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Friday, November 3, 2000

Crimson’s
Rose blooms in
Ivy League

Former Pac-Five quarterback
is making history at Harvard after
hard off-season training

---

By Ken H. Kakesako
Special to the Star-Bulletin

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Sometimes you find a bit of Hawaii in the unlikeliest of places.

At Harvard University, junior Neil Rose, a 1998 University High School graduate and one-time Pac-Five quarterback, is making his mark as the eighth-ranked quarterback in the nation.

Harvard (4-3) remains in a four-way tie for first at 3-1 in the Ivy League with Yale, Penn and Cornell. Last Saturday, the Crimson trounced the Big Green of Dartmouth, 49-7, on a cold blustery day in Hanover, N.H.

The 20-year-old Rose, who is averaging 279.7 rushing and passing yards a game, is ranked 10th in the country in total offense. He is well on his way to an impressive comeback season in the Ivy League after sitting out last year with an injury.

After last weekend's game against Dartmouth -- Division 1-AA's seventh most-played rivalry -- Rose has completed 138 of 223 passes for 1,805 yards, including 11 touchdowns. He has been intercepted only four times.

He is on the verge of setting Harvard's individual records in overall passing yards, total plays, total offense, pass attempts and pass completions.

The Crimson was ranked eighth nationally in total offense (463.3 yards per game) last week and may set a school record for yards in a season (4,236 set in 1997).

At Pac-Five, the 210-pound Rose earned a number of accolades, including Hawaii state records for completions in a game (31) and passing yards in a game (432) -- all against Leilehua in 1997. That same year he tied the mark for completions in a season (182). Iolani's Brian Ah Yat tossed the same number (182) in 1993. During the 1997 season, Rose led the state in total offense.

It was this performance on the Pac-Five team that caught the eye of recruiters from Harvard. Making the decision to leave the islands was a tough one for Rose, but when asked why he chose to travel so far away from home, he said Harvard "was the best place for sports and academics."

Moving to Cambridge meant readjusting to an entirely different lifestyle. Leaving his family and friends, Rose made the difficult transition to college life away from home.

The weather played the most significant factor: trading the warm shores of Hawaii for the frigid winters of the northeastern seaboard, and there was nothing that Rose missed more than an ono plate lunch from L&L Drive- Inn.

The transition to college-level football came as a surprise. Football required more than just two hours on the practice field.

There were hours spent in the mornings lifting weights and conditioning. Hours spent memorizing plays from a two-inch thick playbook. Hours spent in countless meetings, watching game films and scouting other team's defenses.

"College football is more of a mental game," said the 6-foot-3 Rose, an economics major. "You can't just go out on the field unprepared. You have to have a game plan."

Running an offense at the Division I-AA level is no easy matter. The Crimson run a spread offense that is multiple in nature.

It is both power and option football and much of the responsibility lies on the shoulder of the quarterback. The quarterback must know each play thoroughly. He must be able to read the defense to make any last-minute adjustments on the line.

Having missed his sophomore year because of a broken right foot, Rose didn't return to the islands and spent this past summer preparing himself.

"He was very focused this summer," Harvard offensive line coach Jay Mills said of Rose. "He was working out every day, getting ready for the season."

Wearing No. 16, Rose had thrown only six varsity passes prior to the start of this season.

In his first start in September against Brown, Rose threw for a Crimson record 412 yards as he helped Harvard sweep past the Bears, 42-37.

After a 42-19 win over Lafayette on Sept. 30, Rose won the Gold Helmet Award as the New England I-AA player of the week when he threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others.

In a win against Lehigh on Oct. 14, Rose became Harvard's first quarterback to post three 300-yard passing games in a career.

Described as a leader both on and off the field by his coach, Mills said Rose is "one of the most driven individuals that I have ever met: committed to being the best for himself and his team."

Rose's impeccable work ethic and drive for excellence is reflected in his performance this year. He has thrown for 1,805 yards, which gives him the fourth-best single season in school history. And he is just 330 yards away from setting a Harvard record with three more games to go -- against Columbia, Penn and Yale.

He is now 16th in the country in pass efficiency (142.6 percent rating). In leading the Crimson's victory over Princeton on Oct. 21, Rose hit on 25 of 36 passing attempts, throwing three touchdowns with no interceptions.