He waits patiently, cautiously targeting his prey, waiting for the moment to strike. Without warning he disappears into the shadow of an offensive lineman, reemerging on the other side as he lowers his shoulders and moves in for the kill.

The crushing impact jars the quarterback’s body and sends him to the ground in a heap, and sophomore defensive end Erik Grimm stands to inspect his victim.

Quick, silent and efficient. Maybe the comparisons to the Grim Reaper have more substance to them than just a pun on his last name.

“Even the announcers back in my high school used to call me ‘Grim Reaper,’” Grimm said. “I’m kind of used to it.”

His teammates certainly won’t let him forget about it.

“In my book, he’s the Grimm Reaper,” junior right defensive end Doug Bennett said.

Though his teammates kid, the man behind the face mask has a much more humble human side to him.

“He’s definitely a quiet guy, he’s a great guy, he’s one of the nicest guys on the team,” senior right tackle Jon Berrier said. “On the field, he’s not dirty at all, but he does his job and he does it right. He doesn’t really talk trash, he’ll let his play speak for itself.”

When Harvard traveled to Ithaca to do battle with Cornell three weeks ago, the Crimson gained the early advantage, going up 27-0 before the end of the third quarter. But no matter what the Harvard defense tried, the Big Red simply would not go away.

Several times Cornell rose from the mat, dusted itself off and came at the Crimson again.

Enter the Reaper.

With 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Big Red took the ball on its own 16-yard line and marched 76 yards downfield to the Harvard eight-yard line. After a third down incompletion, the stage was set for fourth-and-goal—and for the sickle to finally drop.

Cornell quarterback Mick Razzano faded back in the pocket, desperately looking for an open man in the end zone. Instead, he saw only Grimm.

“I think when there’s a crucial point during the game, the whole team steps up,” Grimm said. “Someone’s bound to break free and I’ve been occasionally lucky enough to be that guy.”

Grimm tore through the offensive line and leveled the Big Red signal caller for an 11-yard sack, effectively ending the game. Cornell never pushed the ball inside Crimson territory again—another untimely “death” at Grimm’s hands.