The Harvard backfield just got a bit more crowded.

With freshmen Liam O’Hagan and Chris Pizzotti already set to compete for the right to replace outgoing senior quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, Murphy has thrown three additional candidates into the mix, highlighted by redshirt freshman and Tulane transfer Richard Irvin, who is set to matriculate in the fall semester.

“It’s as wide open as you can get simply because we don’t have experience,” Murphy said.

While O’Hagan, Fitzpatrick’s backup at season’s end, will probably be considered the frontrunner entering spring workouts, Irvin’s experience may tempt Murphy, who is hesitant to turn over his offense to an unproven signal caller.

In his lone season with the Green Wave, Irvin took snaps in nine of 11 games, starting the final two. During that span, he completed 59 of his 106 attempts for 694 yards and seven touchdowns, five of which came in Tulane’s 35-31 win over Texas Christian University on Nov. 27.

“That’s going to push these other guys. They know they have to work harder,” Mazza said. “It’s not just some guy. It’s a proven player at [the Division I-A] level.”

INSIDE THE HUDDLE

Sophomore quarterback Mike Jones has been shifted to wide receiver to make way for the trio of incoming signal callers...Senior wide receiver Rodney Byrnes, asked to spend a year away from the College for academic reasons, has returned to Cambridge and will participate in spring ball.

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