Taking the Torch

By the third game of the 2010 season, Harvard was down to its third-string quarterback. The Crimson’s prospects looked bleak.

But even with question marks surrounding the team’s most important position, Harvard managed to stay relevant, finishing 5-2 in conference play. And much of this success can be attributed to a potent ground attack that earned nearly 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns.

The man responsible for more than half of those yards and touchdowns was Gino Gordon ’11. The 2010 Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, Gordon averaged 121.5 total yards and one touchdown per game.

“It’s hard to call him underrated because he was Ivy League Player of the Year, but he wasn’t one of those guys that was terribly flashy,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “He was a guy that could do it all and just do it all quietly and efficiently.”

But since Gordon graduated, Murphy and the Crimson will have to look to another rusher to spearhead Harvard’s heralded ground attack: junior Treavor Scales.

After two seasons playing behind Gordon, Scales will now take over the role of the Crimson’s feature back—a role he is not shying away from.

“I was thankful for everything that I’ve gotten these past two years, but I’m definitely excited to be ‘that guy’ this year,” said Scales.

Even as the team’s second back, Scales proved to be one of the most efficient rushers in the league during his first two seasons, racking up 520 yards on 87 rushes as a sophomore and 485 yards on 108 rushes as a freshman.

Now, fans will get to see what numbers the 2009 Ivy League Rookie of the Year can post with a full workload. Murphy, for one, has a high degree of confidence.

“We expect, fully expect, Treavor to go out and be one of the best backs in the league—absolutely, positively,” Murphy said. “Our offense isn’t going to change a bit.”

While Scales and Gordon posted similar yards per carry in 2010—Scales averaged 6.0 and Gordon averaged 6.3—the pair covered ground in very different ways.

Gordon relied on his quickness and patience to elude defenders; Scales took advantage of his pure speed.

That speed, Murphy hopes, will bring more big plays to the Harvard offense.

“He’s one of the fastest players in the league,” Murphy said. “We expect that he can be a more explosive player, maybe more of a big-play guy.”

“I like to be able to provide that spark,” Scales said. “If I have a chance to run a safety over in the open field, I’m going to do it, and I won’t be shy about it. You will know about it as soon as that play ends.”

While Murphy knows he can count on Scales to blow past defenders, he is now looking for his junior running back to prove that he is as talented a blocker and receiver as he is a rusher.

Hoping to live up to his coach’s expectations, Scales spent the summer on campus working on his pass protection, strength, and conditioning.

The results have shown.

“He’s in phenomenal shape,” Murphy said. “He’s more confident; he’s more explosive. He can play seven, eight, nine plays in a row without missing a beat.”

When Scales returned to campus for his sophomore season, it had been a different story. After spending the summer at his home in Georgia, Scales didn’t return to Harvard in ideal physical condition.

“I think coming into his sophomore year, he underestimated what you have to do in the summer,” Murphy said. “He was not ready.”

It showed at the beginning of Scales’ sophomore campaign, as he rushed for just 62 combined yards in the Crimson’s first three contests.

“That is one thing that I do look back on and wish I did change,” said Scales of the summer leading up to his second year. “I wanted to make sure that that never happened again. And I knew one way to guarantee that was if I stayed up here [this past summer].”

So Scales stuck around and hit the weight room, teaming up with senior linebackers Blaise Deal and Alex Gedeon, each of whom has well over 20 pounds on Scales.

“It was just like a Napoleon complex for me—I didn’t want to be outshined by them,” Scales said. “Those guys really pushed me in the weight room this summer, and I thank them for that.”

Scales, currently in what he describes as the best shape of his life, now feels he is ready to take on the duties as the Crimson’s feature running back.

“I’m just going to go into every week looking forward to making sure that I’m playing the very best that I’ve ever played in my entire career,” Scales said.

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.