The sun beat down on Harvard Stadium last Friday afternoon and Eric Westerfield charged across midfield, barking to his troops as he ordered them to line up for team photos by home state.

Aside from being the most energetic man on the field—save for one freshman linebacker who preened for a suprisingly attentive photographer—Westerfield also looked completely at home. The new Crimson defensive line coach ordered around his troops with the authority and ease of someone who had been around Harvard football for years.

Coordinating a photo shoot and directing the front line of an Attack Eight formation are two entirely different animals. Still, fans of the Crimson can only hope that the team’s revamped defensive line finds a comfort level just as swiftly. The defensive line that shut down opposing teams on the ground and in the fourth quarter during the 2001 undefeated campaign has lost all four of its starters.

Marc Laborsky ’02, the left end who led the Ivy League in sacks and was a unanimous All-Ivy selection, is gone, as are former captain Ryan FitzGerald ’02, Phil Scherrer ’02 and Kyle Sims ’02. Graduation decimated a unit that held opposing rushers to 3.3 yards per carry on the ground, meaning that four newcomers will be thrust to the forefront.

“Newcomers” is a misleading word. Newcomers to the spotlight, perhaps, but not to playing Harvard football. And that, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy has pointed out, makes a difference.

“We’re not playing freshmen. The kids up from will at least be juniors and seniors,” Murphy said last week. “From that standpoint, we will have high expectations even though we don’t have the luxuries of last year’s starters. They’re not particularly young guys. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they’re not very experienced.”

“Not very” experienced doesn’t mean that players like seniors Mike Armstrong, Jesse Brush and Pat Lavin have not enjoyed meaningful series in the past. Armstrong was a regular at defensive end last year, and saw big minutes in the fourth quarter in several crucial games, registering four tackles in the title-clinching bout against Penn. Brush made 11 tackles last year as part of the defensive tackle rotation, and Lavin saw action in seven games.

These three and sophomore Brandon McCafferty, the preseason starter at right tackle, will be asked to lead a unit that, given its inexperience, some might find ill-equipped to establish a decent pass rush and continue the Crimson’s recent history of being among the best teams against the run.