While Murphy knows he can count on Scales to blow past defenders, he is now looking for his junior running back to prove that he is as talented a blocker and receiver as he is a rusher.

Hoping to live up to his coach’s expectations, Scales spent the summer on campus working on his pass protection, strength, and conditioning.

The results have shown.

“He’s in phenomenal shape,” Murphy said. “He’s more confident; he’s more explosive. He can play seven, eight, nine plays in a row without missing a beat.”

When Scales returned to campus for his sophomore season, it had been a different story. After spending the summer at his home in Georgia, Scales didn’t return to Harvard in ideal physical condition.

“I think coming into his sophomore year, he underestimated what you have to do in the summer,” Murphy said. “He was not ready.”

It showed at the beginning of Scales’ sophomore campaign, as he rushed for just 62 combined yards in the Crimson’s first three contests.

“That is one thing that I do look back on and wish I did change,” said Scales of the summer leading up to his second year. “I wanted to make sure that that never happened again. And I knew one way to guarantee that was if I stayed up here [this past summer].”

So Scales stuck around and hit the weight room, teaming up with senior linebackers Blaise Deal and Alex Gedeon, each of whom has well over 20 pounds on Scales.

“It was just like a Napoleon complex for me—I didn’t want to be outshined by them,” Scales said. “Those guys really pushed me in the weight room this summer, and I thank them for that.”

Scales, currently in what he describes as the best shape of his life, now feels he is ready to take on the duties as the Crimson’s feature running back.

“I’m just going to go into every week looking forward to making sure that I’m playing the very best that I’ve ever played in my entire career,” Scales said.

—Staff writer Martin Kessler can be reached at martin.kessler@college.harvard.edu.