Boy

CHERRY TWP — Two years ago, Moniteau football coach Jeff Campbell came across someone special: Jacob Boy.

"I saw a respectful kid with a good work ethic and a willingness to learn," Campbell said.

He's been productive on the field and in the classroom as well. That combination resulted in Boy signing a letter of intent Wednesday with Ivy League power Harvard University.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Boy carries a 4.0 grade-point average and will major in biology.

He plans to play as a freshman with the Crimson.

"They don't redshirt in the Ivy League," Boy said. "I've always had confidence in my abilities. I'm hoping I can get out there right away and contribute."

Recruited as an outside linebacker, Boy set a Moniteau record his junior season with 22 sacks. He was limited to six sacks as a senior after opponents avoided his side of the defense.

Boy made 114 tackles over the past two years.

"Jacob has tremendous instincts," Campbell said. "He's an intelligent player who recognizes things on the field and makes adjustments.

"He's the type of kid where you tell him something once and he gets it."

Harvard finished 7-3 last season and is on a streak of nine straight seasons of at least seven victories — the only Ivy League football program to do that.

The Crimson haven't been this consistently successful in football since a 28-season string of seven-plus victories ended in 1911.

"They've won three Ivy League championships recently and lost to Penn in the championship game this year," Boy said. "Some of the players told me the game was played in a monsoon."

Boy said it was the Harvard players and the atmosphere of the school, located in Cambridge, Mass., near Boston, that ultimately convinced him to go.

"At first, I was against it," Boy admitted when Harvard first contacted him. "The area was different from what I was used to and I had this stereotyped image of a bunch of rich kids going there.

"When I visited, though, everybody I met was tremendous.

"Change can be good in life. I grew up in the country. Now, I'm going to experience life in a big city, and I think it will be good for me," he added.

Dartmouth, Bowling Green and numerous PSAC West schools were courting Boy, who said he never narrowed his list of options.

"Once I visited Harvard, I was sold," he said. "A Harvard degree can go a long way. I just want to learn as much as I can while I'm there."

Harvard coach Tim Murphy has graduated every one of his four-year players during his 16 years as head coach. Murphy has a 104-55 record with five Ivy League titles.