Hollywood, it's time to meet Chris Eitzmann.

A hard-working Nebraska farm boy who played eight-man football in high school is now the 126th captain of the Harvard football team and one of the most successful tight ends in school history.

Cinematic story lines don't get much better than that.

"Just being captain of the Harvard football team proves that Chris Eitzmann is a tremendous leader," Harvard Coach Tim Murphy said. "He leads the team by setting a great example for them, and he's one of the hardest-working kids in this program."

Eitzmann grew up in Hardy, Nebraska, and attended Chester-Hubbell-Byron High School, which had a mere 50 students. After a successful three-sport high school career in which he excelled in football, basketball and track, Eitzmann graduated in a class of eight.

"In high school, I was the biggest kid by far, and when I got to Harvard, I wasn't even close to the biggest guy," Eitzmann recalled. "Everything was going so much faster."

But the athletic Eitzmann quickly adjusted to the rigors of Division I football. In 1995, his rookie season, he earned his first varsity letter by spending his time on special teams. He became the first player from Nebraska to letter for the Crimson since 1960.

"As a freshman, I was a skinny guy who just ran around and didn't know anything about technique," Eitzmann said. "I basically just ran around and tried to hit people."

Later that year, he won the Most Improved Award among tight ends, but a right hamstring injury suffered during the second game of the 1996 season tied him to the bench for most of his sophomore year.

In 1997, Eitzmann finally became the impact player that Murphy and his recruiting staff had hoped would emerge with time and experience under his belt. He helped the Crimson to compile a 9-1 record and win the Ivy title that year by pulling in thirteen catches during the season, including four for touchdowns.

During that breakout season, Eitzmann's talents on the field go the attention of the Harvard coaching staff. At 6'4, he is a powerful tight end who possesses great speed for his size and strong blocking skills. In addition to his outstanding athleticism, he is remarkably agile and uses his tall frame and steady hands to reel in difficult passes.

After a successful season in 1997, Eitzmann then took the spring semester off, choosing to work on the trading desk at Hellman, Jordan Management, Inc. in Boston.

"I lived with Brendan Bibro [last year's captain] when I took a semester off," Eitzmann said. "He taught me so many things about what it means to be a great player, how to fight, how to be a leader, how hard to work."

Eitzmann returned to campus with the goal of winning the Ivy. As captain of this year's squad, his vocal leadership in the locker room and on the field has been one reason why the Crimson was in the hunt for so long.

"He's just an inspiration to me," senior split end Terence Patterson said of Eitzmann. "He'll yell at me when I drop a pass, and he'll yell at himself when he drops a pass. I really admire him because of his leadership and also because of his ability. He's like 6'4 and 250 pounds, and sometimes, he plays like a wide receiver, and sometimes, he'll play like he's Mike Clare, who's 300 pounds. He's just a great leader."