The surgery, no matter how deflating, left that now-instinctual command of the field intact—and a single purpose for Thomas.

“In the year and a half away,” senior linebacker Bobby Everett said, “he was just itching to get back if he was healthy.”

So he worked. He lived in the fitness center during the summers in Cambridge, staying to put in the rehabilitation time he knew he’d need to match the acumen he’d so carefully cultivated with Balestracci.

Thomas had added weight while his foot put him out of commission. He needed additional strength and to restore at least his prior conditioning level. He had had a secure spot on the roster prior to the injury, but he didn’t see it quite that way any more.

“I had been out for a year,” Thomas said. “Other guys had been working their butts off for that position. But I saw it more as something where I had to get back into the groove and feel comfortable with this defense and feel comfortable with my new body—I had to lose some weight and get comfortable with my foot.”

The training paid huge dividends. Thomas added much-needed upper body strength while becoming even more explosive on the ground, a combination he says gives him the confidence and capacity to tackle even the most lopsided mismatches head on.

According to Thomas, that strength is utilized well in certain Harvard defensive sets, when a defensive end will drop back off the line, leaving him as a roving linebacker-defensive lineman hybrid who won’t hesitate to challenge a much heavier offensive lineman, often with favorable results, despite his limited background.

But, his skill aside, Thomas’ glaring lack of experience against the sort of competition he’ll see in a game setting might tempt some to mark him with an asterisk, if not overlook him altogether.

Those who engage in such folly do so at their own peril, as the Columbia Lions, whom Harvard scrimmaged two weekends ago, would likely agree.

“He was,” Murphy said, “the best player on the field [versus] Columbia two weeks ago,” an endorsement unconditionally echoed by Everett.

Whether anyone will be wise enough to take notice, however, remains to be seen. If they don’t, choosing to focus on Everett, as many keyed on Balestracci last year, several coaches figure to be left scratching their heads—and opposing quarterbacks lying on the turf.

“I’m sure since I’ve never played in a game before—I wasn’t even on the roster a couple of weeks ago—I’m assuming they’re going to look a lot at [Everrett] and adjust their game plan more towards him,” Thomas said. “That may leave me more open on certain plays. I’m going to go, fly around and make some tackles....As the season progresses things will change.”

And so too may Thomas’ label, from untested to—the Crimson hopes—irreplaceable.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.