For most of the time they’ve spent in the trenches on Harvard’s defensive line, James Duberg and Doug Webb never considered themselves big talkers.
“I like to talk with my pads,’’ Duberg said.
They weren’t necessarily the loudest on the defense, but together the two tackles were a force that clogged up gaps and shut down opponents’ rushing attacks.
They didn’t have to be the ones barking orders last season, because the Crimson had veteran leaders such as linebacker Matt Koran and defensive back Scott Peters to make sure the machine that was one of the best FCS defenses in the country always was well-oiled.
But when Harvard opened preseason camp this summer, most of the veterans on a defense that helped the Crimson win a third straight Ivy League title last season were gone. Harvard lost seven seniors, and even though the team reloaded with talent and depth, it was still young.
Duberg could feel the difference.
“Early on, there was a void in vocal leadership and it became pretty apparent that that void needed to be filled,’’ he said.
Crimson coach Tim Murphy made it clear that if the Crimson were going to have any success, the defensive line was going to have to fill that void.
“Coach Murphy mentioned multiple times, ‘Guys, it’s a younger group, we just need more vocal leadership,’’’ Webb said.
From that moment, their voices got louder and louder.
“James would say a few more things here and there, I would say a few more things here and there, just building off each other and realizing it’s us that needs to step up,’’ Webb said. “So we kind of fed off of each other.’’
They found themselves staying later after practice to watch film, coming in early to meet with coaches to go over the game plan, and making sure everyone knew their role.
“I think that it was honestly a mutual understanding,’’ Duberg said. “We kind of just realized that we have to step up to the occasion. We both did what was required of us and kind of took it head on.’’
As the season went on, they could see the younger players trusting their voices more and more.
“It was going to take some time, coming straight out of high school for some of these guys, to try to learn a whole new defense,’’ Webb said. “But over the weeks they’ve just figured it out and they’ve really risen up and taken the coaching points to heart and it’s definitely showed on the field.’’
The result has been a Crimson defense ranked 21th in the country in scoring defense and rushing yards allowed, holding teams to 21 points per game and 92 rushing yards.
Between Duberg, Webb, and defensive ends Langston Ward and DJ Bailey, the foundation of the Crimson defense has been its four linemen. As seniors, Duberg, Webb, and Ward all emerged as leaders on a Crimson team looking to capture at least a share of its fourth straight Ivy League championship with a win over Yale in their season finale on Saturday.
“It really fell upon the defensive line to sort of accept the responsibility of rebuilding our defense,’’ Murphy said.
No two personalities are alike on the defensive line, Murphy said, but together, they’ve been the team’s rock.
“Langston Ward is the very outgoing personality,’’ said Murphy. “James Duberg and Doug Webb are very sort of silent-but-deadly type guys. but they all play with passion and that’s the key. Whatever your personality is, you’ve got to practice with passion, you’ve got to play with passion, and that’s something that those guys have done and that’s set a great tone for the defense.’’
Bailey, just a sophomore, leads the team with six sacks. Webb has 27 tackles and two sacks. But with 27 tackles and 4.5 sacks Duberg’s been the heart of the line.
“He’s a monster,’’ Murphy said. “First of all he can play anywhere. He’s a tremendously gifted kid for an inside player, a defensive tackle. At 280-285 pounds, he has such great quickness. He’s great at block destruction and then he can come right back in the run game with sort of a pass rush move to block evade. So a blocker’s really struggling with what he’s going to get from James. Is it going to be just power? Is it going to be a move? He’s been at times unblockable in our league this year. I certainly think he’s one of the top candidates for defensive player of the league.’’
Murphy’s philosophy always has been that success starts up front. Since 2008, the Crimson have held 35 of their last 58 Ivy League opponents under 100 rushing yards.
Duberg said the defensive line takes pride in being a wall that teams can’t run through.
“What we do have is a bunch of guys who all love to play football, we’re here to win championships and we play for each other,’’ Duberg said. “We know that when we all line up, we put our hand on the ground, we look left and right across the line, I know the guy on my left is going to take care of business, I know the guy on my right is going to take care of his business, and I know that I’m not going to be the one to not take care of what I need to. I’m going to do what’s required of me every single play. And I really think that resonates among us.’’
Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.
