The Chronicles of Rock: Part II

[iou1]

2009 Graduating Seniors

If 2008 was a year of transition for Harvard football, then 2009 was a year of progress. We were able to get 10 wins and the program's first ever bowl invitation. The Crimson also brought home the Ivy League title with a perfect 7-0 record in coference play. Please help me in thanking the 14 seniors listed below for their contributions to our program's success and growth.

#4 - Andrew Berry, CB
2009 All Ivy
Berry endured an injury plagued junior campaign in 2008 when he only played in 5 games. As a senior in 2009, Berry started all 13 games and recorded 44 tackles, 5 interceptions, 7 deflections and collected All-Ivy Honors. Highlight was probably his 3 interception game against Cornell. Also had 7 tackles in our Motor City Bowl loss to Western Michigan.
Hometown: Bel Air, MD

#8 - Jeff Witt, QB
Witt was a huge question mark for us at QB coming into 2009, but the kid was gutty and played his *** off. I wouldn't say that he was spectacular at any point..highlight was probably a 255 yard, 3 TD performance in win over Army...but I can't point to any one game and say that we lost because of him. Completed better than 54% if his passes for just shy of 2,000 yards and 18 TD's. He left the Motor City Bowl after just one pass attempt due to a brusied shoulder. I can't say that him finishing the game would have made a difference, but I wish that we would have had the opportunity to see what would have happened.
Hometown: Lilburn, GA

#43 - Austin McLeod, OLB
McLeod had 7 tackles as a junior in '08 and 5 more as a senior in '09. Was suspended for a game late in the year for walking out of practice. I hate to say this about a guy, but he won't be missed next season.
Hometown: Glen Allen, VA

#44 - Michael Doerner, FB
Doerner made the move to FB in hopes of us getting his speed onto the field, the problem was that he couldn't block anybody. As a result he spent most of his time on special teams unless we went with two backs out of shotgun...which wasn't all that often. He did OK with the ball once we got it to him, but we didn't get it to him all that often. His career stats will show a guy that did whatever was asked of him...and that goes a long ways in my book.
Hometown: Oklahoma City, OK

#54 - Glen Dorris, MLB
2009 All-Ivy
Dorris missed some time in '08, but rebounded well as a senior this past year. Recorded 66 tackles, 22 for loss and 10 sacks. Also grabbed 3 INTs and forced 3 fumbles. Was named to the All-Ivy team and was our defensive captain. Recorded 9 tackles apiece in wins over Dartmouth and Navy.
Marietta, GA

#56 - Carl Ehrlich, DT
Carl saw limited playing time in his two seasons with us. Recorded exactly 1 tackle each year.
Hometown: Bethesda, MD

#62 - Matt Curtis, DT
Matt Curtis started every game for us in 2009 at the NT spot in our 3-4. He was undersized and outmanned most days, but the kid played hard. 26 tackles, 7 for loss and 1 forced fumble. One of the no-name guys that won't be appreciated until after he is gone.
Hometown: Peabody, MA

#73 - Ryan Pilconis, LT
2009 All-Ivy
Pilconis registered 49 pancakes in two seasons at LT and only allowed 6 sacks. Was named 1st Team All-Ivy as a senior this past season.
Hometown: Pottsville, PA

#74 - Justin Morgan, C
2009 1st Team All-American :: 2009 All-Ivy
Morgan quitely put together a 33 pancake senior campaign while only allowing 2 sacks. So quite, in fact, that I had to look twice when I saw his name listed as an All-American. He didn't receive any consideration for the Rimington Award, but he was the glue that held our O-Line together and allowed Gordon to have one helluva year.
Hometown: Garden Ridge, TX

#77 - Zach Copple, RG
2009 All-Ivy
Copple recorded 30 pancakes and allowed 4 sacks in two seasons as a starter...17 and 1 in 2009 when he was named to the All-Ivy Team. Another guy up front that you never heard too much about that, but that we are going to miss like crazy next year.
Hometown: Lincoln, NE

#86 - Alex Breaux, WR/KR
2009 All-Ivy
Breaux was our #3 receiver and grabbed 13 balls for 140 yards and a TD during his senior season. Excelled for us as a kick and punt returner on our special team units and was named to the All-Ivy squad for his efforts in that area. 12 kick returns for 389 yards...one for 101 and a TD...32 punt returns for 271 and 3 TDs.
Hometown: Moraga, CA

#91 - Bryan Sweeney, DE
2008 All Ivy
75 career tackles, 25 for loss and 13 sacks for the kid from Farmington, CT. Had his best season in 2008...45 T, 15 TFL, 7 S...when he was named to the All-Ivy Team. Was a little undersized as a 3-4 DE and didn't experience the same level of production in '09...but was still solid. Will be missed next season.
Hometown: Farmington, CT

