IT'S JUSTIN TIME: Because All You Need Is One...

Summer 2009 has come to a close, and peaceful East Cambridge, Mass. is once again flooded with driven, eager pupils donning crimson wherever they go.

Despite being sprinkled across the globe for the last three months, Harvard students—some doctoring children and others doctoring spreadsheets—have remained connected in spirit. Regardless of where our days outside the bubble were spent, we faced situations where we had to defend Harvard from ridicule.

“Do you even have parties? What do you do at them, drink 5-Hour Energy shots and worry?”

“I think I’m gonna pick up some new gear from that Harvard Yard clothing line...LMAO!”

“Sports? Please...You go to Harvard.”

That’s where many of us draw the line—especially Harvard football fans. When we hear those words, whether we are casual or die-hard, our tongues are quickly mobilized as we fire off standout surnames. Ten years ago, it was Birk. Five years ago, Fitzpatrick. Then the illustrious Dawson. Football stars who made it from the Crimson’s biggest stage to the Sunday night lights of the National Football League.

Recite these names, or even the more recent standouts in many other Harvard sports, sprinkle in some training camp hopefuls, and you can name drop when your condescending ACC friends try to clown you.

Harvard sports teams may not send half of their starting lineups to pro drafts with designer suits and iced-out watches bought with dirty money, but we always have one athlete to hold on to. And sometimes, all you need is one.

It’s time to add another name to our list.

Harvard football defensive tackle Desmond Bryant ’09 closed out this summer by earning a spot on the Oakland Raiders’ main roster.

At a startlingly trim 6’6, 290 lbs, Bryant has a build that is a presence even in the NFL.

“We’re very proud of Desmond,” said Harvard football coach Tim Murphy. “[He] came to Harvard as a lean, raw football player with tremendous physical ability and potential. But through hard work and perseverance, he’s still improving, and he’s proved he can play at the highest level.”

Bryant is not the first to “make it,” but one of many. What Harvard sports fans have not seen recently in their NFL-bound peers’ careers is longevity. In 2007, Crimson running back Clifton Dawson ’07, the Ivy League’s all-time leading rusher, entered the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts. Dawson—now a free agent—had 64 carries in his two active years in the NFL, and escorted the football across the sacred goal line and into the Promised Land one glorious time.

For Bryant, one is the number to beat.

He recorded his first tackle in the pros just five days ago, in the Raiders’ 13-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Surely he will accumulate more, hopefully starting Sunday. But the key for him will be to light up his stats with ones across the board. One tackle leads to one sack, which leads to one forced fumble, one recovery, and so on.

“People get so caught up in what he is physically that they forget about what he is as a football player and what he brings to the field,” said Harvard football captain Carl Ehrlich. “Wherever he is, he’s going to find a way to get to the top.”

Many Harvard players have made the jump, but few have lasted. The exception is former Harvard center Matt R. Birk ’98, who spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, including five Pro Bowl seasons. He recently signed a three-year, eight-figure deal with the Baltimore Ravens.

Then there’s former Harvard quarterback Ryan J. Fitzpatrick ’05, who is entering his fifth NFL season as a backup for the Buffalo Bills.

Let’s slow down a bit here. I’m not saying that no Harvard athlete makes his or her alma mater and schoolmates proud unless they play pro until their knees erode and their wallets explode. They will all do great things regardless of their professional careers.

Rather, I’m just making a plug for those close-to-home, “I knew him” heroes, through whom some of us live vicariously. We, like millions of other college students, will soon enter the professional world and bestow our brain power upon some sector of it. As wonderful as that is, many of us wish that our agility could match our analytical skills. We champion the few who’ve got both.

Bryant, who was unavailable for comment, has a few things going for him right now. For one, he got significant playing time in the second half this past weekend, which is essential for starting a successful career. More importantly, perhaps, he has a support system. According to blogs on the Raiders’ fan site, notoriously rowdy Oakland fans agree that Bryant is a versatile, promising prospect.

Time will tell if Bryant can set himself further apart from his predecessors. There’s no point in speculating further. He, and perhaps we, must take it one down at a time.

—Staff writer Justin W. White can be reached at jwwhite@fas.harvard.edu.