.

And 2003 breakout star Brian Edwards was far away in his hometown of Los Gatos, Calif., spending his junior spring semester doing absolutely nothing.

Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Edwards spent his time off going to the gym on a daily basis, training so as to be able to jump right back in with the team upon his return. Still, while quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has one of the best arms in the league, even he can’t toss a football to a receiver 3000 miles away.

Fortunately, Edwards spent the summer well within his quarterback’s range.

“Basically every Monday through Friday we were here, throwing and working out,” Edwards said.

It’s a relationship that will be the centerpiece of Harvard’s airborne attack this season. It was just a year ago when the pair ripped through the Holy Cross defense in the 2003 opener, setting off a streak of victories that cumulated with Edwards leading Division I-AA in receiving yards midway through the season. Edwards’ ability is no longer a surprise, but opponents should be little better equipped to handle his speed and agility.

“[Edwards and Fitzpatrick] have got a little bit of a connection,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy. “Fitzy always seems to know where he is on the field.”

With Byrnes and Harvey no longer in the mix, Edwards found himself in a position of unexpected seniority.

“I feel like I need to be more serious, to set a good example for the younger guys,” Edwards said. “I still joke around a lot, but I’m trying to be more serious.”

Luckily, his fellow receivers aren’t completely unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the Harvard offense. Sophomore Corey Mazza got his far share of onfield time as a freshman when injuries to the presumed starters suddenly thrust him into the spotlight. Now in his second season, he is fueled by a level of confidence gained from his sojourn at No. 1 receiver during spring practices.

“Having spring ball with Brian gone gave me the opportunity to step into leader role,” Mazza said. “It made me ready to carry the load in the receiving corps.”

Mazza will be able to provide another talented target for Fitzpatrick, should opponents start to hone in on Edwards.

“It’s kind of choose your poison, because Corey’s a guy that can play either wide receiver position...and if you give him one-on-one coverage, we’re gonna exploit it,” Murphy said.

As talented as this wide receiving corps is, the road to Ivy glory will only be won if Harvard can avoid injuries. Freshman Joe Murt and juniors Corey Waller and Peter Scully will share time as the fourth receiver behind junior Ryan Tyler, but a sustained injury to one of the top three would be a blow to the Crimson offence. Mazza and Edwards have already taken small hits in the preseason; Mazza has been hampered by broken bones in his thumb and sprained ligaments since the first day of preseason practice, and Edwards sat out practice early this week with a bruised shoulder joint.

“We have all the talent in the world, and as long as we stay healthy we’ll be one of the best, if not the best team in the league,” Edwards said.

—LISA J. KENNELLY