#95 - Jason Miller, TE
Miller caught 23 balls for 252 yards and 2 scores as a junior in '08. But sat around on his *** all off-season and was beat out by Schwarzkopf. As our #2 TE in '09 he caught 2 balls for 14 yards...also had 2 drops. Schwarz went on to be named to the All-Ivy team as a sophomore. Miller did provide 7 pancakes in the running game.
Hometown: Zionsville, IN

#98 Matthew Thomas, MLB
Thomas backed up Dorris at MLB in '08 and lined up next to him when we switched to the 3-4 in '09. Productive and dependable but not real flashy. 75 career tackles, 8 for loss, and 1 sack. Also had 1 career interception that he returned for a TD in big win over Brown as a senior.
Hometown: Dracut, MA

[iou1]

Recruiting: Class of 2009

I was hoping that winning 10 games, claiming the Ivy League Title and getting our program upgraded to 2 STARS would make recruiting easier....not so much. Being in a lower tier conference and not being on TV (4 times in 2 years...1-3 record) is making it hard to attract quality talent to Harvard. I suppose that I am too hard on myself with restrictions...no POOR discipline guys and AWARENESS of A- or better, maximum of 3 star rating...but whatever the case is, Blue-Chippers are not flocking to Cambridge. I suppose that this is how building a program is supposed to feel. Either way, here is a look at the Class of 2009...Rated #105 by the experts.

*Holt and Hall will both probably redshirt in 2010.
*Roberts was moved to DE as soon as he stepped on campus and has a chance to start right away.
*Preston will be in the field in our multiple receiver sets and Murray will be our #2 TE behind Schwarzkopf.
*Rayner and Hunter will most likely compete for one of the starting OG spots on our line.
*Haumiller and Beverly will both be given every opportunity to start right away.
*Bennett was moved to FB and if he can learn the position, he will be AWESOME before everything is said and done.
*Walters, McCollum and Davis will all see time on special teams and provide solid depth and the LB spots.
* Harrison comes to us from NOTRE DAME. The FS will most likely move to OLB and have 3 seasons in Crimson and Cream.

[iou1]

2010 Crimson Offense

Here is what our offense is going to look like to open the season.
QB: Butler get the nod over rsFR Walton. He (Butler) brings a lot more tools to the table than Witt did a year ago, but he doesn't have NEARLY the awareness that Witt did. Something that is sure to rear its ugly head in a Coach Mode dynasty like this one. Personally, I have never had much success with transfer QBs so hopefully the kid from Ohio State can reverse that trend.
HB: Gino Gordon returns for his junior season. If he can repeat his sophomore campaign, I think we have a chance to be fairly successful again in 2010. His OVR is up past 90...and I don't see how he sticks around for his senior season in 2011, so there is no sense in saving his legs for anything. Expect his workload to be substantial. Price is a capable backup and Taylor continues to improve. Cedric Carroll, 3 Stars, will be redshirted this year.
WR/TE: Cook and Luft are seniors and both started last season as juniors. Everett and Preston are young and fast but they don't catch the ball that great or understand our offense just yet. Schwarzkopf was All-Ivy as a sophomore last season and is solid in all phases. Murray will be our #2 and is more of a receiver than a blocker right now.
OL: The O-Line scares the hell out of me right now. Lawler was All-Ivy last season, but it was at LG and now he is going to moving to LT. Smith was also All-Ivy last season and returns at the RT spot. From LG to RG we are going to be new. Tetzel takes over for Morgan at C and is charged with replacing an All-American. Hunter is a true freshman and Fisher saw limited action as a backup in '09. I think that the potential is there, but right now experience is severly lacking. Couple that with Butler's low AWR at QB and I expect a lot of sacks and INTs. I really hope that I am wrong, but I doubt it.

Offense
Quarterback         OVR    Wide Receiver       OVR    Left Tackle         OVR
1) J. Butler         80    1) M. Luft           80    1) M. Lawler         72
2) D. Walton         70    2) M. Cook           76    2) B. Osborn         56
3) M. Simpson        52    3) D. Preston        65
Halfback            OVR    Tight End           OVR    Left Guard          OVR
1) G. Gordon         92    1) N. Schwarzkopf    72    1) T. Hunter         68
2) A. Price (KR)     72    2) A. Murray         62    2) B. Sessions       56
Fullback            OVR                               Center              OVR
1) C. Ho             82                               1) E. Tetzel         70
2) J. Bennett        65                               2) D. McNamara       62
                                                      Right Guard         OVR
                                                      1) B. Fisher         65
                                                      2) M. Rayner         62
                                                      Right Tackle        OVR
                                                      1) J. Smith          65 
                                                      2) J. Paris          62

[iou1]

2010 Crimson Defense

Here is what our defense is going to look like to open the season.
DL: Haumiller, Roberts and Beverly combine to give us 3 new starters and 3 true freshman on our Defensive line. Potential is there to be awesome down the road, but I have NO IDEA what they are going to look like right away....no idea at all.
LB: Murphy (SR) and Ojukwu (JR) are solid on the outside, but both of our middle guys will be new. Scaduto is the only one with any experience and will get the nod early.
DB: Monu is solid and is a senior. He will be a three year starter. Going into the offseason, I really thought that Carlson would finally get his shot but Hall (JR) beat him out in camp. Moore was a Frosh All-American at FS and Zych is a stud at SS.
I think that our DBs are solid, but we are so dang young and inexperienced up front and in the middle that I see us having ALL KINDS of defensive issues in 2010. We will open the season in the 3-4, but I might switch back to the 4-3 in an attempt to hide some of our youth up front. The thought of trying to outscore people with a young offensive line and a QB with low AWR makes me sick to my stomach...if only Gordon could do EVERYTHING.

