If all goes according to plan, Harvard’s under-decorated captain could steer his way to the very top of the school record books. The all-time leading career marks of 41 touchdowns (Fitzpatrick has 26) and .624 completion percentage (.619), both held by Neil Rose ’03, are within range.

Who knows? Maybe Fitzpatrick could even be All-Ivy for the first time, ever.

—ALEX McPHILLIPS

CLIFTON DAWSON

Clifton Dawson has never been “just a running back.” Smashing Ivy freshman records despite limited touches during the first half of last season, his talent as a pure runner is beyond question.

“Everyone,” captain Ryan Fitzpatrick said, “knows he’s a great running back.”

The perfect hybrid of power and speed, Dawson bullies opposing defensive lines before effortlessly bursting past hapless secondaries. He is, on the ground, a touchdown waiting to happen.

But while Dawson’s one-dimensional dominance suffices to earn him the label “great,” his talent, Harvard coach Tim Murphy suspects, extends well-beyond just taking Fitzpatrick’s handoff before plowing full speed ahead.

Unseen by most, Dawson has quietly woven himself into the Crimson’s passing attack. No, holding off a charging linebacker or a blitzing corner isn’t a quantifiable statistic, but the quarterback he’s protecting won’t hold that against him.

“He’s the best pass-blocking running back I’ve ever seen,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s something that kind of came about last year. You’re just not going to get by him.”

But Murphy hopes to extract a little more versatility from one of the Ivy League’s most potent weapons.

“If we can get [Dawson] the ball in simple ways,” Murphy said, “then it’s probably more effective than handing it off when he’s got 11 people trying to chase him down.”

To do that, Murphy has tweaked an offense that thrives on the deep ball by emphasizing several passing plays that will create mismatches for Dawson outside the seven-man box employed by most defenses.

The switch has required Dawson—who has always placed a premium on honing his running skills and thought about catching the ball as an afterthought, if at all—to refocus his effort’s on what is arguably the weakest aspect of his game. But, according to Murphy, the talented speedster has had little trouble softening his hands, no matter what he says.