Haynes named first team All-Ivy

Senior linebacker Jordan Haynes was Yale's lone representative on the All-Ivy League first team.

Haynes, the team captain, led Yale with 81 tackles while sharing for the team lead with five tackles for losses and two fumble recoveries.

Chris Smith, who was honored as a receiver and returnman, offensive guard Gabe Fernandez, running back Alex Thomas, defensive tackle Jake Stoller, linebacker Will McHale, cornerback Drew Baldwin and return specialist were second-team selections.

Quarterback Patrick Witt and receiver Deon Randall were honorable mention selections.

Princeton running back Chuck Dibilio was named the league's rookie of the year while Penn offensive tackle Greg Van Roten and linebacker Erik Rask, Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger and Harvard defensive tackle Josue Ortiz and defensive back Matthew Hanson were unanimous All-Ivy selections.

Alex Thomas on pace to return to field

Senior running back Alex Thomas was not ruled out of Saturday's game against Brown until about an hour before kickoff. But he was back at practice on Tuesday and Yale coach Tom Williams believes he will be good to go after missing the last two games with a knee injury.
 
"He got some reps early in practice and then we shut it down," Williams said. "I talked to him right after and he said it felt.. I fully expect to have him on Saturday. I thought we would have him on last Saturday but he said when he was warming up, it didn't feel good.  He came out ready to go, he went through all the motions and wasn't ready."
 
The news isn't as positive on junior receiver Chris Smith, who had a walking boot on his right foot after injuring his ankle on Saturday.


"I don't know if he will have him on Saturday," Williams said. "The walking boot on Tuesday is a precaution. Tomorrow we will reevaluate it and see if he can get some reps. I would anticipate him not being available this weekend.. That was kind of a freak deal.

"He made that one-handed catch and the guy fell on the back of his leg and rolled him up. Totally different injury. He is tough and if there is a way he can go, he will go."


Yale used both Philippe Panico and Kyle Cazzetta on field-goal tries on Tuesday and Williams didn't rule out making a change this week.
"The placekicking thing, we have to find a guy to get points when we have to go out and get points and do it when it is a big game," Williams said. "Competition always but we are always making a bigger emphasis of it this week. He's been great as a punter but he can also do that. When he kicks the ball, it goes (up). He has a nice little lob wedge but we have to get his timing a little quicker, He is coming. I would like him not to have to focus on that (field goals and extra points) but if we have to..

Williams has not ruled out making a switch at punt returner either Gio Christodoulou lost fumbles in the fourth quarter in each of the last two games. Christodoulou is Yale's all-time leader in punt return yardage but when the team works on punt returns tomorrow, both Christodoulou and Deon Randall will get looks.

"We are competing there. We will give a chance to give him and Deon back there and the best guy is going to play on Saturday," Williams said.

Alex Thomas not in pads

Looks like Yale is going to err on the side of caution with senior running back Alex Thomas. Thomas, who missed last week's game against Columbia with a knee injury, practiced on a limited basis during the week but he came out in sweatpants, without shoulder pads and without a helmet so I am taking that as a pretty good indication that he will be held out for another week.

Receiver Chris Smith is out during pre-game drills so he is back for the Bulldogs.

Gavin to miss rest of the season

There has been mostly good news coming out of the Yale football camp this week in terms of injuries as offensive tackle Roy Collins, receiver Chris Smith and running back Alex Thomas returned to practice. But the news was not all positive. Starting left tackle Wes Gavin will need surgery on his injured ankle and will miss the rest of the season.

"The ankle is going to require some surgery and he is not going to be able to make it back," Williams said. "They want to do it ASAP so pretty soon so it is just a matter of clearing out his schedule and getting it done."

Freshman Ben Carbery has played well in Gavin's absence so he will become the starter at left tackle for the rest of the season.

Of the previously-mentioned trio, Collins has been in there the most at practice this week although all three should be able to play against Brown on Saturday.

"Smith is good to go, Thomas is good to go although he is still gimpy but he practiced a little bit today and Roy Collins is good to go," Williams said.

