But Warner Ross isn’t the only member of the football extended family serving his country. Former wide receiver Corey Mazza ’07-’08 and former defensive tackle Matt Drazba ’08 are both training for the Marine Corps.
For the members of the football team, the military regimen and the blue-collar mindset translates to destructive execution on the football field.
“[It] builds character on top of everything else,” Ehrlich says.
Ross, like many on this year’s squad, feels at home in the environment Murphy has created for the team. The competitiveness and intensity required for each player to receive a much-coveted hat are not far off from his daily interactions at home.
“My family’s very competitive,” Ross says. “Once we start something, we never quit it.”
Murphy stressed Harvard’s resilience all year long, and for a team that dealt with crippling injuries and major personnel overhauls and still came away with a 6-1 league record, the hats seem a fitting remnant of the 2009 Crimson football squad that never quit.
—Staff writer Dixon McPhillips can be reached at fmcphill@fas.harvard.edu.