Nobody wants to replace "The Man."

Nobody relishes standing in the shadow of a former great. Fans become accustomed to excellence at that position and demand it from whomever fills the role.

Too often this burden engulfs the player and afflicts his performance. Dave Brown floundered after succeeding Phil Simms as the New York Giants quarterback. Todd Collins is currently struggling to cement his starting job following Jim Kelly.

Even players with talent hear the boos until fans are persuaded otherwise. How long did the chant of "Donnie Baseball" ring in Tino Martinez's ears?

Entering the 1997 season, Harvard faced a similar predicament. The shadow of Eion Hu '97 loomed over the entire backfield. Hu is arguably the greatest running back in Harvard history. He set the school record for most career rushing yards with 3,073, most yards in a single season with 1,101 and most carries in a game with 40, set at last year's Harvard-Yale game. Furthermore, he always seemed to save his best games for Yale, gaining a total of 497 yards in his three games.

No one it seemed could fill his shoes. However one man took the challenge--Chris Menick.

Menick not only has filled Hu's shoes, but the sophomore standout has fashioned a pair of his own. He has burst onto the scene to become a driving force in the Crimson offense, racking up a total of 1,100 yards on the ground, just two shy of eclipsing Hu's record.

"I never really felt in Eion's shadow," Menick said. "I really respected Eion and he deserves all the praise he gets, but I don't try to compare myself to anyone."

The Crimson owes much of its success this year to his stalwart play. He needs one more touchdown to break a 13-all tie with Mike Giardi '94 for the team record. Furthermore, teams must respect his ability to break one, which makes sophomore Rich Linden's job at quarterback that much easier.

"We've featured a balanced attack," Menick said. "The defense hasn't been able to key on any one player and Linden has done a great job himself."

Nobody expected this season from Menick or anyone in particular. In fact, the starting position was vacant when the season opened. Junior Troy Jones, Sophomore Damon Jones and freshman Chuck Nwokocha all competed for carries.

Before the start of the season Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said, "We think we can replace [Hu] by committee, and hope that somebody steps up and becomes the go-to guy."

Menick though went out and proved to Murphy that he was ready to become the Crimson's next feature back.

"I never expected this success," Menick said. "Though confident in my abilities, I just wanted a chance to put my name on the map."

Menick saw limited action in Harvard's opening win against Columbia. However, he began to emerge in the following game, a 35-30 win against Lehigh. Though he still saw split duty with Troy Jones in particular, he ran the ball 15 times for 121 yards, highlighted by a 56-yard touchdown run.