Wednesday's news and notes

Some additional notes below.

But first, what I like most about covering Yale football is the human interest and off-the-field stories that come along with the beat. One example is this feature on Austin Carter.

BIGGER ROLE

Kyle Cazzetta had been recruited by Tom Williams as a kicker, but ended up winning the punting job.

Now he’s doing both for the Bulldogs.

“I like kicking,” Cazzetta said. “It’s fun to score points. Having the game in your hands, that a big part too. Field position is huge, but when you can put points on the board for your team that’s good.”

Reno said Cazzetta has a naturally strong leg and has given Yale some reliability at the position.

He is 5-7 on FGA this season with a long of 46 yards. He’s also 10-12 on XPs. He’s also averaging 36.7 yards per punt with eight inside the 20-yard line.

Cazzetta was No. 16 on Phil Steele’s FCS preseason national list of punters.

NOT GIVING UP MUCH

Despite its youth and inexperience, Yale’s defense has been playing quite well this season. The Bulldogs are the top-ranked scoring defense in the Ivy League right now, allowing just 18.8 ppg.

“One thing that’s been pretty constant is that we’ve really bent but not broken,” junior DT Jeff Schmittgens said. “Some situations, in the red zone, close to the goal line, we came up with big stops.”

Schmittgens has seen an increased role this season. He had a promising spring, earning the team’s defensive line award.

After playing in just two games last year, he has 12 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and a fumble recovery.

SCHMITTGENS ON CAPTAIN BEAU PALIN

“He’s the hardest worker on the team,” he said. “Very inspirational. Everyone listens to him and trusts him. That stems from people seeing how hard he works in the offseason and prior seasons. Kind of makes us want to follow. Not because he’s a captain, but because he churns out results. It makes us want to work harder.”

LINKS

I came across a pair stories I thought would be worth posting…

Here’s one the Boston Globe did on Reno and Yale’s strong start.

Here’s another on the friendship between Cazzetta and UConn women’s basketball player Steph Dolson, via the Hartford Courant.