The Harvard football team hosted its annual barbecue party on April 30 in the courtyard of one of the Radcliffe Quad’s dorms. The barbecue is a ritual that allows the players to celebrate with each other before the seniors graduate and the underclassmen head back into grueling summer practices.
For seniors Cole Toner, Ben Braunecker, Anthony Fabiano, Scott Hosch, and Adam Redmond, that weekend was when their fates as professional football players would be decided. That was the weekend of the National Football League draft, which is followed by mass signings of unselected players.
Toner had his parents visit from Indiana to learn the results in his dorm room with his close friends. Hosch also decided to stay on campus, and his brother came to town. Braunecker, Fabiano, and Redmond went to their hometowns in Indiana, Massachusetts, and Ohio, respectively, to hear the results with friends and family.
Braunecker joined Hosch, Fabiano, and Redmond in the pool of undrafted free agents. The Chicago Bears snagged Braunecker. The Baltimore Ravens snatched up Fabiano, and Redmond will be joining the Indianapolis Colts.
That balance is what drew these five players to the College and its football program. During their time at Harvard, all five have had to overcome challenges and have risen to the occasion many times over.
This success has come under the leadership of Tim Murphy, the Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football. Since the 1990s, Murphy has had the highest winning percentage of any Harvard football coach.