Harvard football, having lost two defensive assistant coaches this offseason, gained one yesterday.

Bruce Tall, who has been the defensive coordinator at Northeastern for the past five seasons, was named the Crimson's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Harvard (9-1, 7-0 Ivy) destroyed its league opponents last year, shutting out Dartmouth and Penn. The Crimson defense gave up only four touchdowns in Ivy games all year, all of which came through the air.

Last year, Harvard was the only school in I-AA to be in the top five in rushing, pass efficiency and scoring defense. The Crimson finished 13th in total defense, allowing just 81.9 rushing yards and 12.3 points per game.

Northeastern's defense wasn't too shabby itself. The unit keyed its 8-3 season last fall. Under Tall, the Huskies dropped their yards in 1993 to just 2,932 in 1996 and 3,027 last season.

Northern ranked second in rushing defense with 60.5 yards allowed per game and finished 16th in total defense.

The result of Harvard's dominating defense and explosive offense was the school's first nine-win season since 1919 and its first perfect Ivy run.

Like Harvard, Northeastern enjoyed success for the first time in a long time. Last year was the program's best record since 1963.

Tall replaces Mark Harriman, who left his position as defensive coordinator to become head coach at Bates College last month.

If Tall's success at Northern is indicative, Harvard will continue to play good rushing defense, a part of the game which Coach Tim Murphy has emphasized ever since he took over.

"We are extremely pleased to have someone of Bruce's caliber join our coaching staff," said Murphy in a press release. "He is highly respected by people in college athletics and certainly did an outstanding job at Northeastern."

Tall, 38, graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1982. He coached at Cornell and his alma mater before joining Northeastern.