Monday, January 19, 2015
When Dan Moody arrived on campus at Harvard University in Boston, the football coaches gave him a survival guide of sorts on how to make it as a Division I Ivy League student-athlete.
“Your life at Harvard is made up of football, school and a social life,” Moody recalled of the message. “If you want to be good at all three, you can only do two in a given day.
“That’s something that I found to be very-much true.”
Moody, a 2012 graduate and valedictorian of Howland High School, was a two-way player for the Tigers and named team captain his senior year.
He was recruited at a few different positions and held offers from Harvard, Cornell and Butler. Moody found a home at Harvard and then eventually at defensive end for Crimson football team.
“It’s a lot more fun, I think, to be out there hitting people as opposed to just putting a bunch of weight on and blocking, which honestly was probably my forte in high school,” he said.
For a kid that excelled academically and athletically in high school, Moody quickly realized Harvard was full of student-athletes just like him. He was going to have to work a little harder if he wanted to stand out.
“I felt I came in prepared, maybe not for the details of the academic rigors you’ll face, but aware school is going to be hard,” Moody said. “I think, for me, maybe the hardest part was just kind of understanding you need to regulate yourself.”
A gym rat in high school, Moody turned into a film rat in college. He often found himself studying tape of upcoming opponents by himself during his off hours. Mornings before practice, after classes in the afternoon — looking for that extra edge.
“I never anticipated that I would watch the amount of film that I watch now that I’m a college player,” Moody said. “It’s probably five or six hours a week just on film study.
“That’s maybe what you would say is the hard stuff, but it’s what I’ve come to enjoy.”
He also enjoys school work — which some would argue is a requirement to just make it at Harvard. Moody is an economics major. When asked what the most-difficult class he’s taken to this point was?
“Econometrics,” he said.
“You’re pretty much handed an excel sheet that has 10,000 data points and you have to run progressions to create a model.
“That was probably the hardest I’ve taken up to this point.”
And if it wasn’t obvious from the academic requirements to get into Harvard, athletes get no special treatment from professors. That’s why his coaches’ message when he first arrived was critical to his success.
“The student-athletes at Harvard, we’re not really looking for a break,” Moody said. “It’s people that take school pretty seriously and kids are going to take their academics seriously.
“They’re not going to bank on favoritism from a teacher or just a little nudge on the grades.”
This year, ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcasted from Harvard’s campus the Saturday of its rivalry game against Yale. It was a special event for two schools that don’t play prime-time games in front of 100,000 fans. One could argue they’re the definition of student athletes, since the Ivy League doesn’t give athletic scholarships.
“It was memorable to say the least,” Moody said. “We had Kirk Herbstreit and some of those guys at practice on Thursday.
“And we have some traditions that go along with that game for the seniors to make their last week as part of the active Harvard football family special for them.”
The Crimson sold out Harvard Stadium and, as Moody’s been told, the scene outside the stadium leading up to the game electric was as well.
“It’s just great to have that huge environment with a loud, noisy crowd,” he said.
Moody is on track to graduate in May 2016. He hopes the immediate future holds another undefeated Ivy League championship season. Beyond that, he’s prepared for whatever challenge is next.
“My goal is to get into management consulting,” said Moody, who’s really enjoyed his time in the Boston-area.
He has one more season on the football field and a whole list of goals he’s set out to achieve. Moody would rather not think about the end of his playing days just yet. He still has work to do.
“It’s definitely a strange thought and notion to confront,” said Moody, who’s played football since he was 6 years old.
“It’s been a huge part of my life and, honestly, it’s a huge part of who I am and my identity.
“It’s going to be strange to one day be playing my last Harvard-Yale game and the next day being an ex-athlete.”
On the bright side, he will have not only survived as an Ivy League student-athlete — he will have excelled.