Defense
Left End            OVR    Left Outside LB     OVR    Corner Back         OVR
1) J. Roberts        68    1) V. Ojukwu         76    1) J. Monu           80
2) J. Roach          62    2) L. Patrick        48    2) J. Hall           80
Right End           OVR    Middle Linebacker   OVR    Free Safety         OVR
1) A. Haumiller      65    1) D. Scaduto        68    1) B. Moore          76
2) R. Burkhead       52    2) M. Davis          65    2) B. Oliver         70
Defensive Tackle    OVR    Right Outside LB    OVR    Strong Safety       OVR
1) M. Beverly        68    1) C. Murphy         78    1) C. Zych           82
2) C. Obi            59    2) D. Walters        68    2) R. Barnes         59

[iou1]

Crimson Drop 2010 Opener to Huskies
Medlock shreds Harvard D

Hartford, CT - The heading pretty much says it all...UConn QB Curtis Medlock confirmed my fears about our D by throwing for 472 yards and 5 TDs today. Our revamped front 7 couldn't get any pressure on Medlock and our secondary couldn't stay with the faster more athletic Husky receivers...most notably Nick Franklin who hauled in 10 balls for 226 yards and 4 scores. Offensively Butler was rusty and indecisive and Walton just plain isn't ready. Gordon had 138 and a score on 19 carries. Price broke off a long run late against their #2s. Monu returned a Medlock pass for a Pick 6, but we were never really in the game...down 7 after one and 21 at the half. The Huskies have beaten us three times in a row, but this one feels different...and I have a bad feeling about things to come. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Eagles Fly Past Crimson
Boston College Still King of Massachusetts

Chestnut Hill, MA - It took us three years to get a matchup with Boston College...too bad we couldn't do anything with it. The Eagles are down this year...almost what I would call bad...and we still weren't able to take advantage of anything. Butler threw 3 more picks as he is still trying to knock the rust off from sitting out last year. He didn't get many snaps at Ohio State either, so it has been 3 solid years since he has seen any game action...still holding out hope that he comes around. Through 2 games he has thrown 5 INTs (0 TDs) and been sacked 9 times. Anyways, as far as the game was concerned we were down 17-3 at the half. Gordon got us on track with 2 huge TD runs in the 3rd, and we were all tied up with the big boys 17-17. With 3:20 to play we are down 3 and faced with a 4th and short at our own 30. Long story short, we go for it and get stuffed. BC goes up top for a TD on the very next play and now we are looking at being 0-2 out of the gate. Frustrating...VERY frustrating. Almost makes me wonder what the weather is like in California right now. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Buffalo Rolls Harvard, 48-28
Crimson Caught in Stampede, Drop to 0-3

Cambridge, MA - Well, the good news is that Joseph Butler threw his first TD pass today. The bad news is that he added 4 more INTs to his brief resume Harvard. Oh yeah, he also fumbled twice for good measure. Our defense couldn't overcome the turnovers and they couldn't seem to stop anyone wearing a blue helmet either. Scott Young threw for 379 and 3 scores and we let an opposing RB crack the century mark for the 2nd week in a row.

Wasted good games by Gordon and Luft...and now we are sitting at 0-3. Running the same schemes as last year...just goes to show that it isn't the Xs and the Os, it is the Jimmys and the Joes. I knew we graduated some solid guys last year, but didn't see these kind of struggles coming. Thanks for following!

[iou1]

Harvard Waves White Flag to Army, 51-21
Justin Whaley....Period.

Cambridge, MA - Ugh...now I know how some opposing coaches feel about Gino Gordon. Army's Justin Whaley gave us a whipping like we haven't had around here in quite some time. 20 carries for 291 and 4 scores, 4 catches for 40 yards, and a 102 Kickoff Return. Thank God I didn't ask our stats guy how many broken tackes he had...probably saved myself a heart attack.

I am getting dang tired of looking for silver linings in all of this crap, but I guess that Butler doubled his TDs and halved his INTs from last game. Eventually that trend has to work in our favor. Luft had another nice game catching the ball but ripped his triceps muscle and is going to miss dang near the rest of the year..something like 8-9 weeks. The non-Ivy has had their way with us to the tune of 0-4. Dartmouth is up next....I hate losing. Thanks for following!