Cheng Ho-me in U.S. after tragedy

Some people may be surprised to discover that Harvard running back Cheng Ho was born in Taiwan, which has only produced two NFL players. But that is far from what makes Ho’s story unique.

Though he likely won’t be on the field for Saturday’s contest against Penn — he suffered a probable season-ending injury two weeks ago in practice — Ho will certainly be a motivational presence on the Crimson sideline.

At a young age, Ho’s father died and his mother was institutionalized with schizophrenia. Without anyone to raise him and his sister, the two siblings moved in with their aunt and uncle in Martinez, Ga., when he was only twelve years old.

He could not speak any English and sought out sports as a way to integrate within his new community. Though he had played basketball back home, he had never even heard of football before his eighth grade squad’s try-outs.

But by his junior year of high school, Ho had decided to pursue football at the collegiate level. After declining suggestions to walk on at Georgia and Vanderbilt, he opted to take a prep year at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut before attending Harvard.

Upon arriving in Cambridge, Ho served as a backup to Clifton Dawson — the Ivy League’s career leader in rushing yards — before getting the starting job his sophomore year.

That season, Ho started eight games and racked up 722 yards on the ground, gaining almost five yards per carry. He turned in consecutive 100-yard performances against Princeton, Dartmouth and Columbia and tallied eight touchdowns on the season. In helping to lead Harvard to the 2007 Ivy League Championship, Ho was named second team All-Ivy.

But that would be the peak of his success with the Crimson. Various injuries — including a ruptured blood vessel in his lung — derailed Ho’s junior campaign, as he only played in five games. He made the most of those opportunities, scoring two touchdowns, but his absence coupled with the emergence of current junior Gino Gordon dropped him on the depth chart.

Ho began this year as the third running back on the depth chart and did not see much action in the beginning of the season. But the senior had his swan song Oct. 3 at Lehigh, running for a career-high 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Crimson to a 28-14 victory.

Though Ho is unlikely to take the field again this season, his days around football are likely far from over. He appeared in a September TV series called NFL China which intends to teach people in China about football. After graduation, he hopes to work to help bring the game to the Far East.

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