Six Harvard Football Players Join NFL Teams

Senior quarterback Scott Hosch was eating in Cabot dining hall when he got the call.

Sliding his phone out of his pocket, he spotted an unfamiliar area code. Even though he was surrounded by lunchtime cacophony, and even though he was in the middle of a conversation with a friend, Hosch decided to grab the phone, touch the screen, and lift the speaker to his face.

That, in short, was how Harvard’s emeritus quarterback learned the news: He had earned a tryout with the Detroit Lions.

“I’ve been playing football since I was six years old,” Hosch said. “If it doesn’t work out, I know I gave it shot and gave it my best….. If I make it, then my dreams come true.”

Two days before and several hundred feet away, senior offensive lineman Cole Toner was lounging in Hosch’s common room with roughly 25 friends and family members when he received a similar call.

Months before, in the fall, Toner had anchored an offensive line that had led the Ivy League in scoring. Throughout the spring, the 6’7” Toner had worked out, practiced his technique, and watched as analysts projected him as a late-round selection.

But sitting in that crowded Cabot common room presented a new kind of challenge. No early-morning workout or late-game situation could prepare a person for that kind of waiting.

Then the Cardinals called. Within seconds, Toner’s grin suggested the outcome, and within minutes, a television screen had confirmed it: “With the 171st selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals select Cole Toner.”

“I was so happy for Cole when he got drafted because we’ve been working together since he got here in 2012,” senior offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano said. “Seeing all that come to fruition…was just an awesome feeling for everybody surrounding him.”

Over the past week, six Crimson standouts have received such phone calls. Hosch heard from the Lions (a tryout invitation); Toner heard from the Cardinals (a full-blown draft choice); tight end Ben Braunecker heard from the Chicago Bears (a free-agent signing); offensive lineman Adam Redmond heard from the Indianapolis Colts (another free-agent signing); offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano heard from the Baltimore Ravens (a third free-agent signing); and linebacker Jacob Lindsey heard from the Green Bay Packers (a tryout invitation).

That’s a lot of activity, especially for an Ancient Eight program. As of the spring of 2016, the Harvard-to-NFL pipeline is up, booming, and apparently here to stay.

“If you’re talented enough, they’re going to find you,” Redmond said. “We all sat down in August, even before the beginning of the season, and just said, ‘The NFL is just going to happen. Let’s focus on this season here at Harvard.’”

This season marked the first time in recent history that Harvard fielded two players who were projected as official picks. Besides Toner, Braunecker featured prominently on several analysts’ projections. He led the Crimson in essentially all major receiving categories during the season, and at the Combine, he ranked as arguably the most athletic tight end available.

The Indiana native went home to watch the draft with his family. After suffering through hours of drawn-out television without hearing his name called, he ended up signing with a Bears team that had an expressed need for tight ends.

Redmond experienced a similar narrative. Returning to Ohio to spend the weekend with his family, he was passed over during the actual draft but received a phone call soon after the picks had ended.

The 300-pound tackle battled injuries while at Harvard, and the signing offer came as a validation of sorts.

“It was weird how a few days ago I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Redmond said. “It goes from zero to 60 pretty quick.”

Joining Redmond in this journey is Fabiano, who had started for the Crimson since his sophomore year. He began his career at tackle before moving to right guard as a junior. Then, during the 2015 season, he switched to left guard.

That versatility evidently appealed to the Ravens’ front office. Baltimore has historically proven to be a kind place for Harvard football stars, as Juszczyk and former All-Pro center Matt Birk both launched their careers in black and purple.

More recently, 2015 senior Nick Easton signed with the Ravens after graduating, giving Fabiano quite the Crimson pedigree to follow.

“I hung up the phone, and my friends went nuts,” Fabiano said. “It was a fun experience for sure, and now it’s time to get to work.”

This year, Harvard’s NFL talent also came from the defensive side, with Lindsey getting a chance to demonstrate his chops at Packers’ tryout. Twice a member of the All-Ivy second team, Lindsey led the Crimson in tackles during both his junior and senior seasons.

Now that the NFL signing frenzy has abated, the six Harvard players face a gauntlet of tryouts, minicamps, and potentially contract negotiations. Toner, Fabiano, Redmond, and Braunecker have comparatively more job security, as all four have won formal contracts. Meanwhile, Lindsey and Hosch are hoping to impress enough to earn this luxury.

For his part, Hosch will fly out to Detroit and battle with other invitees from Thursday until Sunday. Then, returning to Cambridge, he will face a different kind of competition: four final exams.

“I’ll be enjoying the tryout compared to the finals period next week,” the senior noted.

The path is no less taxing for players who have signed already. Redmond, for example, will head to rookie minicamp in Indianapolis only to return briefly to complete classes; later he plans to fly in for a day or two to graduate.

The immediacy of action creates a conflicting sense of nervousness and eagerness—or as Fabiano dubbed it, “excited anxiety.” For these players, lifelong dreams have coalesced into reality, and that reality begins in a matter of days.

Another set of Harvard football players is likely experiencing the same mix of feelings, albeit for different reasons. This year, the NFL Draft coincided with the May 1 deadline for committing to Harvard. Just as one set of players was officially leaving the Crimson program, a new set of players was arriving.

In this way, the wheel keeps turning, and the Harvard roster keeps filling up. Four years from now, it may well be the case that some of these now-fresh rookies will be the ones sitting in Cabot dining hall, stabbing at lunch offerings, and feeling a phone vibrate in their pockets.

“It’s going to help out with the guys coming in, motivating them to work out,” Fabiano said. “We can convince these recruits now for sure that, ‘Hey, you can make it to the NFL from Harvard.’ No doubt about that now.”

–Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sam.danello@thecrimson.com.