Anchoring the Crimson defense up front will be junior defensive end Zach Hodges, who is coming off of a first-team All-Ivy season in which he registered nine sacks. Hodges had a productive offseason and has shown no signs of slowing down, recovering two fumbles against San Diego and returning one for a touchdown.

Joining Hodges on the line are Nnamdi Obukwelu and his brother Obum, a junior, along with seniors Jack Dittmer and Austin Taylor. All of them have the ability to make stops at the line of scrimmage.

Harvard also returns a bevy of experienced players in the secondary, including senior D.J. Monroe and junior Norman Hayes. The two defensive backs combined for 20 tackles and an interception in the season opener.

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t have a tremendous secondary this year, because we’ve never had more leadership and we’ve never had more quality players competing for playing time,” Murphy said.

When it comes down to it, this season will be one of change. Although the Crimson has the potential for success on offense and defense, only time will tell if all the question marks will be replaced by check marks.

“It’s going to have to be a team effort,” Nnamdi Obukwelu said. “Coach Murphy has a great system in place…. The machine keeps running no matter who’s in the position to play in it.”

An Ivy League championship eluded last year’s squad, but a new conference season kicks off Saturday against Brown under the bright lights of Harvard Stadium. And there is little doubt the Crimson’s gaze is fixed solely on bringing the Ancient Eight title back to Cambridge.

“Every field is our field, plain and simple,” Hodges said. “Every stadium is our home turf. We adapt to wherever we go. We like it rowdy, we like it dirty, we like it tough. Nothing that comes easy is worth it. We want it.”

—Staff writer David Steinbach can be reached at david.steinbach@thecrimson.com.