“I don’t think it’s any coincidence that [1997] ended up being the first perfect Ivy season in Harvard’s history,” Murphy added. “Matt was certainly one of the big reasons for that.”

Birk attributed his rapid improvement to hard work and the help of his coaching staff.

“Once I was able to focus just on football, I was able to improve, to train more, to train smarter, [and] to put more effort into it,” Birk told the Crimson last year. “I was like a hungry dog, and they just kept feeding me.”

THE HOMETOWN KID

After earning All-Ivy honors for his performance, Birk became the first Crimson lineman to be drafted in 14 years when his home state Minnesota Vikings selected him in the sixth round as the 173rd overall pick of the 1998 draft.

Upon arriving in the NFL, the Harvard alum faced a learning curve similar to the one he had experienced when he began his collegiate career.

“When I got [to Minnesota], they weren’t relying on me to play right away,” Birk said. “There were some great offensive linemen who I could learn from—learn the game from, and learn how to be a professional football player.”

That Birk did, and quickly. He appeared in seven games as a rookie, 15 in his second season, and earned the starting center job in 2000. In his first year as a starter, Birk was named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team. He started every game for the Vikings over the next three seasons, earning Pro Bowl honors in 2001, 2003, and 2004 (despite missing the final four games of the season with a sports hernia) and was named All-Pro once again in 2003.

“They pulled the center a lot,” Birk said. “For my size, I was fairly athletic. That scheme fit my skillset pretty well.”

After missing the entire 2005 season with a hip injury, Birk picked up right where he left off upon returning, earning Pro Bowl honors again in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, he also won the Ed Block Courage Award, which honors “one player from each of the National Football League teams who, in the eyes of his teammates, best exemplifies and displays courage.”

But during Birk’s tenure in Minnesota, the Vikings fell just short of the Super Bowl twice. In 1998, after going 15-1 during the regular season, they lost to the Falcons by three in overtime in the NFC Championship Game. Two years later, in the same round, Birk’s team suffered an embarrassing 41-0 loss to the Giants.

After an NFC North title was followed by playoff elimination once again in 2008, Birk decided it was time to look for a change of scenery and a better chance to win.

GOOD MORNING BALTIMORE

On March 4, 2009, the center signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Ravens. He has started all 64 games for the team over the last four years.

After his contract expired following last season, Birk strongly considered retirement. But following another campaign in which his team suffered a heartbreaking loss in a conference championship game—this time it was to the Patriots in the AFC—Birk decided to continue trying to help get his squad over the hump.