The Harvard Crimson COMMENCEMENT 2023
JULIAN J. GIORDANO—CRIMSON PHOTOGRAPHER
By JACK SILVERS
A
CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
fter four years of being called to step up for Harvard football on Saturdays, Truman L. Jones ’22 -’23 and senior Aidan P. Borguet ’23 were hoping to hear their names called in a different way last month so that they might play football on Sundays instead. While that wish didn’t come true during the National Football League’s (NFL) draft in Kansas City, their broader goal of playing football on the world’s biggest stage is still alive. As they have in the past, the two former Crimson stars will simply take the road less traveled. Jones — an Atlanta, Ga. native and de-
NFL Dreams in Sight for Truman Jones & Aidan Borguet
fensive end who graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering last December — signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs the day the draft ended and will compete for a roster spot as the summer goes on. Meanwhile, Borguet — the engine of Harvard’s offense this past season and a finalist for the Walter Payton Award (the “Heisman of the FCS”) — was invited to multiple NFL teams’ rookie camps and is hoping to sign with a team in need of support in the run game. Tim Murphy, the Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, pointed to both players’ intangibles as an essential part of their journey to where they are today. “Their overall character transcended what people thought was the limit on their
32 PAGE DESIGN BY TOBY R. MA—CRIMSON DESIGNER
ability and because of that, they got better and better every year, to the point where now they would fit in on any NFL preseason roster,” Murphy said. For Jones, as he begins his professional career with the Chiefs, he’ll be able to draw on his experience working his way up a depth chart. After starring in high school for Westminster, where he won state championships in football and lacrosse, Jones was recruited into Murphy’s program as an outside linebacker. After seeing action in just three games as a freshman, Jones moved to defensive end and found immediate success as a sophomore. Despite being set back in his development by the Covid-19 pandemic and having a down year as a junior in 2021, Jones rediscovered the “prove-yourself” mentality he had in 2019, leaving it all on the field in
2022. Jones recorded 40 tackles, six sacks, and three blocked kicks for the Crimson last season, and continued to display a skill that’s been evident in his character since high school: leadership. After captaining his Westminster squad in 2017, Jones served as the 148th team captain in Harvard football history. Because he took the fall semester of 2020 off, Jones graduated last December and was able to return to Atlanta after the season to train and be with his family for the draft. However, he still describes that week as a whirlwind: after going undrafted during the day on Saturday, April 29, Jones received the call from the Chiefs that night, and news of his signing made the rounds among NFL scouts the following day. Within a week, Jones had flown out to
