Genial Dick Harlow, famed expenent of the spinuer cycle offense, is sitting on a keg of dynamite in Cambridge this fall. He must fact a suicide schedule with but an uncertain crop of Junior gridders, victims of an acute attack of jitters in the objective Eli game last November.

As Sophomores, they performed creditably right up to the Yale debacle, but they are still waiting to get their first important victory. Close observers can foresee a mild Crimson renaissance this year, but if Dick Harlow can herd his Johnnies through to more victories than defeats, he deserves a croix de guerre.

Tackle is the number one problem ares, where the big brogans of departed Tom Healey will be almost impossible to fill. There will be no such kingpin on the Crimson front wall this campaign, but the line will be better as a whole. Improved guard and end play in addition to more adequate replacements will give Harvard a sturdy line.

Miller the Rock

Massive Vern Miller is the only returning tackle with much experience. The hard-working Milwankee boy is a rock on defense, but he does not fit in too well with complicated offensive manoeuvres. Upperclassmen Don Lowry, Pete Elser, and Tom Gardiner are the other ranking tackles, but strappling Sophomore Tom Rogstad may win recognition after the season is under way.

A more optimistic note is struck at the ends, where Harvard has capable performers three deep. Loren MacKinney gets top billing at present, but three promising Sophomore recruits are sure to see much service. Forte, Morgan, and Barnes were all standouts on an above average Freshman team, and hard-luck veteran Joe Koufman is ready to step in if these second-year men prove to be still a year away from Varsity competition.

Ayres at Center

Burgey Ayres has a strangle hold on the pivot job and should develop into a standout center after the important experience he gained in 1939. Ted Lyman and Tom Grover will be held in reserve. Flanking Ayres will be a pair of rugged Juniors, Dick Pfister and Chub Peabody, who progressed by leaps and bounds as Sophomores and in spring practice. They are beginning to get the hang of complicated cross-blocking assignments and should take greater strides toward stardom this fall. Joel Ferris, Jim Grunig, and Sophomore Sharpe are an average group of guard subs.

Harlow has five or six good backs, but there is nothing to get excited about. Captain Joe Gardella, tough-fibred handyman, will fill in wherever he is needed the most; at present that appears to be the fullback spot. Bill Brown will give him what little relief he needs. George Heiden is firmly entrenched in the blocking quarterback position, and Charley Spreyer and Fran Lee will round out the backfield at tail and wingback respectively.

Spreyer and Lee are endowed with much natural ability, and both may hit the jackpot in this, their Junior year. They lack the speed of a Torbie Macdonald, however, and neither is much of a forward passer. That is where Don MacNicol, last year's yearling leader, steps into the picture. McNicol is a genuine triple-threat artist, with the accent on passing. That talen will make Dick Harlow give him much consideration oven though his progress is slow in other departments of the game. He is undoubtedly the best backfield contribution of the class of 1943, but Calob Loring, Mort Waldstein and Ray Guild will all be helpful to the 1940 Varsity squad.

Harvard has been the victim of far too many long-distance touchdown gallops in the past few years. Slight defensive lapses have proved fatal. This present Crimson team seems to be capable of heads-up play for 60 minutes of football. The line is more rugged and should be able to prevent too many long thrusts, but the backfield may be vulnerable to forward passes. Lee and Heiden are quite definitely short, while Spreyer and Gardella are about six feet. They looked lost trying to cope with a man like tall Harlan Gustafson of Penn last year, and there may be more of the same sort of trouble in store again.