Ferrara shines in the spotlight

Vin Ferrara knew when he came to Harvard in 1991 that three-year starting quarterback Mike Giardi and all his school records would be gone one day. Ferrara not only knew it, he looked forward to it. He would be the leader of the Crimson. Finally, everything would rest on his shoulders. What he did not know was his shoulders -- his right one, anyway -- would not be as capable of bearing that burden as he had imagined. The injury, sustained in a lacrosse game in the spring of 1992, didn't even seem that bad at the time, but the diagnosis was ominous: torn cartilage. The pain was bearable enough for Ferrara to take a few throws that summer. He soon had to face the fact the ball just would not be going where he wanted it to go anytime soon. That was a difficult proposition for the New Jersey native to comprehend. Ever since he was eight years old, Ferrara had gotten the ball to go wherever he wished. "They stuck me in at quarterback on my little league team because I was taller than everybody else, and I've just been there ever since.?To all of a sudden not be able to play anymore was difficult to take," he said. Playing was out of the question, so Ferrara sat out his sophomore season. After a whole year on the sidelines, Ferrara craved action. He didn't get it. Giardi had already established himself as one of the great quarterbacks in Crimson history. The 1993 season was almost like another year off. "My arm was very weak from the injury and the long layoff, and it needed tons of work to get stronger," he said. "I just didn't get any at all." He attempted only 12 passes during the season, his first dose of varsity competition, and stewed on the bench. Looking back on it, though, Ferrara considers the injury a blessing in disguise. "I've worked on my fundamentals so much more since the injury, which has helped a lot," he said. "Plus, it's given me that extra year." Which was key, because 1994 was a big question mark. As if a quarterback with no starting experience at the helm of a youth-laden offense was not enough, 23-year coaching legend Joe Restic had bid the Crimson farewell at the end of the 1993 season. In his place came former Cincinnati Bearcats coach Tim Murphy, who brought a system featuring traditional dropback passing to replace Restic's multiflex. It is a style of play the redshirt junior is still struggling to get used to. But he was nevertheless pleased with the change. "Coach Restic loved [Giardi], that's the only way I can put it," Ferrara said. "But with the new coach coming in, it wasn't as if I had to replace Mike in coach Restic's eyes. It was a new start for everybody." With a new coach and young players, most figured 1994 would be a rebuilding year. Then came the season opener in New York against an improved Columbia team. Making his first-ever varsity start, Ferrara was 22 of 35 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns. With the Crimson trailing 32-31 in the closing minutes, Ferrara led an 83-yard march right through the Lion defense. He capped it off with a four-yard run for the winning score with 21 seconds left. For his efforts, he was named the Ivy League's Offensive Player of the Week. "For a quarterback making his first varsity start to have that kind of performance, it helped his confidence and the confidence of the entire team immensely," Murphy said. Inevitably, expectations were raised beyond what they probably should have been. The following week's game against Bucknell brought everyone back down to earth. The Bison confused Ferrara with a variety of different looks, pressuring him into all sorts of mistakes. The result was a 42-23 Bucknell romp despite a huge time-of-possession advantage for the Crimson. Ferrara was disappointed, but he knew such a performance was bound to happen eventually. "They threw a lot of different looks at us and I just wasn't prepared for it, experience-wise," he said. "It's hard to be a senior and not really have played in three years. It's really harder than coming in as a freshman, because you've been stagnant." Once he got significant experience, Ferrara quickly went from stagnant to stardom. Currently he is the league leader in total offense, with 193.6 yards per game. The first-year starter may very well be on pace to be the quarterback on the first-team all-Ivy squad. His league-high two Offensive Player of the Week awards attest to that. The second came two weeks ago at Dartmouth, when Ferrara and company blistered the Big Green. Harvard cruised to a surprising 35-12 win. "Everything just came together," Ferrara said. "It's really a cliche, but whenever everyone around you plays well, you do as well." There are still times when the shoulder gives him trouble, when he throws the ball short and thinks how three years ago he could have put those extra couple of yards on it. But for the most part, he is very pleased with how everything has worked out. Vin Ferrara is playing for a coach he likes in a system he is comfortable with, leading a team on the rise.