Collins should move back into his starting right tackle spot. While it's no guarantee that Smith and Thomas will start, look for them in the game. That won't make the Brown coaches happy since Smith and Thomas played starring roles in Yale's 27-24 win over Brown last year. Smith returned kickoffs 79 and 83 yards for touchdowns in a span of 2:23 in the second quarter and also caught a team-high six passes. Thomas ran for 121 yards including a 27-yard TD.
One change in the starting lineup I have neglected to mention is that Brian Leffler has moved ahead of Wes Moyer at linebacker.
"We gave him an opportunity to start (against Columbia), he played well last week against Columbia so he is going to get that start this week against Brown. "He is stouter and against a team like Brown that really likes to establish the run game, he is a better match for what they do. With the competition that he was have at that position, we feel like he has played better than Wes at this point so we gave him an opportunity last week and he held serve so he gets the nod again this week. We will still play multiple guys but he will be the first guy out."

When Williams addressed the team after Thursday's practice, he told the team he thought it was a good week of practice. He also emphasized that the Bears are in the same situation as Yale in terms of being able to win the Ivy League title by winning out. That is not entirely accurate. Yale would earn at least a share of the title by winning its last three games since the Bulldogs would have to beat first-place Harvard (the only Ivy League team unbeaten in conference play). Brown would need to win and have Harvard lose a game in order to claim a portion of the title. Still, Saturday's game has the feel of an elimination game. It certainly makes it easy to get motivated for the early-morning practices at this time of the year.
"I think it changes the energy level," Williams said. "I think our guys come out with energy anyway but certainly when you have something to play for and you are back in the hunt, it makes it more enjoyable with a goal in mind. You have something you can touch out there. We were in the same situation last year playing Brown at Brown, we have some experience from last year. I like playing at home this year. We haven't been at home in a long time so this will be great, it should be a great game."

Practice ended on Thursday will Williams having senior defensive end Austin Pulsipher address the team. Pulsipher is the only Yale player to have an Ivy League championship ring. He was a reserve on the 2006 Yale team before taking a two-year Mormon mission.

Collins, Smith and Thomas back at practice

It's looking like Yale's offense is getting closer to being at full strength.

Offensive tackle Roy Collins, receiver Chris Smith and running back Alex Thomas took part in Tuesday's practice in varying degrees. All three players were injured in the loss to Penn. They were all held out of practice last week and missed Saturday's game against Columbia.

Collins, who injured his ankle, saw the most action on Tuesday. In the time I was there, he saw most of the time at right tackle with the starters. Thomas, who suffered a knee injury against the Quakers, was in the backfield for a handful of snaps. Smith, who has missed two games with a tender hamstring, did not take part in an team drills but did some individual workouts.

"(Thomas) is still a little tender but he got a few reps in today," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "Roy was back and pretty close to full speed and Chris was back. He didn't go through everything but he did go through individual (drills) and tomorrow we are going to try to get him some team reps and just kind of slowly ramp him up. I think we are getting closer to where we need to be health wise. They should be available for Saturday. Obviously the next couple of days will be important for Chris and Alex to get full-speed reps but they are on their way. The plan today is try to ease them into it and tomorrow and Thursday get them ready for game speed."

Starting left tackle Wes Gavin is still unable to practice because of an ankle injury and seems unlikely to be back for Saturday's game against Brown.

SEMONES HOLDING STEADY
I didn't get a complete sense of the quality of the hold on Philippe Panico's 38-yard field goal under white-out conditions on Saturday until I replayed the tape of the game.

The snap on the kick was low and slightly wide but sophomore Jake Semones calmly snared the snap and was able to get it down in time for Panico to make the kick for the first points in Yale's 16-13 win.

"I couldn't see it on the field because his back was to me and also because of the snow," Williams said.  "That ball was about this low off the ground (holding his hands about an inch or two apart) and to the side. He picked it and got it back in place with no problem at all. That is why he is so valuable.

"His holds have been like that all year and Philippe has great confidence in him. That is what made a difference in the kick, the fact that Philippe did not have to break stride at all. It was the difference in the game. I thought three points might be enough to win it and it ended up being the difference. It was a great hold, unbelievable but he has been like that all year. I think I was watching the TV copy and the guys said that the holder never gets any attention unless he drops the ball. That has been great because Jake has been good the whole year."

Not much to report on injury front

Injured offensive starters Roy Collins (tackle), Chris Smith (receiver) and Alex Thomas (running back) did not take part in Tuesday's practice but none of them have been ruled out for Saturday's game at Columbia.

