John Cramer, a junior who didn't expect to play much this year, has turned out to be one of the bulwarks of the 1968 Harvard football team's nationally ranked defense.

Cramer has made 38 unassisted tackles from his defensive end position in the Crimson's seven games, a total second only to the 53 tackles chalked up by linebacker John Emery. For this reason head coach John Yovicsin calls Cramer "a very big factor in the success of the defensive unit"--a unit which ranks first in the nation against scoring and seventh against total yardage.

"John has given us good, solid, consistent play in all phases of the game," Yovicsin said. "He shuts down the off-tackle, knows how to contain the quarterback rollout and how to cover the short pass receiver, and he rushes the passer very effectively," the coach added.

Well Disciplined

"We demand a lot from our defensive ends; they must be very fine athletes, able to do a lot of things," Yovicsin said. "They must be well-coordinated, well-disciplined, and very capable," he says, "and John fills the bill."

Cramer got his chance this year when senior Pete Hall, starting at left defensive end, injured his knee in the opener against Holy Cross. The 6'1", 220-pound Cramer took Hall's place and has started at defensive end every game since.

Hall recovered in time for the Dart-mouth contest, but Cramer had proved himself to be so effective that Yovicsin kept him in the starting lineup, moving him to right end. Cramer justified the coach's confidence by making six tackles and was named Harvard's most valuable defensive player of the game by the Crimson staff.

Yovicsin began alternating Cramer, Hall, and senior Steve Ranere at the defensive end slots after Dartmouth. Cramer acts as the "swing man," lining up either at right end opposite Hall or at left end opposite Ranere.

"Our alternation system really became important last Saturday against Princeton," Cramer said, "because it allowed Pete, Steve, and me to get some much-needed breaks from playing during the game."

Cramer came up with eight tackles against Penn two weeks ago and eight more against Princeton. He also set up a first-period Crimson touchdown in the Penn game by recovering a fumble on the Quakers' 22-yard line.

Beginning his football career as an offensive tight end as well as a defensive end, he was named to the third All-State team on defense his senior year at Sunset High School in Portland, Ore., where he lettered in track and basketball, in addition to football.

Despite numerous letters and phone calls from Dartmouth head football coach Bob Blackman, Cramer decided to go to Harvard. "If I'd been interested strickly in football," he says, "I would have probably gone to Dartmouth."

Cramer hurt his knee in the Crimson freshman team's opener against Tufts two years ago and had to keep it bandaged until just before this season's first game. He started at tight end for the Yardlings against Brown and Yale, but Yovicsin switched him to defensive end for the junior varsity last year.

A Fair Season

"I had a fair season for the J.V.," Cramer said, "but this year my knee's much better, and, more important, experience has improved my play and made me a lot more confident."

The way Cramer has been playing lately, he has good reason to be confident. With a full season of Harvard competition still ahead of him, he has already established himself as a main-stay in the Crimson lineup.

"John was an unknown quantity at the beginning of the year," says defensive end coach Tom Stephenson, "but now he's one of the top defensive ends in the league."