Former Quarterbacks Play Catch-Up

It was fourth down, and the Harvard football team was in trouble. Already trailing 13-0 to Princeton, junior quarterback Conner Hempel dropped back and lofted a deep pass into the end zone. When the ball deflected off a Tigers defender, the Crimson’s drive seemed to be over.

But senior wide receiver Ricky Zorn tracked the football in the air, dove forward at an angle, and reeled it in to complete the 33-yard touchdown pass. Zorn would finish the game with 168 receiving yards.

A week later, junior tight end Tyler Hamblin posted a team-high 56 receiving yards and was a constant target in a 34-0 win over Columbia. Hamblin has registered at least one catch in each of the Crimson’s last six games.

Upon coming to Harvard, Zorn and Hamblin expected to contribute heavily to the Crimson’s success. That’s exactly what they have done—but not exactly how they might have expected.

Zorn and Hamblin both played quarterback in high school. Now, instead of dropping back to pass, the two players are on the other end of the aerial attack. Instead of making plays with their arms, they now do so with their hands.

In a season plagued with injuries, Zorn and Hamblin have become two consistent faces in a rotating Crimson offense. They may not be playing the position that brought them to Harvard in the first place, but their contributions have helped fuel the team to an 8-1 record entering the final game of the year.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

The adjustment is never easy. College football is enough of a step up from the high school level. The thought of learning a new position as well is enough to make even the most assured athlete apprehensive.

“You never shove it down their throat,” Murphy said. “Kids feel their eligibility clock ticking, and they just want to play. In Ricky and Tyler’s case, they’re like, ‘Coach, whatever you say. Whatever’s best for the team.’”

Both players had always possessed the physical qualities to make it as a pass catcher at the collegiate level. In high school in Dallas, Tex., Zorn played football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He was recruited not only as a quarterback, but also as an athlete.

“[Zorn is] very fast, he’s got great body control, and he’s got great hands,” Murphy said. “So he’s a total package in that regard. But the other one is that he’s a very tough, physical kid. That’s not necessarily a given at the wide receiver position.”

Directing his own high school offense behind center, Hamblin led his squad to two straight state championship games. At 6’4”, Hamblin had the height to toss touchdowns over the heads of defensive linemen. But the potential to out-jump defensive backs for high passes lurked as well.

Hamblin spent his freshman year at Harvard at quarterback. But after the spring season, Murphy called him into his office and proposed making a transition to tight end. Both he and offensive coordinator Joel Lamb believed that making the switch was the best way for Hamblin to get on the field as soon as possible.

“[They] thought I could benefit and the team could benefit from the move,” Hamblin said.

When it comes down to it, a team can only use one quarterback at a time. But different sets ensure that as many as four tight ends get action within a single game, and at least five different wide receivers typically catch passes on a given Saturday.

That reality occurred to Hamblin, as it did to Zorn. When Zorn was a freshman, Harvard’s QB depth chart was clogged up with bigger names such as Collier Winters, Colton Chapple, and Michael Pruneau. The coaching staff originally proposed using Zorn’s athletic ability at cornerback, but a torn labrum requiring surgery put him on the sideline for his entire freshman season.

At the end of the year while in a meeting with Murphy, Zorn floated the idea that he learn the offense to gain experience at the wide receiver position.

“[Murphy] emailed me the very next day, saying, ‘I’ve been thinking about your interest in playing wide receiver, and I think it would be great if you went ahead and made the switch,’ Zorn said. “That’s how I switched to wide receiver.”

A LEARNING PROCESS

Zorn and Hamblin may be thriving today, but it wasn’t always that way. It took lots of practice and a significant adjustment period to acclimate to a new role.

Hamblin began his sophomore fall as the low man on the totem pole. Possessing good hands, the receiving aspect came relatively quickly. But playing on the line brought along new challenges, from run blocking to route running.

For Hamblin, the presence of then-senior tight end Kyle Juszczyk, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens, was crucial. Along with senior tight end Cam Brate, Juszczyk took Hamblin under his wing and taught him the ins and outs of the position.