Yale coach Tom Williams said that Collins, who injured his ankle, and Smith, who reaggravated a hamstring issue he had earlier this season, are considered to be day to day. Both Collins and Smith were at practice in uniform but did not take part in drills. I did not see Thomas there and his situation is a little more up in the air.

Williams said that tests on Thomas' injured knee were "inconclusive" and he was undergoing further tests today.
Williams is hoping that Smith can return to practice as early as tomorrow.

"I think he wil get some more opportunity tomorrow to practice," Williams said. "We gave him Tuesday to get an extra day of healing. AT (Thomas) is going to see a doctor today. We didn't get the clear information yesterday. (Tackle Wes) Gavin (who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury) probably be out for another couple of weeks."

What this means is that Yale could play at Columbia on Saturday without both of its starting offensive tackles, leading rusher and leading receiver.

"This is the time of the year when teams get beat up," Williams said. "We are coming off a difficult couple of weeks. It does erode your depth but fortunately we have guys who are ready and willing to step up. We have good running backs so Mo (Cargill) will have a chance to step up, Wynston Bouknight - a young guy, Deon Randall will get a chance to play some running back as well. The depth issues are very challenging but I think if we prepare like we are capable of preparing, those guys should be ready to play."

In my opinion, the most intriguing story to emerge out of Yale's loss to Penn on Saturday was the performance of sophomore offensive lineman James Talerico.

Talerico started at guard against Cornell before suffering an Achilles injury that was feared to be of the season-ending variety. He returned to practice last week and took part in two practices including one at tackle. When Collins went down, freshman William Chism got the call but after getting beaten for a sack bringing the end to an offensive series. Talerico was in there on the next series and played the rest of the game at right tackle. Talerico was with right tackle with the first unit at practice and if Collins can't play, Talerico should get his first career start at tackle.


I spoke with Talerico following practice and he will be the focus of the story in tomorrow's paper.

Opportunity lost

With Alex Thomas running wild and Penn unable to cover Chris Smith, all indications pointed to this being the day when Penn's Ivy League winning streak would be coming to an end.

With a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, a confident Yale team believed it was on the verge of a breakthrough victory. However, it all unraveled in a mistake-filled fourth quarter.

Penn took advantage of two special-teams miscues to score 27 points en route to a 37-25 victory.

"Obviously a disappointing loss for us," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "We felt we did enough good things to give ourselves an opportunity to win the ball game. I thought the key play in the game was the sky kick they recovered. It gave them some life and gave them an opportunity to score quickly during that stretch. It is a play we need to execute and we need to keep possession of the football. Give Penn credit, they are champions for a reason. They execute down the stretch and do a nice job making the plays they are supposed to make."

Former Cheshire High star Billy Ragone had just thrown a 16-yard TD to Luke Nawrocki to pull the Quakers within four points. Connor Loftus chipped the ensuing kickoff into the air. A couple of Yale players retreated and Penn recovered.
"The wind was blowing in and the ball hung up," Williams said. "It had started to drift away from him and I think he didn't react accordingly. We knew because we think we are a good return team, whether it is a squib or a sky kick, rarely do they kick it of deep and if they do, we think we have a chance to make people pay."

With Smith out of the game with a hamstring injury, Deon Randall fumbled a kickoff leading to another one of Penn's four fourth-quarter touchdowns. So instead of Yale remaining in first place in the Ivy League, it is Penn which improved to 3-0 in league play.

"It is a crushing loss but that is what happens when you don't make the plays when you need to," Thomas said. "You have to credit Penn they did a great job of finding a way and that is what champions do."

It could be a costly loss in other ways as starting right tackle Roy Collins (ankle), Smith (hamstring) and Thomas (knee) were all knocked out of the game. Smith and Thomas are hoping to play next week against Columbia although Collins' injury looked the most severe of the three as he was on crutches on the sidelines.

2009 Penn game bring back painful memories for Smith

As if suffering a shutout loss at the hands of Penn wasn't a bitter enough pill to swallow, Chris Smith saw his freshman season come to an end when he suffered a hip injury in the 2009 game at Penn.

Earlier this week, I asked Smith to look back to his last experience at Franklin Field.

