As he adapts to college play, Boden has been focusing on the continued evolution of his identity as a running back.

“I have been trying to be more elusive and not take as many hits,” Boden said. “I don’t like getting hit. I’m not a power running back. I try to make people miss rather than running into them. I’m working on seeing the holes and bursting through.”

Boden has done just that on a number of occasions this season.

The running back has twice been named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week and has rushed for 464 yards and five touchdowns this year.

In Harvard’s game against Lafayette early in the season, he scored his first career touchdown with a 43-yard run and finished with 72 total yards. Last weekend against Penn, Boden scored a touchdown and rushed for 81 yards to help the Crimson win both the matchup and secure the Ivy League title.

It goes without saying that Boden has found and cemented his role on the Harvard team.

“Zach’s biggest strength is probably the fact that it is so hard to tackle him,” said fellow freshman and offensive tackle Will Whitman.  “He is so strong and so hard to bring down. It has really helped our team because even if we don’t have a perfect block, and we just get somebody on the person trying to tackle him, he can break through.”

Even as a young member of the football team, Boden strives to motivate and energize the members of the offense.

“I try to give the offense a spark,” Boden said. “When things are moving slowly, I try to make something happen and just help the team out in whatever way I can. I try to make a big play or get a first down, or break the game open with a big run. When we become kind of stagnant in the mid-second quarter I try to just pick it up and tell everybody ‘let’s go.’”

Murphy says that the next step for Boden will be to become stronger and more physical. His high school coach has no doubt the running back will be able to achieve all his goals.

“The great thing about Zach is that he was blessed with an awful lot of natural ability,” Muschamp said. “But he is one of those kids who still works extremely hard to be the best he can be.  He is very comfortable in his own skin, and he is his own person. He has always been that way.”