Football Earns 13 All-Ivy Selections

Following a third-place finish in the Ancient Eight, 13 Harvard players earned All-Ivy nods, with senior defensive tackle James Duberg and sophomore wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley ranking as unanimous selections.

Shelton-Mosley, offensive lineman Larry Allen, Jr. (junior), offensive lineman Max Rich (senior), and halfback Anthony Firkser (senior) all made the first-team offense. Duberg was the lone Crimson player on the first-team defense.

“The awards are the icing on the cake for all the work you put in,” Shelton-Mosley said. “I don’t think too many of us focus on the awards.”

Overall Princeton led the conference with 18 All-Ivy selections. Penn followed with 14, but the Quakers tied the Tigers with six first-team nods.

After leading the Ancient Eight with nine sacks and five forced fumbles, Dartmouth senior linebacker Folarin Orimolade took home Defensive Player of the Year. Meanwhile Princeton’s John Lovett—a do-everything junior who accounted for 31 touchdowns—claimed Offensive Player of the Year.

The 2016 season marked the first time since 2009 that neither award went to a Harvard player. Nor did the Crimson boast the Rookie of the Year or Coach of the Year. Those honors went to Big Green receiver Hunter Hagdorn and Tigers coach Bob Surace, respectively.

Ultimately Harvard’s 13 All-Ivy selections placed the team third in the conference.

After earning Rookie of the Year in 2015, Shelton-Mosley entered 2016 with high expectations. Mostly he fulfilled those hopes, topping Harvard with 48 receptions and 568 yards. That production came despite a lower-body injury that caused him to miss a game and eschew kick-return duties for much of the year.

“He’s great with the ball in his hands, and he has great ball skills,” said junior linebacker and 2017 captain Luke Hutton. “We’re going to need more from him every single year that goes by.”

Meanwhile Duberg, a fifth-year senior, headed a defensive line that held three of its final four opponents to under 100 yards rushing. Individually Duberg racked up four-and-a-half sacks and 29 tackles. This postseason marked the third straight one in which he made an All-Ivy team.

Seven of Harvard’s 13 All-Ivy players came from defense. Senior defensive back Raishuan McGhee, junior linebacker Luke Hutton, and sophomore defensive end DJ Bailey all made the second team.

Bailey especially had a breakout year, recording nine tackles for a loss and a team-high seven sacks. The sophomore had not held a starter’s role before this season. Neither had Hutton, or McGhee. Nor had freshman Jake McIntyre, a second-team kicker.

“The main goal for us every season is to go 10-0,” Hutton said. “An award can give an additional benefit… In a few years down the road, I’m sure it will be pretty cool to show your kids.”

By contrast, Rich, Allen, Jr., and Firkser—the three non-unanimous selections to the first team—had played major roles before 2016. Rich and Allen Jr. had started in 2015, and Firkser had earned second-team honors as a sophomore and junior.

Four Harvard players took home honorable mentions. Sophomore wide receiver Adam Scott belonged to this group. Despite playing only five games, the speedster finished third on the team with 321 receiving yards, including a 109-yard showcase against Columbia.

On defense, captain and cornerback Sean Ahern also earned an honorable mention, bucking two straight years of first-team appearances. A shoulder injury kept Ahern out of the last four games, but the fifth-year senior still topped the Crimson with eight pass breakups.

Joining him as honorable mentions were senior defensive lineman Langston Ward and junior defensive back Tanner Lee.

More than half of Harvard’s All-Ivy crew will return for next season, including first-teamers Shelton-Mosley and Larry Allen, Jr. These players will look to improve on a 7-3 campaign that shattered two historic streaks—three straight Ivy League titles and nine straight wins over Yale.

Already preparations for next season have begun. After the loss to the Bulldogs, Shelton-Mosley took off a couple weeks for the sake of rest and recovery. But last Wednesday he has resumed his weight-training regimen.

As Harvard coach Tim Murphy likes to remark, football players train 300 days for the sake of 10 games. Those 300 days of preparation start now, in the depths of December.

“For me I want to do anything possible to help our team win,” Shelton-Mosley said. “The goal is to go 20-0 the next two years and win Ivy League championships.”

—Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.