O'Hagan Controls Destiny, For Now

Five practices into spring ball, the contest to succeed departing senior Ryan Fitzpatrick as Harvard’s starting quarterback is underway.

Well, sort of.

Of the five candidates in the running to assume the signal-calling mantle, only one—freshman Liam O’Hagan—is both healthy and currently enrolled at the College. His classmate, Chris Pizzotti, has been sidelined by a back injury and will likely not return to practice until the fall. The other three contenders, for their part, have yet to matriculate.

To combat the arms shortage, Crimson coach Tim Murphy has restored sophomore Mike Jones—who had been converted to wide receiver in the off-season—to his former position in order to provide a second-string quarterback.

Fitzpatrick has also been called upon to throw at times, Murphy said.

“We had to draft him just for that reason,” Murphy said. “We at least needed some help during drills.”

With the spotlight all to himself for now, O’Hagan—Fitzpatrick’s backup at season’s end—has performed admirably thus far, adjusting nicely to the increased responsibility despite a host of injuries on the offensive side of the ball that have retarded the unit’s progress, according to Murphy.

“Liam in his pads looks like a clone of Fitzy,” sophomore Corey Mazza said. “He throws an incredible ball. I think he’s improved every practice, every day.”

That said, O’Hagan’s play has certainly not eliminated either Pizzotti or any of the three newcomers from consideration come September.

“There’s no question at this point that there’s going to be competition from the young guys,” Murphy said. “It’s wide open, but it’s exciting. Probably not as much fun as having Fitzy back, but as Rick Pitino would say, ‘Fitzy’s not walking through that door.’”

MIXED BLESSING

Mazza—who underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left thumb on Feb. 9—returned to the field on the first day of practice at full-strength and well-ahead of schedule, participating in contact drills that he’d initially been projected to miss for the duration of spring ball.

But his speedy recovery proved to be a mixed blessing Wednesday, when he hurt his shoulder falling on the ground after a tackle—an injury that will sideline him for at least a week, Murphy said.

“It was just the second day of contact,” Mazza said. “I’ve been wearing a cast and then to hurt my shoulder like that—it’s just frustrating.”

Mazza is just the latest member of Harvard’s depleted receiving corps to be felled by an off-season ailment. Freshman Joe Murt and senior Rodney Byrnes, who returned to the team this semester after a one-year hiatus, are both currently inactive with hamstring injuries as well.

“Last spring with all the injuries we got used to it,” Mazza said. “But I never thought it would happen to me…But I think it gives a chance to a lot of the younger guys to get some reps.”

BRANCHING OUT

The only offensive skill position at which the Crimson currently professes a degree of certainty is tailback, where sophomore Clifton Dawson, who comfortably shattered a slew of Crimson rushing and scoring records a season ago, will return to threaten his own marks.

But Dawson’s reliability as a rusher hasn’t prevented Murphy from tinkering with other aspects of the running back’s overall game. A year ago, the focus was Dawson’s hands, which had limited his pass-catching ability as a freshman.

Statistically, the improvement between his rookie and sophomore campaigns was nearly negligible—Dawson managed only eight extra catches for 74 yards and one touchdown—but his boosted confidence and Harvard’s willingness to employ him as a receiver out of the backfield forced adjustments from its Ivy opponents.

Honing Dawson’s receiving skills will again be a priority this off-season, but more pressing is Murphy’s desire to integrate Dawson into the special teams unit, where he will likely fill the sizeable void left by departing wide receiver Brian Edwards. Edwards fielded 29 punts for 348 yards and three touchdowns in his final year and, as a mid-season addition to the kick-return unit, ran back 12 kickoffs for 321 yards and the corps’ lone score.

Trumping both concerns, however, is the most important of priorities—ensuring Dawson is ready to play come the opener against Holy Cross.

“His health is definitely the first [priority],” Murphy said. “No doubt about it.”

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