According to Murphy, the strategy this year is to share the ball as much as possible, making it difficult for an opposing defense to sit on one player and eliminate him as an option.

“The nice thing is [that] one of the challenges we have, which is a really good challenge, is getting everybody their touches,” Murphy said. “We feel like we have to get Paul ‘X’ amount of touches, but…we’re going to do whatever is best for the team.”

Last season, Harvard’s offense maintained a balanced attack, scoring 23 touchdowns through the air and 21 on the ground.

This year, Stanton will play a vital role and provide many scoring opportunities for the team, just as he did last season.

“We pride ourselves on being able to run the ball, so Pauly will definitely be a key aspect of our offense, especially with our very experienced offensive line that make sure they get done whatever they need to get done,” Hayes said.

—Staff writer Ariel Smolik-Valles can be reached at asmolikvalles@college.harvard.edu.