FOOTBALL 06: Witt's Mission: Keep it Simple

Junior quarterback Chris Pizzotti was poised to take over for suspended starter Liam O’Hagan at the beginning of the football season. With weeks to prepare, Pizzotti felt comfortable and ready to run the offense.

And he began to prove himself early in Harvard’s season-opening 31-14 victory over Holy Cross, completing 10 of 13 passes for 126 yards in just over a quarter of work.

But when Pizzotti went down with a hyperextended knee just minutes into the second quarter, sophomore Jeff Witt did not have the luxury of practice time with the first unit. When his number was called, he had to perform immediately, with the Crimson in a 7-3 hole to boot.

The Lilburn, Ga. native responded by helping Harvard to 31 unanswered points, posting 105 yards on 7 for 13 passing.

“I felt really confident going into the game, almost as if I was starting,” Witt said. “Even though I was the second-string guy, I just felt really comfortable with the offense. I’ve been here a whole year now, and I feel like I’ve really grasped the system. So when Chris went down I went right over and just started taking snaps from the center.”

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

As the third-string quarterback, minutes are not typically forthcoming—especially in your freshman and sophomore years.

Witt’s experience, however, has been anything but typical.

He did see the field in last year’s 55-7 blowout of Columbia, but threw no passes in his few minutes of garbage time. His second performance came in the spring game last April, where he completed 6 of 15 passes for 62 yards.

But nothing can replicate the experience of real-game reps.

As a sophomore, O’Hagan started every game except the first (when junior Richard Irvin began under center), and it took him the better part of five games to get on track.

But five games of experience may not even be necessary to lead the Crimson into a strong season. Witt’s numbers last weekend suggest the young starter may be more up to the task than anyone previously believed.

“You’d think that it would throw off the consistency and the continuity and the execution of the offense, but it wasn’t indicative in the Holy Cross game,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “When Jeff goes in, we have touchdown drives of 61, 72, 68 and 81 yards, so, statistically speaking it wasn’t the case. He did a good job.”

A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS

Few expected Witt to get any significant time this season, especially with O’Hagan avaiable beginning in Week 6.

When asked whether he could challenge Pizzotti for the starting spot, Murphy didn’t feel Witt was ready.

“Jeff had a solid spring but he’s had a really strong preseason,” he said prior to last weekend. “I don’t know if he’s positioned to challenge Chris yet, but we’re happy with Jeff’s development.”

Minimized confidence in the inexperienced Witt was clear from the play selection.

Although Murphy considers the squad to be a pass-first offense, the game against the Crusaders showed that the team will rely much more heavily on senior tailback Clifton Dawson than they would have with Pizzotti or O’Hagan.

During Pizzotti’s start, the offense stuck to the gameplan, with the junior getting the call 13 times to Dawson’s five. The breakdown for Witt’s nearly three quarters of play, on the other hand, was far from in his favor—Dawson carried the ball 19 times, while Witt threw only 13 passes.

But Witt understands his job—to pass just enough to give Dawson space.

“If I was the coach, if you’ve got a guy who is an inexperienced quarterback, you’re going to turn to the senior All-American running back,” Witt said. “So Clifton is going to shoulder a lot of the load, being the running back that he is.”

Witt is also aided by strong receiving and a young but talented offensive line.

The Crimson boast four dependable returning sets of hands in sophomores Chris Sanders and Alex Breaux, junior Matt Lagace, and seniors Corey Mazza and Dan Brown. Freshman Matt Luft is also providing an unexpected spark.

The offensive line was a pleasant surprise in the opener, giving both Pizzotti and Witt great protection, allowing no sacks on the day. They also aided Dawson in his 170-yard performance.

“I feel really confident in the receiving core,” Witt said. “They’re an excellent group. Our offensive line [has] got great size up there, we’ve got smart guys, and they’re physical, they’re going to smack people in the mouth, and that’s the way an offensive line has to play.”

WELCOME BACK

Although Witt has the job for now, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be taking snaps once everybody is back.

Negative MRI results mean that Pizzotti may return as early as October 14 against Lafayette—meaning only a few practices to determine which of three former starters gets the nod.

“In three to five weeks we’ll have a bunch of quarterbacks ready,” Murphy said.

—Staff writer Madeleine I. Shapiro can be reached at mshapiro@fas.harvard.edu.