Notes from Tuesday's luncheon

Went to my first Yale football media luncheon at Mory’s today. Tony Reno was there along with RB Mordecai Cargill and DL Chris Dooley. Here are some notes…

First, it was made official: WR Deon Randall and TE Keith Coty will miss the season with injuries. That's in addition to Chris Smith, who will not play this year for personal reasons. A story will be posted later.

Cargill said he is very excited to run behind this year’s offensive line, the best he’s seen in his four years at Yale. Along those lines, senior tackle Roy Collins has been playing phenomenal.

“He’s upped his play to a totally new level,” Reno said.

Both Cargill and Dooley agreed this preseason camp was the most intense they have ever experienced and they feel very well prepared for the season opener against Georgetown on Saturday.

Dooley said he really likes the new defensive scheme. He said it’s simpler and loves the 3-4 in comparison to the 4-3 look from previous years.

“We fly to the ball,” Dooley said. “There’s 11 people at every tackle.”

He added, going up against the offense’s up-tempo style in practice has the defense in great shape.

With Will McHale’s captaincy suspended, the Bulldogs will elect a player to represent the team at the coin toss. The player will be selected each Thursday.

Reno named freshman Eric Williams starting quarterback on Monday. Williams beat out junior John Whitelaw for the job. Here’s Cargill’s thoughts on the freshman: “I’ve just been really impressed by Eric’s raw talent. He is a freshman so he makes mistakes here and there, like dropping the ball sometimes or causing us to do extra running at the end of practice. But there are also times he makes throws that wow you. Both did so well at camp. It was hard to distinguish which was in, other than the fact one is a lefty and one is a righty. I have confidence in whoever is out there.”