“He’s been able to overcome those injuries, and he’s had a big impact,” Ortiz says. “He’s a great leader, very vocal, and one of our much better underclassmen both in leadership and playing.”

And sometimes leadership goes beyond playing your position well. For Gedeon, taking on the extra burden as punter was just another way to help his team succeed.

“It says a lot about his character, because some guys, they won’t really want to be put in that spot,” Murphy says. “And now to be put in a position that is really critical, and a position that usually is only done by guys who that’s their only job...I think that says a lot about [Gedeon’s] confidence, a lot about his taking responsibility for his football team.”

By day’s end against Columbia, Gedeon proved to be much more than a stopgap solution on special teams. His net punting average of 36.8 yards—with a long of 47—topped both Lions punters, and in a game that began as a close contest, the junior proved instrumental in a convincing victory.

Two weeks later, Gedeon has largely given way to a healthy Dombrowski and returned to his normal duties at linebacker, which include protecting the punter on special teams. But with a couple of swings of his leg, Gedeon showed coaches and teammates his true versatility—a talent that allows him to make an impact from a variety of positions.

“First of all, I think Scott Larkee—our defensive coordinator and linebacker coach—he really does a great job in teaching and putting those kids in a position to have success,” Murphy says. “Then if you can take Alex, with that type of athleticism and that type of willingness to really study film and know where to be when [he]’s supposed to be there, you’re going to come up with a lot more big plays like [he’s made].”

And while Harvard is pleased enough to have a standout middle linebacker for two more seasons, the team’s true prize is a do-it-all athlete who won’t back down from a challenge.

“He’s been willing to do anything possible to help this team,” captain Collin Zych says. “You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

As the future anchor of the Crimson defense, Gedeon may not be itching for a dual role next season.

But as Zych points out, “He always jokes that he can still throw.”

—Staff writer Max N. Brondfield can be reached at mbrondf@fas.harvard.edu.