Lindsey Racks Up 10 Tackles, Return TD in Rout of Brown

It’s hard to stand out on a team with a 16-game winning streak. It’s hard to stand out on a defense that ranked first in the FCS in points allowed last year.

And it’s certainly hard to stand out on a night when six different teammates scored as part of a 53-27 rout against a conference foe.

But last Saturday, senior linebacker Jacob Lindsey did all three.

In the Harvard football team’s Ivy opener against Brown, Lindsey played a pivotal role in shifting the momentum the Crimson’s way.

With 9:05 left in the first quarter, the Brown offense trotted onto the field needing to score after a touchdown by senior running back Paul Stanton, Jr. had given Harvard a 7-0 lead.

At this point, on their second drive of the game, the Bears came out looking for a big play.

Senior quarterback Marcus Fuller fired a pass to junior wide receiver Alex Jette that fell incomplete. On second down, Brown settled for a two-yard run by senior running back Seth Rosenbauer.

Then it happened.

On third and eight, with Fuller dropping back and the Bears pinned deep in their own territory, Crimson senior defensive back Sean Ahern came streaking in on a cornerback blitz and knocked the ball out of Fuller’s hand.

Using what every football player learns on his first day of practice, Lindsey saw the loose ball, scooped it up, and scored. Harvard forced four Brown turnovers on the night.

After the linebacker’s return touchdown, the Crimson was up, 14-0, less than seven minutes into the contest. The pendulum didn’t swing in the Bears’ favor the rest of the night. Harvard forced a three-and-out on the next possession, and the Crimson amassed a 37-0 lead by halftime.

“Sean did a great job coming out the edge,” Lindsey said. “That was something we game-planned for…. It was cool tonight because the gloves were sticky. I was able to hang onto that ball and obviously take it in.”

Along with scoring the first touchdown of his career at Harvard, Lindsey finished the game with a team-leading 10 tackles, twice as many as the next highest player.

His performance Saturday fell just short of his career-high of 12 tackles coming against Cornell last season.

After two games, Lindsey leads the team in tackles for the season with 17.

He is one of three seniors in the squad’s starting linebacker corps, including captain Matt Koran and senior Eric Medes.

“Really, all three of us have had significant reps,” Lindsey said. “It makes it a lot easier just as a unit where we all trust each other, and we’ve played with each other for the last 12 games…. We can go around making plays as needed.”

Partly led by Lindsey, the defensive unit has allowed an average of just 344 yards and 18.5 points per game this season.

And Harvard’s strong defense is balanced by its prowess on the offensive side of the ball, where it has averaged 455 yards and 47 points in its first two contests.

“Our defense is by far one of the best defenses in the Ivy League, if not in the nation,” senior defensive back Asante Gibson said.

“We have the potential to do a lot more than we’ve shown. We have to keep working hard and playing as a team. When we start playing as individuals, we’ll mess up. As soon as we start playing as a team, we’re good to go,” he added.

For Lindsey, these defensive expectations are nothing new.

The senior linebacker has been an integral part of the defense over the last four years, racking up 130 total tackles despite missing seven games in the 2013 season.

Last season, he led the Crimson with 63 tackles and was selected for the All-Ivy second team.

Not counting the season in which he played in less than half the games, Lindsey has averaged over five tackles a game since his freshman year.

However, last Saturday’s scoop-and-score was the first fumble recovery of his career.

“We’ve had great leadership,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “Our coaches have done a tremendous job.... But anytime you have seven starters back on a quality unit, you expect good things.”