Two other quarterbacks have been lost in the confusion. Rex Blankenship, a junior, has virtually disappeared from the scene after starting the Northeastern game, and Bill Kelly, a senior, gave up and switched to split end.
Still another quarterback is sophomore Frank Guerra, who has been largely discounted by the coaches because of his size even though he may be the team's sharpest strategist.
The most discouraging aspect of this mess is that the quarterbacks themselves are never sure where they stand. Yovicsin admists he is an organizer first and says that the nature of his job "forces him [Yovicsin] to detach himself from the players."
Leaving aside the pitfalls of this strategy, even a coach who envisions himself as an organizer must sooner or later face up to the decision between any number of quarterback candidates. And the sooner he does, the better.
The Contenders
At this moment, Harvard has three very confused and unhappy men playing quarterback-Foster, Crone, and Blankenship. Judging from performances so far this Fall, Foster probably should start.
Foster was reinstated against Cornell and went all the way. He drove Harvard to scores when it counted and the team backed him up. He also came on against Northeastern and averted an embarrassing loss.
Crone has done extremely well at times, but always in situations devoid of pressure. He piled up yards and points against Northeastern and Rutgers, but was off-target when he could not afford to be against Columbia.
Blankenship, more than anything else, has been ignored. Since the Northeastern game, he has not played a single down in a game situation. Given time, he could develop into a competent and efficient leader. No one seems willing to give him that chance.
The offensive team that is guided by one of these three is nearly as confused as the quarterbacks. They never know who is going to turn up in the huddle-or when. Different quarterbacks call different games. And a game plan-like a good quarterback-takes time to develop.
This, as much as anything, explains the Crimson's ineffectiveness against Columbia and Dartmouth. Following the first half at Columbia, Foster had in mind a strategy for the second half. When he didn't score on his first series, he was replaced by Crone and a wholly new plan of attack.
Similarly, Foster was faced with an extremely good Dartmouth defense last Saturday. Not only did he not have time to develop the Crimson attack before he was pulled, but each time he had the ball he was deep in his own territory.
A bad punt by Foster led to Dartmouth's first score. A bad pass by Crone led to their second. The difference between the two mistakes is that one has only partly to do with quarterbacking, the other has everything to do with it.
Perhaps the most incomprehensible aspect of Harvard's game of musical quarterbacks has been its persistence. Quarterbacks are not changed once during the course of a game, but several times.
Against Columbia, Foster went out, came back in, and then was taken out once more. The case was the same against Dartmouth.
The consensus of the offensive unit seems to be that they would prefer to go with one quarterback to the end. There is not as much agreement as to which quarterback it should be, but Foster has been most effective in the clutch. The quarterbacks themselves are fed up with the whole situation.
A 7-2 record is not entirely out of reach this season. Yovicsin says he wants to go out a winner, and he probably will no matter how many quarterbacks he plays. But if he wants to go out a big winner, and if he cares about the next two years of Harvard football, he had better pick just one.