Questions Surround Harvard Football

Making predictions about the upcoming Harvard football season is a lot like reviewing a movie before stepping into the theater. We know we can trust the director, coach Tim Murphy, and several actors have played starring roles before. But with the wide release just hours away, we still haven’t even seen as much as a preview.

So let’s start with what we know with certainty about the 2013 team.

The list begins and ends with captain Josh Boyd. The third straight captain to play linebacker, Boyd is one of the hardest workers on the team, the leading tackler from a year ago, and a high school valedictorian to boot. Murphy has been calling him one of the best linebackers in the Ivy League for nearly two years now.

But after Boyd come questions.

Junior Zach Hodges and senior Nnamdi Obukwelu should be formidable on the defensive line, but will they be as dominant without John Lyon alongside them and lacking the depth that allowed them to stay fresh last season? While Boyd returns, the next four most accomplished linebackers won’t be with him Saturday. Three graduated and junior Jacob Lindsey is battling a hamstring problem, according to Murphy.

Then there is the biggest question mark of all: quarterback. Murphy ended a protracted battle by naming junior Conner Hempel the starter a week ago. Murphy sided with Hempel because he had more experience than senior Michael Pruneau, who missed last season with a knee injury. Hempel has thrown 24 passes in his college career.

In 10 of the last 12 years, the Crimson signal-caller has earned at least All-Ivy honorable mention. Hempel will have to outshine more experienced competition if he wants to continue the trend. Six of the seven other Ivies return their leading passer from 2012. Columbia, the only team that doesn’t, brought in Brett Nottingham from Stanford to compete for the job. ESPN ranked Nottingham as the 12th-best QB in the high school class of 2010. Hempel was ranked 65th.

Five Ivies also return their top runners. Harvard, on the other hand, has to deal with the loss of its top two. In their absence, two sophomores carry the load.

Of course, all the new names don’t ensure failure for the Crimson. We’ve seen players step up and shine before.  Answers, either good or bad, should come quickly as Harvard’s linchpins will be asked to prove themselves early in the year.

In its first Ivy matchup, the young Harvard offense will face Brown, the league’s top defensive squad last year. Then, the Crimson travels to Cornell. In Ithaca, Harvard’s secondary, which finished fifth in pass defense in 2012, will have to stop NFL quarterback prospect Jeff Mathews and the league’s most prolific passing offense.

And it doesn’t get much easier from there. In late October, Princeton comes to Cambridge a year after stunning Harvard, and Columbia has a chance at revenge in week seven after getting trounced, 69-0, last year. The Lions won’t lose by that many again this year; coach Pete Mangurian said so himself.

That leaves Penn and Yale for the final two weeks. Penn is the only Ivy that can boast a winning record against Murphy, and they’ll be just as tough this year as quarterback Billy Ragone returns for what must be his 12th season. And Yale, well, Harvard will probably beat it again.

Last year, the bottom-dwelling Elis’ only league win came over conference champion Penn.  With so many stars returning across the league, the Ancient Eight will be even less predictable this year.

Media members chose the Crimson to finish second in the preseason poll. It was a safe pick. Harvard has taken first or second in the league in 11 of the last 12 seasons. For over a decade, Murphy’s team has been the given in the Ancient Eight.

But this year, who knows? With so many questions, Harvard might be the least sure bet of the lot. If you want more insight than that, call me when the credits roll. For now, enjoy the show. It should be one of the most unpredictable in years.

—Staff writer Jacob Feldman can be reached at jacob.feldman@thecrimson.com.