So You Say You Can Punt?

"A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!"--Richar III, Act V. sc. v, line 13

It's no secret that Joe Restic just does not have the horses this year to qualify as a bonafide preseason Ivy League title favorite. Harvard comes off its first losing season (4-5) in the Restic era, and eight spots in the lineup--both defensive ends, both defensive tackles, one linebacker, punter, center and fullback--have been ravaged like Vietnamese free fire zones.

And so for the first time in his eight-year reign as God pro tempore of Soldiers Field, Joe Restic really means it when he describes the Crimson's chances with "cautious optimism" (i.e., pessimism). One can just see him, oh, say, round about the Dartmouth game, ready to wheel and deal from the sidelines with personnel changes and strategic maneuvering, only to find himself--like Richard III on Bosworth Field-having no resources to work with.

"We're in trouble," Restic said last week. "We have to stay healthy."

Given Restic's penchant for throwing opposing teams off balance with his square dance offensive sets, given the dream schedule (seven of nine games at home, including the first four), given the fact that this is "on any given day" Ivy League football, and given the possibility that the clean bill of health will come through, Harvard could make a run at the league crown.

But right now it doesn't look like it. Despite some potent signs on offense, only four starters--captain Steve Potysman, leading tackler Craig Beling, middle guard Tom McDevitt and back Fred Cordova--return to a Swiss cheese defense.

"We're young," Restic said. "We're inexperienced. We have to find a lot of people on defense soon. We have to establish some kind of control based on people coming back offensively."

In short, the 1977 formula of the defense plugging the dike until the Multiflex offense got its act together has been flipped. This fall, QB Larry Brown & Co. will be expected to put points on the board quick and early, while waiting for the green defenders to come around.

For starters, the much-ballyhoed defensive line of last fall is gone, with four of five spots wide open.

"We have to find two defensive ends." Restic's words have a haunting ring to them. All-Ivy bookends Russ Savage and Bob Baggott have graduated after three standout seasons, and a mad rush for their two spots has ensued. Several sophomores emerged in preseason drills, and small (190 Ibs.) senior Dan Binning may have a shot at a starting berth. Look for the drop end concept to be erased from the Crimson defensive formation--it simply looks like no one of Baggott's caliber will come through.

Tackle (surprise!) offers much the same scenario. Seniors Bob Murray and John Cosgrove could do the job in the trenches, but they have a combined total of 101 minutes varsity playing time, and they have little or no depth behind them.

Middle guard Tom McDevitt (6-0, 202) leads all returnees in '77 playing time, with 243 minutes, and Frank Gaudio will provide ample backup help. Middle guard, at least, is set.

At linebacker, Restic's words once more hang heavy. "We have one." That one is super-tough Craign Beling, the Crimson's leading tackler last year. But there are two linebacker positions to be filled, and only sophomore Bob Woolway has emerged out of the pack as a solid contender. One injury here and the season goes kerplunk, right down the drain.

As always, fortunately, the Crimson, defensive backfield is a strength. Back Steve Potysman and adjuster Tom "Bat" Masters on will more than hold their own, while Fred Cordova, Al Ippolito and sophomore Mike Jacobs should fill up the rest of the four slots competently.

The key will be to get points on the board early, get the momentum going in Harvard's direction to force the opposition into playing catch-up ball, and then wait for the defensive talent to develop.

The basis for that strategy, and indeed the basis for all successful college football teams, is having a bulldozer for an offensive line. Harvard may have one.

Numero uno mountain man is Mike Clark, a 220-pound senior who can do it all. And for the first time since 1975's championship club, there is depth on the offensive line. Mac DeCamp, Mike Brown, Dave Peltier and fierce sophomore Orazio Lattanzi have been going at it in a battle for the second guard spot.

Two-time starter Joe Kross and fellow senior Brian Silvey have the inside track on the starting tackle slots, but junior Eric Spiegel and 260-pound sophomore Mike Durgin will press for those jobs. "You know," Restic said, "Durgin reminds me of Danny Jiggetts." And in case you've forgotten, '76 grad Jiggetts is a member of the Chicago Bears.

Center looks weak so far, with Joe Pellegrini taking a year off, but when you guys who play like Danny Jiggetts fighting to earn a spot on the offensive line, you know things are looking up.

And if the running game happens to lag, Joe Restic may Multiflex with some play-action aerials to the likes of solid senior tight end Paul Sablock (17 receptions last year) and split end candidates Rich Horner and John MacLeod (a split end converted to safety, then back to split end when Gary Confer bagged football for academics).

Sophomore Paul Connors, Ralph Polillio and Wayne Moore lead a small battalion of talented halfbacks, while Matt Granger could be the steamroller Restic needs at fullback.

But the main man, the guy who's going to get the credit if it all clicks and the blame if it crumbles, will be none other than one Larry Brown of Norwood, Mass. The senior QB can throw, he can handle the ball, and perhaps most important of all on a green team, he knows how to handle himself with aplomh behind center.

The outlook would be almost promising at this point, but for one nasty little part of the game that I've yet to mention--kicking. If you don't think kicking is important, just ask John Madden why the Raiders are never out of a ballgame.

Senior Gary Bosnic can do the job as placekicker and kickoff man, but punting is another story. Joe Restic does not have a punter, and more than half a dozen pretenders to the role have been snapping their knees off at practice. We could be talking coffin-corner kicks from deep in our own territory, and that's downright frightening.

Forget, though, that the defense has holes in it the size of the Summer Tunnel. And forget the possibility that a couple of key injuries could destroy the team. Just sit back and consider this fact: if the offensive line pulls through and Brownie can get the ball moving, we'll have a championship caliber club on our hands.

"We must be able to move the ball," Restic said from beneath his weatherbeaten granite mask last week. "We're not a ball-control offense, we try to work the big play and that won't change. But if we do move the ball like that and score, the defense will have a chance to develop."

Let's all hope it does, because if not, Joe Restic will be left floundering on the sidelines by mid-October, like Richard III, hopelessly undersupplied.