"Brent's been our mentor--his style is leadership by example."--Crimson cornerback Lee Oldenburg.

"He's led by example.--cornerback Ken Tarczy.

"What everyone says about him is really true -- he's a leader by example."--linebacker Kevin Dulsky.

Call him Brent "Leader By Example" Wilkinson. Call him Harvard football captain. Call him up for dinner sometime--he's a nice guy.

But don't call your tight end's number when Wilkinson is patroling the secondary.

Right, Jim Crocicchia?

Harvard was beating Penn, 3-0, with three minutes remaining in the first half last Saturday in the Stadium when Quaker quarterback Crocicchia dropped back and planted his feet in the muddy turf of his own 30-yd. line.

The Penn signalcaller scanned the Crimson defense before spotting his 6-ft., 3-in. tight end, Brent Novoselsky, cutting across the middle of the field.

Crocicchia cocked his arm and fired.

Two giants--one in white and the other in crimson--dove for the fluttering pass as 18,000 frigid fans lept to their feet.

When the two came down to earth, one had the ball and the other lay sprawled in the slop at midfield.

Even those in the upper reaches of the Stadium could see the grin beneath Wilkinson's facemask as he cradled the pigskin at the Penn 47.

The clutch interception set up split end Joe Connolly's scamper around left end two minutes later that--with kicker Rob Steinberg's extra point--put the Crimson up 10-0 at halftime.

Wilkinson's swipe--the 17th interception for the Crimson this year--gave Harvard just the spark it needed to pull away from Penn and take home a 17-6 victory and a share of first place in the Ivy League.

The leader had taken charge.