Five practices into spring ball, the contest to succeed departing senior Ryan Fitzpatrick as Harvard’s starting quarterback is underway.

Well, sort of.

Of the five candidates in the running to assume the signal-calling mantle, only one—freshman Liam O’Hagan—is both healthy and currently enrolled at the College. His classmate, Chris Pizzotti, has been sidelined by a back injury and will likely not return to practice until the fall. The other three contenders, for their part, have yet to matriculate.

To combat the arms shortage, Crimson coach Tim Murphy has restored sophomore Mike Jones—who had been converted to wide receiver in the off-season—to his former position in order to provide a second-string quarterback.

Fitzpatrick has also been called upon to throw at times, Murphy said.

“We had to draft him just for that reason,” Murphy said. “We at least needed some help during drills.”

With the spotlight all to himself for now, O’Hagan—Fitzpatrick’s backup at season’s end—has performed admirably thus far, adjusting nicely to the increased responsibility despite a host of injuries on the offensive side of the ball that have retarded the unit’s progress, according to Murphy.

“Liam in his pads looks like a clone of Fitzy,” sophomore Corey Mazza said. “He throws an incredible ball. I think he’s improved every practice, every day.”

That said, O’Hagan’s play has certainly not eliminated either Pizzotti or any of the three newcomers from consideration come September.

“There’s no question at this point that there’s going to be competition from the young guys,” Murphy said. “It’s wide open, but it’s exciting. Probably not as much fun as having Fitzy back, but as Rick Pitino would say, ‘Fitzy’s not walking through that door.’”

MIXED BLESSING

Mazza—who underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left thumb on Feb. 9—returned to the field on the first day of practice at full-strength and well-ahead of schedule, participating in contact drills that he’d initially been projected to miss for the duration of spring ball.

But his speedy recovery proved to be a mixed blessing Wednesday, when he hurt his shoulder falling on the ground after a tackle—an injury that will sideline him for at least a week, Murphy said.

“It was just the second day of contact,” Mazza said. “I’ve been wearing a cast and then to hurt my shoulder like that—it’s just frustrating.”

Mazza is just the latest member of Harvard’s depleted receiving corps to be felled by an off-season ailment. Freshman Joe Murt and senior Rodney Byrnes, who returned to the team this semester after a one-year hiatus, are both currently inactive with hamstring injuries as well.