Harvard senior running back Paul Stanton Jr. has played in 35 games over the course of his college career, and at each one of them, Paul Stanton Sr. has been watching from the stands.

For each weekend, Stanton Sr. leaves from Kenner, La. on Thursday or Friday and returns on Sunday or Monday, depending if the game is home or away. In between he has the privilege of watching one of the most prolific rushers in Harvard history add to his career totals.

“He was always my coach growing up,” Stanton Jr. said. “I’d get upset about it sometimes, but that’s really why I think I did so well playing sports when growing up. He was always there to motivate me."

That motivation has paid dividends, as Stanton ranks second in Crimson history with 38 career touchdowns and fourth with 2,832 rushing yards. He has held the starter’s role since sophomore year and missed only one game in the past three years despite a long list of nicks and injuries.

Rushing records, a reputation for durability, and even a Harvard uniform would have appeared foreign six or so years ago, when Stanton was a Louisiana prospect with a far-off dream of attending LSU or Tulane.

Sandwiched between two sisters with athletic accomplishments of their own, Stanton grew up playing pretty much any sport he encountered—soccer, basketball, baseball, and yes, football. That all-athletic equilibrium remained constant until sophomore year, when Stanton had to make a choice between football and basketball.

Despite his father’s personal love of basketball, the decision came easily.

“I was kind of skinny and underweight,” Stanton said. “And I just loved football a lot more.”

But that no-brainer commitment engendered more difficult decisions down the wire. In particular, Stanton had to choose a college.

Despite eye-popping speed, Stanton said that he hardly considered Ivy League football as a possibility; it wasn’t until a pair of Ancient Eight coaches showed up to a spring ball game that Stanton began to take the possibility seriously.

The running back only came to Harvard’s attention by chance, when Stanton was attending a recruiting camp at Brown and heard a tip from senior David Trompke—then a fellow prospect, now a track runner for the Crimson—that Harvard was holding its own camp about an hour away.

Although Stanton was tired and sore, his father urged him to attend, and the pair showed up up without an invitation. That anonymity did not last long, especially after Stanton ran a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

“[My dad] saw what a great opportunity it was,” Stanton said. “Without him, I honestly don’t know if I’d be here.”

Soon enough, Harvard coaches took notice, letters began to arrive in the mail, and Stanton arrived on campus, ready to battle for a second-string position. From these early days onward, entrenched senior starter Treavor Scales proved to be a formative influence.

“He really showed me what a Harvard football player was and what it was like to be a leader on the team,” Stanton said. “I owe a lot to him.”