"I remember coming back with a broken hip," Smith said. "It wasn't exactly what I had planned. It was my freshman year, I was kind of just getting the hang of college football. I remember catching a post and a guy's helmet came in, kind of popped me and ended my season a little early. I am definitely going down there looking to get a 'w' this time and come back healthy.


"I've made that ride back from Penn once after not winning and kind of ending our season at that point. I think a lot of guys remembered how that tasted, how that felt taking that 3-hour bus ride back after a loss. We are going to do all we can to make sure that doesn't happen."

Yale coach Tom Williams vividly recalls the injury Smith suffered against Penn in 2009 and how it preventing him from continuing to develop as a go-to receiver for the Bulldogs as a freshman.

"That was difficult because we was just starting to come on as a freshman," Williams said. "Gio (Christodoulou) had gotten hurt against Cornell, Chris had started to really emerge as a go-to guy and then he gets hurt. I think that devastated for our football team because at that point we didn't really have anyone to be a threat down the field. He used that to get his body stronger and when he came back he was physically stronger, bigger, faster. As painful as it was at the time, I think it has made him a better football player."
Picking up a victory and remaining in first place in the Ivy League is No. 1 on Smith's priority list this week as Yale plays at Penn Saturday at noon on a game being televised by VERSUS. But he does have a chance for some personal milestones.

With one catch, he would move into a tie for eighth on Yale's career charts and he needs just three catches to tie former teammate Jordan Forney's for seventh place on the all-time list. He needs 131 receiving yards to break into the top 10 in that category while he is 100 yards away from Robert Carr's Yale career record for kickoff return yardage. The remarkable part of all of this is that Smith has done all of this and he still has as many as 15 games left in his Yale career.

More than any individual statistics, it is Smith's toughness that stands out when Williams thinks of his star receiver. It was an attribute Williams noticed when Smith took a recruiting visit to Yale shortly after Williams was hired at Yale. Williams jokingly questioned whether Smith was a glamour boy and wondered how important football was to him. Smith looked Williams in the eye and told him he lives to play football. Williams has discovered that wasn't just idle chatter on Smith's part.

"He's one of the toughest guys I have ever been around at any position," Williams said. "I think the reason why is that he is mentally tough but he is also physically tough. He worked to put himself in great condition. He really works hard at that but he is just a gritty, hard-nosed guy who loves to play the game. He really enjoys being around it, loves everything about it. He is one of the few guy who I have been around who really likes practice. Those guys are few and far between. I think the combination of all those things is what makes him such a tough football player."

Chris Smith will be game-time decision

Junior receiver Chris Smith's injured hamstring once again kept him out of practice on Thursday. He will make the trip to Lehigh for Saturday's road opener and there is a chance he can still play but Yale coach Tom Williams said that decision won't be made until he goes through pre-game drills on Saturday.

"I am just working a lot in the training room with (trainer) Dave (DiNapoli) and doing a lot of strengthening exercises trying to be ready to go for Lehigh. I am making the trip, hopefully it will loosen up for game time and I’ll be ready to go.

"It’s been really frustrating, even in meetings and watching film (knowing) that there is a possible chance that I might not be on the field, it is really tough especially in such a tough game. Lehigh is ranked, they are a good team. I was excited to prove that we are legitimate I-AA contender."

Smith came out of the Cornell game after pulling up lame while returning the second-half kickoff. However, he said he first had issues with the hamstring practice two days before the game.

"Actually it happened on Thursday and in the game, I ran a go route and at one point it really tightened up," Smith said. "On that kick return, I tried to go out there and play through it."

If Smith can't go, either former starter Gio Christodoulou or Cameron Sandquist would likely get the call when Yale goes to its three-receiver sets while Deon Randall would replace Smith on kickoffs.

"That is the great thing about our receiving corps, from top to bottom, I think we are an explosive unit and we have a lot of playmakers," said Smith, who is tied for the team lead with 135 receiving yards and is ranked fifth nationally with an average of 32.7 yards per kickoff return. "You have Gio, Allen Harris, Deon, Cam, Brandis (Yarrington), Jackson (Liguori), we’ve got guys who aren’t even starting who could be starting on other Ivy League teams. It is frustrating for me personally but as far as the team, I don’t think it is a drop off at all."

