Crimson OLB Deal Sidelined With Knee Injury

Harvard football coach Tim Murphy said that senior linebacker Blaise Deal would definitely miss tomorrow's home opener against Brown a week after taking a hit to the knee against Holy Cross last Saturday.

While it’s still not clear how long Deal will be out, it appears he will likely miss an extended period of time.

Deal—who also missed most of last season with a knee injury—tweeted in the hours after the game that “I don’t think I will ever play another sport as long as I live.”

A tweet two days later also seemed to indicate that a return might be unlikely: “Today was the first day in like 10 years that I've woken up and not been a football player.”

Captain Alex Gedeon, who is also Deal’s roommate, said that the senior linebacker has begun physical therapy and is working towards a recovery. But according to Gedeon, though Deal's loss is a significant one for the team, he remains an important presence for the Crimson.

“He’s been incredible," Gedeon said. "He just keeps a positive attitude ... He’s definitely one of the emotional leaders on the team, and to see how he’s handled this situation is inspiring.”

The team remains confident that it can fill the void that Deal leaves while he recovers from his injury. In addition to Gedeon and junior Bobby Schneider, two other starting linebackers, juniors Alex Norman and Josh Boyd—both of whom appeared in all 10 games last season—will play at the linebacker spot while Deal is out, according to Gedeon.