New Coach, Starters Have O-Line Upbeat

Contrary to what you may have heard, Harvard standout wide receiver Carl Morris ‘03 wasn’t the only offensive force to put away his Crimson jersey for the final time at last season’s end.

With the graduations of first-team All-Ivy linemen Jamil Soriano ’03 and Jack Fadule ’03, a 600-pound hole has opened up in the Harvard front five which new Crimson offensive line coach Ron Crook will have to find a way to fill.

Unfortunately, Crook’s 14 years of coaching experience cannot produce two solid blockers from out of thin air.

But luckily for him, there has been no shortage of players jumping at the opportunity to plug those gaps.

“I believe that all the starters and non-starters have taken their game up another step with no real player becoming a complete stand-out,” junior center Andy Smith said. “We’re just a big group of extremely talented players.”

With the heightened competition amongst the players battling to be selected as the starting five at the season’s start in eight days, a unity and camaraderie have emerged that should propel whichever players ultimately emerge at the top of the heap as the year unfolds.

“I’ve never been in a group before like the offensive line,” Smith said. “I don’t believe you can get a closer, tight-knit group of guys than this group.”

At the center of that group has been Crook.

Despite disparate styles and coaching philosophies, both Crook and his predecessor, current Temple coach Jim Turner, share an ease in communicating with their linemen that has made the change virtually seamless and prevented an uphill rebuilding process from snowballing into an insurmountable challenge.

“The transition from one to another was quite smooth,” Smith said. “The offensive line and the team in general really enjoy the addition of Coach Crook.”

Though his style is unlike Turner’s, Crook’s easygoing demeanor has made him an instant player favorite.

“Coach Crook and Coach Turner are very different people,” senior offensive tackle James Bakken said. “Coach Turner has a whole marine background. Coach Crook is a little more laid back but his style still comes across well, and the whole O-line has come across really well. The young guys in general have responded really well to him.”

That style and approach have provided a depth that should prepare the team should an unforeseen injury threaten to derail the Crimson drive for an Ivy title.

“I think we all know that if anything were to happen, we have a lot of good people who have gotten a lot of good experience,” Bakken said.

Building upon that experience, Crook has emphasized footwork throughout the pre-season, using lower-body strength to gain leverage and undercut oncoming pass rushers.

“Coach Crook has emphasized the basics of drive blocking an opponent, being able to accelerate our feet and push the defender back,” Smith said. “In the passing game, he’s emphasized the use of our hands and moving our feet, not allowing the defender to ‘open the door’ to the quarterback.”

But despite the experience, a couple of new offensive twists have introduced new schemes for everyone.

“Basically the only thing different this year is we knew with [quarterback Neil] Rose ‘03’s injuries we had to keep a very tight pocket, but this year we might be running a couple more plays designed to get [junior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick] out of the pocket,” Bakken said.

And through minor injuries and new schemes, Crook has done everything in his power to prepare the men up front to carry their share of the load.

“Coach Murphy and Coach Crook both believe that the offensive line should be an aggressive, dominating group that can win or lose the game based on our play,” Smith said.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.