The press photographers were flashing pictures of the Varsity line and reporters were chatting with Dick Harlow last week, but in the next practice lot, out of reach of the flashbulbs, the Harvard team of two and three years hence was running through plays, signal drills and light contact work. Freshman Coach Henry Lamar was busily molding a Class of '51 squad out of the hundred-odd prep-school stars who showed up two weeks ago for their first taste of college football.

With the opening Andover Academy game less than a week away, it is nevertheless still too early to predict a complete starting lineup or make any guesses as to the outcome of the Yardlings' season. Coach Lamar keeps pretty mum about his choices for most of the squad spots and in Freshman football anything can happen in the course of a season. But a look at the '51 roster and the spirited practices held so far indicate that Coach Lamar will have no dearth of talent in this group of gridders playing together for the first time.

On the forward wall, which may well prove to be the outstanding feature of the new team, 194-pound guard Bill Rosenau of New York seems to have already earned a starting berth, while Pete Coyne, of Brookline, another guard, looks good defensively. Waring and O'Brien are two competitors for the center slot although Lamar has moved Waring out to the end in practice sessions and 206-pound O'Brien has the edge right now. Waring, however, can tackle and block effectively and will undoubtedly see plenty of action somewhere on the squad.

In the tackle duties, Troy Sitter, a 207-pounder from Arlington, has shown much promise, but a host of other linesmen are out to cop the posts. Sitter, along with Dave Warden and one or two other Freshmen who fancy themselves tackles, have also been tried out on the wings by Lamar, who seems pleased with the results. John Kristopick, who at 210 is one of the heaviest men on the squad, and was an all-state guard in his high school days, definitely knows his way around a line of scrimmage and is a serious contender for a tackle post. Lamar is building his end crew around Ralph Bender and George Emmons, who came out as ends and are leading the pack. But Bob Tolf, Waring, and Sitter, switched from their mid-line positions have given Lamar a tough decision to make in picking his pass receivers.

The backfield picture is as unclear as that of the line, but a few bright spots are unmistakable. Johnny White, the Weston High star, is a fast man at fullback and looks slated for the A squad. But Jim Lowell, who also works at halfback, is heavier by 15 pounds and is a stronger runner. Lowell, however, may find himself in the quarterback slot, now being fought over by Kevin Reilly, Ed Stearns, and Bob Tomasello. Stearns is at present the only quarterback with the crucial qualification of a passing arm. There is little doubt in anyone's mind that Winchester's John West will be playing right halfback when the Freshmen meet Andover on Saturday. Carl Bottenfield, who stymied the Varsity in the first scrimmage two weeks ago, big, fast Dave Warden, and Johnny Carman are the leading contenders for the other half-back job.