CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University football senior defensive lineman
Nate Leskovec has gained FedEx Ground Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week, and junior defensive tackle
Thor Griffith has gained honorable mention accolades in the same category following the Crimson's 28-21 comeback win in overtime against Merrimack on Friday night.
Leskovec and Griffith helped catalyze a Harvard defense that limited the Warriors to -26 rushing yards and tied a school record with nine team sacks.
A native of Solon, Ohio, Leskovec registered a school-record 4.5 sacks for a loss of 23 yards, seven tackles – including six solo stops – and two quarterback hurries to help the Crimson rally past Merrimack. Leskovec made a key sack late in the fourth quarter and produced another timely sack in overtime to push the Warriors out of the red zone. Leskovec also gained Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors.
A native of Portsmouth, N.H., Griffith led the Crimson with nine tackles – including four solo stops – and posted 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. His 4.0 tackles for loss resulted in a loss of 26 yards for the Warriors while his 2.0 sacks accounted for 18 lost yards. Griffith recorded a sack on third down that preceded the Crimson's first scoring drive of the fourth quarter before he added a pair of critical half sacks in overtime.
In week two, Harvard plays at Brown on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+) at Brown Stadium in Providence, R.I., in its Ivy League opener.
