At a time when his former teammate, Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05, has emerged as arguably the National Football League’s biggest story, junior running back Clifton Dawson has begun to assess the prospects of joining his former quarterback on the sport’s biggest stage.

Harvard coach Tim Murphy said that he and Dawson have discussed the process of wooing potential NFL suitors, and that the two of them will follow the same approach that got Fitzpatrick noticed following his junior season at Harvard. The two of them will likely put together a highlight reel of Dawson’s most outstanding plays for the Crimson and send it to every NFL team.

But above that, it will be the running back’s hard work and his continued development that will attract attention.

“If he can take the next step as a pass receiver, and I think he took a big step this year, I think he’s got a very good shot,” Murphy said. “NFL teams have to see value. It’s a lot like recruiting—everyone sends tapes—but they have to see something.”

Dawson is coming off a year in which he further solidified his status as the best back in Harvard history and was named the team MVP.

As a junior, he became the first Crimson player ever to have three 1,000 yard rushing seasons, raising his career total to 3,628 yards and becoming the leading rusher in Harvard history.

In the season’s finale against Yale, Dawson also displayed the pass-catching versatility that Murphy believes can attract the attention of pro scouts. In The Game he caught a team-high 10 passes for 85 yards and scored the winning touchdown on a two-yard run in the third overtime.

With the off-season finally here, Dawson is ready to look at what football might hold for him beyond college.

“I just want to become more familiar with the process—so, talking to agents and seeing where I might fall,” he said. “I’ve always been confident that I can play at that level when the time comes.”

IMPORTANT CALL

If Fitzpatrick does indeed build on his success of last week and embark on a prosperous career with the St. Louis Rams, the folks of St. Louis just might owe Murphy a little bit more thanks than they originally thought.

Murphy, who played his college football at Springfield College, called fellow Springfield alum and current Rams quarterback coach, John Ramsdell, in the spring of 2004.

“I called John after Fitzpatrick’s junior year and I said ‘Trust me on this, we have a special player at quarterback. The guy’s got an incredible work ethic,’” Murphy said. “John did call me about a week before the draft and said, ‘Hey, you’re right, we love this guy. We have him down as in the low second round or into the third round.’ But he said ‘We have so many pressing needs and quarterback isn’t one of them.”’

As it turned out, Fitzpatrick slipped farther than expected in the draft and the Rams were able to take him late in the seventh round after many of their other needs had been addressed.

Murphy said he called his former signal-caller after the game last week and told him he was “proud of him and not surprised.”

Fitzpatrick will likely get his first NFL start this weekend.

THOMAS’ TIME TO LEAD

Despite playing with senior eligibility throughout this season, linebacker Matt Thomas will return next year as the team captain. Thomas will be granted a fifth year of medical eligibility by the Ivy League, due to an injury that sidelined him for his entire sophomore campaign.

Thomas was named the 133rd captain in Harvard history by a vote of his teammates at a team dinner before Thanksgiving. As a junior, he led the Crimson in tackles for the second straight year with 69, including three sacks.

Thomas has long been one of the most spirited and vocal members of the team. He can constantly be seen on the sideline pumping up his defensive teammates and shouting directions on the field.

“I think he’s a great captain,” Murphy said. “He’s our toughest, most intense player on defense...He brings, obviously, a great deal of experience and a great deal of credibility.”

Thomas takes over for the graduating captain, Erik Grimm, making it two consecutive defensive captains for Harvard.

—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.