One receiver not in position to pick up snaps if Smith is out is freshman Ty Hutchison, who recently underwent surgery to repair a detached retina. Hutchison, a standout on Yale' JV squad, will miss the rest of the season. He addressed the team at the conclusion of Thursday's practice to give an update on his condition.

"He said he had 100 guys all asking him the same question so he wanted to talk to all of them at once," Williams said of why Hutchison spoke to the team on Thursday.

Williams said that seven freshmen will be making the trip to Lehigh - defensive back Nick LaTesta, punter Kyle Cazzetta, running back Wynston Bouknight, defensive end EJ Conway, linebacker Tyler Manu as well as offensive linemen Ben Carbery and William Chism.

A mixed bag on the injury front

Yale junior receiver/kickoff returner Chris Smith was clamoring to practice on Tuesday, a sign that the hamstring he hurt in Saturday's win over Cornell isn't that serious. However, the Bulldogs may have lost sophomore James Talerico for the season with an injured Achilles tendon.

Both Smith and Talerico were hurt in the second quarter of Yale's 37-17 win. Smith actually returned the second half kickoff before being forced out of the game.

"He didn't go today, it was more our call than his," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "He wanted to practice and we said 'no.' We'll give him another day of rehab and see what he feels like (today) and maybe get him a few reps. He is one of the few guys I have been around that doesn't need a million reps to play a game. We are going to err on the side of caution to make sure he is ready for next week. hamstring, high up."

Talerico was a surprise starter at guard and Williams liked what he saw from the 275-pound Talerico before he suffered what could be a season-ending injury.

"It is probably going to (sideline) him for a while," Williams said. "He was playing well. I feel bad for the kid because he played a good quarter and was off to a good start in the second quarter."

Colin Kruger, who started all 10 games last year and in the season-opening win over Georgetown, is back with the first unit. Williams did hint that freshmen William Chism and Ben Carbery could see some time when Yale plays its road opener against No. 13 Lehigh.

Witt honored by Ivy League; Smith a national leader

Yale senior quarterback Patrick Witt, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in Saturday's win over Georgetown, was named the Ivy League's Co-Offensive Player of the Week along with Brown senior quarterback Kyle Newall-Caballero.

Witt's passing rating of 175.5 ranks him third among all Football Championship Subdivision quarterbacks while teammate Chris Smith's 272 all-purpose yards makes him the national leader in that category.

Yale uses strong second half to beat Georgetown

Outside of Chris Smith's kickoff returns and Mordecai Cargill's two touchdowns, the first half exactly a highlight-reel opening 30 minutes for the Yale football team.

Still, the Bulldogs had a 21-20 lead despite being pushed around a bit by the visiting Hoyas of Georgetown.

At halftime, more time was spent on making the necessary adjustments than unleashing some fire and brimstone motivational speeches.

It didn't take long to realize that the second half was going to be played much more to Yale's liking.After being outgained by Georgetown by 81 yards in the first half, Yale took over control of the game.

Georgetown managed just 27 yards rushing on nine carries in the second half. Also, starting quarterback Isaiah Kempf was knocked out of the game so the Hoyas were forced to take to the air with their second-string quarterback.

Offensively, Yale's running game woke up. After managing eight yards on 11 carries in the first two quarters, the Bulldogs ran the ball 24 times for 111 yards in the second half.

The performance was almost a 180 degree turn from the 2010 Yale/Georgetown game when the Bulldogs played a great first half but struggled to slow down the Hoyas in the second half.

"It was a great start," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "We knew that not only is Georgetown an improved football team over the last couple of years but now they have a two-game head start. We felt like it was important for us to start fast. We made some early game or first game mistakes but I thought we were able to get it ironed out in the third quarter, come out and really play Bulldog football for the rest of the game."

Smith finished with 267 all-purpose yards and had he been able to elude the Georgetown kicker, he may have doubled his touchdown output.

"I wish I could have punched one (kickoff return) in," Smith said. "I guess that kicker is an All-American or something."

Cargill finished with 92 yards including his first rushing touchdown at Yale and caught four passes for 46 yards and another TD. Defensively, returning starting linebackers Jordan Haynes and Will McHale led the way with 11 and 10 tackles respectively.