I. Backs

Both the quality and the quantity of the backfield material which is available for the coming football season are of such a nature as to lead Crimson supporters to hope for a successful year on the gridiron. Speed, experience, and stamina can all be found in abundance in the group of 11 men who, excluding quarterbacks, are now striving for berths in the Crimson jerseyed backfield.

The combination which is at present given the team A rating is composed of Captain A. L. French '29, David Guarnaccia '29, and W. J. Harper '30. All three of these men saw action in the majority of last year's games and a good part of what success the 1927 eleven had was due to their offensive and defensive powers. French came to Harvard with the reputation of having been one of the best ball carriers in the school boy ranks as the leader of a strong Worcester eleven. He captained his first year team and stood out as one of the bright lights in a rather dull season. In his Sophomore year he gained prominence and a high rating by a brilliant 47-yard dash through the entire Dartmouth team in the last minute of play to snatch what seemed certain victory from the grasp of the invaders. Since that time French has been a consistent performer in all the games he has taken part in. His chief weakness lies in his susceptibility to injuries which have often kept him on the side lines when his presence in the line up might have been a deciding factor. If he succeeds in avoiding the injury jinx this season, his tremendous speed and wealth of experience should go far towards making the current season a successful one.

Guarnaccia has been a most dependable performer ever since he was unearthed from among the obscure ranks of the seconds during his Sophomore year. His speed combined with his exceptional stamina and considerable weight have made him most valuable as a line plunger and a defensive back. He is much the same type of player as Harper whose resounding tackles and smashing line bucks were among the high lights of last year's games. It is remarkable too that neither Harper nor Guarnaccia were ever heard of as football players until their Sophomore year in college.

Good Team B Backfield

As well qualified as this combination seems to be, it is little if any superior to the present team B backfield, T. F. Mason '30, S. L. Batchelder '31, and J. W. Potter '30. The possibility of Coach Horween's using these two sets of backs interchangeably seems to be strong. Such systems have been tried and often found successful, as for example in Yale's championship 1922 aggregation which employed as a rule one set of backs for each half. Mason and Potter both saw a good deal of action in the 1927 season, while Batchelder starred for the undefeated Freshman team which took Yale into camp 6 to 0 last fall. Mason is of the speedy, rangy type of back who is a constant threat on the offense. Batchelder's strong points number besides an unusual ability for open field running, a well educated toe which can be counted upon to do its share of the punting this fall. To team up with these two, a heavy good interfering and tackling back is what is needed. And Potter is just that type of back. He took up football last fall for exercise and soon rose to a first team position by the brilliance of his play. He is particularly effective in backing up the line and carries among his offensive weapons a good passing arm and ability as a place kicker.

The rest of the backfield squad is made up of F. S. Grant Jr. '29, G. L. Graves '31, A. W. Huguley '31, G. C. Holbrook '30, and T. G. Moore '29, all capable and mostly experienced material Graves has been doing particularly well so far this fall. He is a short stocky back with plenty of speed and fight, the type that makes a yard or so after he has been hit from all sides. He needs experience but otherwise should make trouble for opposing linemen this fall. Holbrook was among the most promising of last year's new material but an injury to his knee kept him out of active work most all season.