Ends of an Era

One is a 6’5” former high school basketball star built like a wide receiver. The other is a 6’3” former high school track standout whose unique versatility has allowed him to play five positions on the gridiron. The former goes by a full name just eight letters long, while the latter has a surname only rivaled in Boston sports lore by “Yastrzemski” in its complexity.

Indeed, side-by-side, junior Cam Brate and senior Kyle Juszczyk would appear to be very different. But together, they have formed a dynamic duo at tight end for the Harvard football team that has often been a nightmare for opposing defenses to try to contain.

Both players broke out last season, when Juszczyk and Brate were named first- and second-team All-Ivy, respectively. But in 2012, each has taken his game to a whole new level. Juszczyk, a preseason All-American, leads the team in receptions, with 49, and yards, with 686. Brate is second on the squad in both those categories.

The two have established themselves as the go-to weapons on one of the top offenses in the FCS. In one game against Princeton this year, Juszczyk—nicknamed “Juice”—recorded 15 receptions for 192 yards and tied a program record with three touchdowns, while Brate hauled in seven catches for 109 yards and a score.

“Juice, being the absolute dominant force that he is out there, he’s all over the field, one, and two, he’ll just do about anything to put himself in position to make a catch—he’ll catch screens, he’ll catch a post behind you, and he’s athletic enough to take over a game whenever his number’s called,” says senior running back Treavor Scales. “As far as Cam goes, he’s literally a big-play machine.”

The paths each player took to get to that upper level were very different. Juszczyk played quarterback his freshman year of high school, but by the time he made the varsity team the following season, the squad had brought in a transfer quarterback who would be the starter for the next three years.

“I learned quickly I had to play different positions, and since then I’ve always done different things,” Juszczyk says.

The Medina, Ohio, native excelled as a running back and a wideout, leading his team in rushing and receiving as a senior. He then brought that versatility to Harvard, where he has played halfback, fullback, tight end, and slot receiver for the Crimson throughout his career. This season, he has even lined up at quarterback and taken snaps under center in goal-line situations.

“He’s a guy that can truly play all the positions,” Crimson coach Tim Murphy says.

Brate arrived in Cambridge a year after Juszczyk, but unlike his fellow tight end, he failed to make the varsity team his rookie season.

“When I came in, I was pretty much last on the depth chart, and Kyle was up at the top,” Brate says. “I [had played] receiver in high school, [and] I was like 215 pounds as a freshman, so I had my struggles.”

But in Juszczyk, Brate found someone who also had been unaccustomed to the tight end position early in his collegiate career, and Juszczyk became something of a mentor to the Naperville, Ill., native.

“Kyle has always been so good at teaching me the offense,” Brate says. “He was a returning starter coming into his sophomore year, so to have a guy like that to look up to as a freshman I think was really big in my development. I’m thankful for that.”

The following season, Brate made the varsity team and put what Juszczyk had taught him to good use, immediately establishing himself as a red-zone threat. In just his second career varsity game, the sophomore recorded a game-high 93 receiving yards and made an acrobatic one-handed touchdown grab to help Harvard beat Brown and start a winning streak that would become the longest in Division I.

“I thank Coach for giving me the chance,” Brate says. “The biggest thing for me has always been gaining weight.... I gained 25 pounds that offseason. The extra weight and extra confidence really helped me be able to compete at the college level.”

Brate continued to shine throughout the season, tying his mentor with a team-high seven touchdowns. Juszczyk, meanwhile, led the team in receptions while establishing himself as one of the most dynamic players in the league. The then-junior capped his season with seven receptions for 107 yards and a 60-yard touchdown against Yale and later earned the College Football Performance Award as the top tight end in the FCS.

“Juice was able to play a little bit more receiver, which I know he was really thankful for,” Brate says. “He’s so versatile; having him on our offense really opened things up for everyone.”

This season, both players went right to work establishing themselves as senior quarterback Colton Chapple’s go-to targets.

Juszczyk had seven catches for 86 yards in this year’s contest against the Bears, while Brate had eight for 72. In the following game, against Holy Cross, Brate scored two touchdowns and Juszczyk had one in the highest-scoring first half in Harvard history.

Two weeks later, each had a touchdown against Bucknell, including a 59-yard score by Juszczyk in which he shed one would-be tackler, bounced off two more, and stiff-armed a fourth to the ground with ease before steamrolling into the end zone.

“As a little kid, I was told it will hurt less if you hit them before they hit you, so I just tried to stick by that,” Juszczyk said after the game.

That mentality has allowed the tight end to break innumerable tackles during his Crimson career. And while he and Brate have continued to shine on the field, they have also become close off of it.

“That’s kind of unique because I think most people would look at the roster, and it says tight end for both of us, so you’d think we’d be more in competition with each other than friends,” Juszczyk says. “But it’s turned out to be the complete opposite.”

Both players believe that their off-field relationship has improved their on-field performance.

“We’re always on the same page,” Brate says. “If there’s ever a question either of us has to ask on the fly, we can always turn to each other.... Just having that on the field helps me a lot in making adjustments during games.”

“We’re competition in that we push each other,” Juszczyk adds. “I think that competition has brought us close, and I think we work really well together on the field because of that.”

But with Juszczyk’s Crimson career coming to an end—he hopes to play in the NFL next year—Murphy is already dreading trying to replace his star tight end.

“We’re constantly trying to find the next Kyle Juszczyk, and it may be many years before we do,” Murphy says. “He’s going to go down as one of the legendary players in Harvard history.”

And when it’s his turn to graduate, Brate’s presence will be missed as well.

“Cam is one of those guys who’s always there for a lighthearted contribution, and it’s truly appreciated by all of us,” Scales says. “He’s just awesome at what he does.”

Indeed, with just one game remaining to utilize its dynamic two tight-end set, the team is well aware that it has been very lucky to be able to feature such a package at all.

“It’s a luxury we aren’t going to have forever,” Murphy says. “[We know] everybody would love to have two great tight ends the way we do.”

—Staff writer Scott A. Sherman can be reached at ssherman13@college.harvard.edu.