Athlete of the Week: Brad Wilford `00

Brad Wilford won the starting quarterback job on the Harvard football team primarily because of his rocket arm. Saturday, however, he displayed all of his tools as a player, in guiding the Crimson to a 25-17 come-from-behind win against Holy Cross.

Wilford, a senior, threw for 202 yards on 17-of-29 passing and added two touchdowns, but he also rushed for 76 yards on nine carries.

More impressively, he posted those numbers under almost constant pressure from a Crusader pass rush that sacked him six times on the afternoon.

Wilford was a model of poise all afternoon. Trailing 14-3 midway through the second quarter, Wilford marched his team downfield, finding captain tight end Chris Eitzmann twice on a 42-yard scoring drive for long gains. On first-and-goal from the Holy Cross 4, he unleashed his cannon arm, gunning a quick pass over the middle to junior fullback Grady Smalling for a touchdown.

But Wilford showed off more than his arm during the game, rushing for the Crimson's final touchdown midway through the third quarter. Off an option left, he faked the pitch to senior running back Chris Menick, which froze linebacker Patrick Colgan, allowing him to dart into the end zone.

"Brad's tough," Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said after the game. "We didn't protect for him as well as we should've and he did great."

Not known for being fleet of foot, Wilford has proven a highly dangerous scrambler, breaking loose for a 37-yard gain later in the third quarter by stiff-arming and spinning through the Holy Cross defense.

Rivaling the surprise of a starting quarterback executing a spin move, Wilford twice leveled last week's Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week John Aloisi, both times springing senior wideout Terence Patterson on reverses.

For proving himself the complete package at quarterback in leading his team to an exciting victory, the Crimson is pleased to honor Brad Wilford as its Athlete of the Week.