“The biggest thing for me moving to tight end was learning how to block,” Hamblin said. “What helped me was watching film and watching the line so much that I could pick up the footwork relatively quickly. I just had to get in the weight room and get stronger.”

Zorn spent the summer after his freshman year training with Pruneau, also a rising sophomore from the Lone Star State then. He studied the offense over the offseason, started becoming familiar with the wide receiver position, and played much of his sophomore year on the JV squad.

Zorn made his first collegiate start his junior year against Holy Cross. He came out with a bang, amassing 99 receiving yards and reeling in a touchdown. With only one year of wide receiver experience under his belt, Zorn registered a catch in every 2012 game.

“He missed his whole freshman year because of surgery, so it took a little longer to sink in that maybe quarterback wasn’t going to be his position,” Murphy said. “But the way it’s turned out, I think everybody’s really happy.”

Zorn’s quarterback background helped him pick up the nuances of being a wideout more quickly than he would have otherwise. Even though he had never played the position, he knew what receivers needed to do to contribute to an aerial attack and mesh with their quarterbacks.

“Quarterbacks are always trying to coach their wide receivers,” Zorn said. “So they have a good idea what it takes to be a wide receiver, even though they haven’t gone out there and actually ran routes in practices.”

According to Hamblin, being a quarterback gave him the soft hands he needed to aid the transition to tight end. But his experience directing an offense was just as critical on the mental side of things, having learned firsthand how helpful it is when receivers are detail-oriented.

“One of the things about Tyler that’s allowed him to really blossom is that he approaches the game like a quarterback,” Murphy said. “He’s one of those guys in meetings who is probably more well-versed in our offense in general and the nuances of his position than anybody in our meeting room.”

HARD WORK PAYS OFF

Besides sophomore running back Paul Stanton, Zorn has been the most consistent offensive player for the Crimson so far this year. Through nine games, the preseason All-Ivy third-teamer leads all Harvard receivers with 44 receptions and 661 yards —more than twice the total for any other team member.

Zorn uses his quickness to create separation on short crosses and possesses the necessary speed and strength to beat cornerbacks on fade and post routes. His biggest game this season came in an eight-reception, 168-yard performance against Princeton. The receiver has not forgotten how to throw the ball, either—Zorn tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass on a trick play against Dartmouth.

Indeed, Zorn has progressed from a novice wide receiver to one of the most important members of the 2013 Harvard team.

“[Zorn] doesn’t say much, but he delivers,” Murphy said. “He’s one of those kids that everybody respects because he’s a man of few words, extremely dependable, extremely competitive, and everybody has tremendous respect for him because he’s so dependable and durable.”

While Hamblin’s impact has been more limited than Zorn’s, the junior from Syracuse, N.Y., has begun to emerge in recent weeks as a reliable target.

The junior caught his first career touchdown on a 36-yard strike down the sideline against Cornell and has 12 receptions in six games, including a five-reception, 56-yard effort against Columbia.

Hamblin was forced to miss time at the beginning of the current season with tonsillitis, but when an injury sidelined Brate for two games a couple of weeks later, Hamblin responded with seven catches in the pair of contests.

“When you have guys go down [to injuries], it’s depressing,” Hamblin said. “So it was pretty cool to go down and need to step back up for the team at the end of the year.”

When Zorn moved to wide receiver and Hamblin was made a tight end, both players needed to acquire a revamped skill set to adapt. They have both done so successfully, using their athleticism and a sophisticated knowledge of the game they acquired while leading from behind center.

But while the daily routines have changed, for both Zorn and Hamblin, one characteristic that every good quarterback needs has remained an integral part of their approach: leadership. And for all of Harvard’s wide receivers and tight ends—along with the team as a whole—that’s a good thing.

“Both guys are absolutely the leaders of their group,” Murphy said. “Part of it is they’re always prepared…. They make very few mistakes. If you ask those guys a question, they [will] nail it.”

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at david.steinbach@thecrimson.com.