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News Trump Is Probing Harvard’s China-Linked Financial Aid. Here’s What the Numbers Show. News 150 Harvard Alumni Affairs Staff Face Two-Day In-Office Mandate Amid Pushback News Garber Says Tenure Is Needed to Protect Unpopular Speech in D.C. Remarks News Garber Endorses Integrating AI Into Harvard Research and Teaching News Deming, Dozens of Harvard Affiliates Call for Research on AI’s Economic Impact Searching for the program’s fourth straight Ivy League Championship and potential playoff redemption, the Harvard football team has begun to prepare for its 153rd season, with practices starting late last week. Notably absent from the field, however, are the four players who graduated and transferred to Power Four FBS programs, and the sixteen others who graduated in the spring. Luckily for third-year head coach Andrew Aurich, another season of football brings another class of freshmen newcomers. This year, the Crimson’s recruiting class is ranked 144th in Division I according to 247Sports, good for top-10 in the FCS and more than 20 spots ahead of Columbia’s next-best-ranked Ivy League class. Included in the class are three of the school’s top nine highest-rated recruits in program history, including the school’s highest-rated defensive end and running back in the recruiting rankings era. That level of talent is not easy to come by, but after substantial changes to eligibility regulations, Ivy League football is entering a new chapter of recruiting and player management. In June, the NCAA’s Division I Cabinet unanimously voted to adopt an age-based, five-year window of player eligibility beginning with the players’ initial full-time college enrollment or the start of the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. Under the previous eligibility rules, some Harvard players with Power Four aspirations would redshirt their freshman season, before playing three years in the Ivy League and saving a year of eligibility for a graduate transfer. “Because of the opportunity for these guys to have an extra year of football, the vision is to come here, play really well, get your Harvard degree, set yourself up for life after football, then go grad transfer and play Power Four football,” Aurich said. In recent years preceding the eligibility change, a handful of Crimson stars transferred to leading football programs after playing three years with Harvard. After coming in as a historically highly touted recruit and leading the Ivy League in receiving yards, Cooper Barkate ’25 transferred to Duke and then to 2025 National Runner-Up the University of Miami. Then this past year, star quarterback Jaden Craig ’26 transferred to TCU, where he was named the starter ahead of the Big 12 contenders Week Zero matchup in Dublin, Ireland, against Bill Belichick’s University of North Carolina. Aurich acknowledged that a blueprint of high-magnitude transfer opportunities coupled with the value of the school’s education was one of the biggest selling points for Harvard’s top recruits. “There’s a number of guys on the team in the incoming class who saw that vision, and themselves and their family and circle of influence understood the magnitude of the Harvard opportunity as well, and that’s why they ultimately chose to come here,” he said. With eight three-star recruits in the upcoming freshman class, there is a plethora of talent to go around on both sides of the ball. Here are some of the new faces of Harvard football. Mikhal Johnson, DL — Sierra Canyon; Chatsworth, Calif. Johnson is the top recruit in the Crimson’s class of 2030, as the three-star defensive lineman is the program’s fifth-ranked player to enter the program since the 247Sports rankings were introduced in 2010. After recording 10 sacks and 19 tackles for loss in his senior year at Sierra Canyon – one of the premier preparatory schools in Southern California – Johnson had 10 FBS offers, including two from the Big 12. “He’s just a really dynamic, explosive, athletic interior D-lineman similar to what Harvard’s had here for a long time,” Aurich said of Johnson. “He definitely had the skill set of somebody who warranted the offers he had.” Najee Calhoun, RB — Bergen Catholic; Oradell, N.J. Calhoun joined the Crimson as the sixth-best recruit and highest-rated running back in program history. The three-star New Jersey native turned down over a dozen FBS offers — including Boston College and Belichick’s UNC — in order to come to Cambridge. According to Aurich, he’s a serious player who loves to play football, and he’s joining a loaded running back room that’s spurred by the team’s 152nd captain, Xaviah Bascon. “I’m excited to see him as we get going in camp here [and to see] how he matches up with those guys who have already done it for us on Saturdays at Harvard,” Aurich said. Judge Nash, WR — Archbishop Riordan; San Francisco, Calif. Nash enters the program as the highest-rated player in this year’s class, the ninth-best recruit, and third-highest-rated receiver in program history. By accepting an offer from Harvard, the three-star California native turned down offers from over a dozen FBS programs, including Ole Miss, a 2025 College Football Playoff participant ranked ninth in the FBS preseason AP poll. The speedy receiver joins a young receiver core that returns three of its top five leaders in receiving yards, including its leading receiver in junior Brady Blackburn, senior tight end Seamus Gilmartin, and sophomore Ryan Tattersall. “He has this ability to adjust to the balls in the air, great ball skills, really smooth route runner, and has legit speed,” Aurich said. “He’s going to have a lot of opportunities, as well as all of these first-years, to show us that they can help us this year,” he added. Nate Bailey, ATH — St. Joseph Regional; Montvale, N.J. Bailey comes into the program as the 14th-best recruit in program history, and the athlete appears to be slated to join Nash in the receiver room as a slot player. The former North Jersey Player of the Year threatens opponents both via the air and on the ground. In his senior year of high school, he tallied more than 500 receiving yards while also rushing for 295 yards on 56 carries. After slot receiver Cam Henry ’26 graduated in the spring, the rookie’s versatility gives him a chance to make a real difference this fall. “He’s gonna be a good one,” Aurich said. “I could definitely see him creating a role for himself this year, and you will see him on Saturdays helping us out.” While the rankings and offer lists for these recruits often signal a high-caliber player and athlete, by no means are these the only freshmen who will have a chance to garner playing time this season. “There’s a lot of guys who will be helping us this year,” Aurich explained. “There’s a bunch of them who are all really good players, and some of them didn’t have the offers.” “This is one of the best classes I’ve seen, I believe, recruiting in my time, so I’m excited to see them putting more work here,” he added. With the Crimson’s first game not coming until Sept. 19 at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, N.H., the incoming freshmen will have plenty of time to adapt to life on campus and as a Harvard athlete before taking the field for the first time. —Staff writer Connor Castañeda can be reached at [email protected]. —Staff writer Samuel S. Rudavsky can be reached at [email protected]. —Staff writer Maxwell P. Friedman can be reached at [email protected]. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter. Have a tip for The Crimson? Share it confidentially.