Male Athlete of the Year Runner-Up: Kyle Juszczyk

On April 27, Harvard H-back Kyle Juszczyk achieved a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by any Crimson football player in eight years.

After much speculation as to where the Ohio native would continue his football career, the Baltimore Ravens picked Juszczyk with the 130th pick of the NFL draft.

“[Juszczyk was] by far the most versatile player we’ve ever had, and that’s one of the reasons he’s playing in the NFL,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy said. “Beyond his extraordinary physical ability that you need to play at the pro level, he had just a great football IQ. He was a high school quarterback, but he’s one of those guys where you tell him once and he just got it. He had great instincts, and he also loved the challenge of having to master several positions of the true H-back.”

Juszczyk’s value to NFL teams stemmed from the same versatility that allowed Murphy the flexibility to use different formations with the same offensive package on the field.

A two-time All-American selection, Juszczyk was invaluable to the offense as a blocker for the top rushing offense in the Ivy League. But the senior’s role was expanded beyond the traditional tight end position, as Juszczyk became Chapple’s primary target and led the receiving corps, notching over 700 yards receiving and pulling down eight touchdowns.

“He was a terrible matchup problem in the run game, when we wanted to have him as a lead blocker, and he was a tough matchup for safties and linebackers when they had to try to cover him in the slot position,” Murphy said. “When you put him in the wing position, we were able to play-action pass him, send him up the seam. At a high tempo, it was really difficult for defensive coordinators and defenses in general to know what to call.”

Juszczyk recorded his best performance of the season in a heartbreaking loss against Princeton when he tallied 192 yards and three scores in a 39-34 Harvard loss. The senior helped the Crimson become the most prolific offense in the Ancient Eight as the team topped the Ivy League with nearly 40 points per game, almost 13 more than next-best Cornell.

“When you knew Juice was getting the ball, you just thought it was unfair for everyone else because you knew that it would take five or six guys to bring him down to the turf,” senior running back Treavor Scales said. “He’s a special player, and it was backed up by the fact that he got picked up in the fourth round. He’s a very special football player, and he’s the epitome of a football player. He’s out there having fun, flying around, talking trash, and it’s great to be around him—you just want to be around a guy like that.”

—Staff writer Samantha Lin can be reached at samanthalin@college.harvard.edu. Follow her on Twitter @linsamnity.