CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard football senior Jack McGowan and assistant coach Jon Poppe were both recognized by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston late Friday night. McGowan was the recipient of the Bulger Lowe Award, while Poppe was named the Assistant Coach of the Year.
 
A native of Canton, McGowan was the defensive honoree for the Bulger Lowe Award, which is presented to the best players on offense and defense at the FBS/FCS level and is the nation's second-oldest nationally recognized college football award, trailing only the Heisman Trophy.
 
McGowan, who was a first-team all-Ivy League selection this season, posted 50 tackles, including 7.0 for a loss and one sack, to go with a pair of interceptions, four pass breakups and two quarterback hurries. The senior will go into the Bulger Lowe Award record book with the 2021 offensive recipient, Brown quarterback E.J. Perry.
 
Poppe, meanwhile, was named the top assistant at the FBS/FCS level after coaching Harvard's secondary and special teams. In his fourth season of his second stint in Cambridge (eighth season overall), Poppe helped Alex Washington and Jonah Lipel earn all-Ivy first-team accolades and guided James Herring to a spot on the second team.
 
Washington led the Crimson with four interceptions and Lipel set the school single-season record with 15 field goals, while also averaging 59.1 yards on kickoffs. Herring was menace on defense, ranking second on the team with 69 tackles and picking off three passes. The senior also created havoc on special teams with his two blocked punts.
 
Poppe helped Harvard finish its regular season ranked among the nation's best in several categories. Following its win at Yale in the 137^th playing of The Game, the Crimson ranked in the top 20 in rushing defense (1^st), team sacks (2^nd), passes intercepted (3^rd), turnover margin (3^rd), fourth-down conversion percentage defense (3^rd), team passing efficiency defense (4^th), team tackles for loss (6^th), third-down conversion percentage defense (6^th), scoring defense (7^th), red zone defense (10^th), turnovers gained (10^th), blocked punts (12^th), total defense (14^th), first-downs defense (16^th), blocked kicks (20^th) and kickoff returns (20^th).
 
Harvard finished the 2021 campaign with an 8-2 record and a 5-2 mark in the Ivy League. The Crimson's eight victories were its most since 2015.