The Ladies' Dan: Truth Be Told, Harvard Is Morris’ Team

The 129th captain of Harvard football may rightly be All-Ivy quarterback Neil Rose, but make no mistake about it—this is Carl Morris’ team.

Of course this is a somewhat silly distinction given that both players are among the best—if not the best—at their respective positions, not only in school history, but also in the nation this season. Both Rose and Morris are superlative athletes who possess All-American talent, uncanny football savvy, and unparalleled leadership skills.

But this is Morris’ team. And on Saturday against Holy Cross, the senior wide receiver showed why the Crimson’s hopes for another Ivy title will again ride on his wide shoulder pads and will again be carried by his capable hands.

It’s not Morris’ team merely because his highlight reel is longer than Braveheart, though he certainly had his share of ridiculously athletic and acrobatic plays against the Crusaders. Take your pick of Morris’ 60-yard, fingertip touchdown grab or his unbelieveable red-zone catch of a Rose pass that was deflected by Holy Cross defender David Mitchell. Or, if you are a fan of trickery and style, consider Morris’ back-pedaling TD reception from sophomore wideout Rodney Byrnes.

Morris’ 11-catch, 210-yard, two-touchdown effort was just another day in the office, though. It’s not like he broke team records for yards or receptions in a game.

Oh wait, nevermind. He already owns those.

When asked if he had any doubt in his mind that Morris is the nation’s best receiver, Holy Cross Coach Dan Allen couldn’t come up with one.

“When you have a guy like that, you try to get him the ball as much as you can,” Allen said. “He’s a big-time player.”

But it’s not Morris’ singular talent that makes him his team’s go-to guy or the determinant of the Crimson’s destiny ths season. This is Carl Morris’ team because he is more than just a big-play receiver. This is his team because he embodies the passion of winning at all costs that has come to characterize Harvard’s program. This is his team because he possesses those famed football qualities rarely mentioned of others—the intangibles.

“We have tough kids and Carl is the epitome of that,” said Harvard Coach Tim Murphy. “More than anything, like all great players, the intangibles are what make him that, not the talent.”

Two clear, “intangible” examples from Saturday’s game come to mind and, fittingly, both came in the contest’s crucial, final moments.

After Ari Confesor’s 85-yard punt return touchdown narrowed the Harvard lead to five, the Crimson offense was faced with a daunting task—drive down the field and run off the final five minutes with backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick under center.

The offense had been ineffective in three drives without Rose, who had left the game with a head injury in the third quarter, and there was every reason to believe Harvard would be unable to move the ball. After all, in deserved fairness, Rose is the team’s premier signal caller and one of the best QBs in the nation.

But Morris, as he had done last season in Rose’s absence, sparked the team and carried it down the field. On a crucial third-down play on the Harvard 45, Morris laid a halacious block on Crusader linebacker David Dugan, springing Fitzpatrick on a QB sneak and clearing enough real estate to pick up the first down.

Then, three plays later on another critical third-down conversion, Morris lined up behind center and took the snap left for a nine-yard gain to set up another clock-devouring set of downs.

These two plays—unorthodox demonstrations of desire and athleticism from your average wide receiver—are the sorts of “intangibles” of which Murphy speaks. They represent how Morris embodies the Crimson’s competitiveness, toughness, and never-say-die attitude.

But aside from all of this, another important attribute of Morris was evident on Saturday afternoon.

After both the block and the QB sneak, Morris’ genuine exuberance was evident as he danced, arms flailing in the air, among his game-weary teammates. The tide had turned and Harvard’s tenth win in a row was within its grasp. His mega-watt smile was wide enough to be seen, through his facemask, from the press box atop the Stadium.

Carl Morris loves football. Simple as that. And we love to watch an athlete of his caliber play, especially when he is as dominant as he was on Saturday. This much is true and probably won’t change.

Actually, check that—if Morris continues this level of success and leads the Crimson to another league title, we may have to learn to watch him on Sundays, and not Saturdays.

—Staff Writer Daniel E. Fernandez can be reached at dfernand@fas.havard.edu