Time for Yale football program to move forward

There's no way of sugar coating it, the last two months have been perhaps the most trying and humbling in the proud history of the Yale football program.

The removal of Tom Williams as the head coach over issues surrounding the accuracy of his credentials, back to back days when Yale lost to Harvard in the junior varsity and varsity games by a combined score of 82-13 and concerns among alumni who the process of finding a new coach was handled has resulted in some frayed nerves and discontent for some parties.

The good news is that Tony Reno, who was named the 34th coach in Yale's illustrious history, could be the type of galvanizing figure to help Yale put the recent checkered past in the rear-view mirror.

You could see the relief in the faces of the returning Yale players who were in attendance at the press conference now that he have a head coach. The players have been thrust into a situation not of their making. Yesterday was the first time I saw any of them since the end of the season but people I've spoken to who run into them on campus say that they have been understandably downtrodden. Hopefully last night's team meeting with Reno helped perk up the returning players. McHale, who got a know Reno a little bit when he was being recruiting as a high school senior, sounded fired up about the ability to move forward with Reno at the helm.

"I firmly believe he is the right guy for the job, he has everything we are looking for and more," McHale said. "He is a dynamic leader, he's a motivator, an excellent recruiter. I really couldn’t be more excited."

On the other end of the spectrum is the fate of former head coach Tom Williams. Former head coach Jack Siedlecki was welcomed back for the press conference and Carm Cozza would have been there had he not headed down to his place in Florida for the winter.

Williams, who was forced to resign, was obviously not there. The only staff members I saw where the holdovers from the Jack Siedlecki regime as the rest of the coaching staff watched the live stream of the press conference from the Yale football offices.

"It is tough that something like that happened," McHale said. "We are all appreciative of what Coach Williams brought to this program but at the same time what's done in done and we need to look forward."

Reno is walking into a difficult situation. Those two months without a head coach came during a pivotal time in recruiting. Other Ivy League coaching staff have been circling around Yale recruiting targets (just as Yale would do if the circumstances were reversed). They've lost out on some kids as a result of the uncertainty including Cheshire's Sebastian Little, who committed to Harvard. Although Reno, who helped the Crimson secured Little's commitment, can't talk publicly about a recruit like Little I am sure he sees the irony in how things worked out in that situation and how his efforts as a key recruiter at Harvard cost Yale a prized prospect. That being said, when I spoke the assistant coach Rick Flanders yesterday he thought Yale was not too bad off in terms of recruiting the class they were looking to secure before Williams' ouster.

"It’s trying but it probably more trying for the recruits, their parents," Flanders said. "But 90 percent of the kids who were on the board are still on the board. They are looking at Yale for the right reasons and it had to do more with the institution and opportunity (to earn a Yale degree) than a specific person. Tony will salvage a great class and we will get this group that is coming back off and running."

At both Reno's press conference and Williams' there have been the standard "how are you going to beat Harvard" question. I know the 45-7 pounding Yale suffered at the hands of the Crimson in November is still fresh on people's minds but in my opinion Yale is not as far behind Harvard as some people might think.

People remember the ill-advised fake punt on 4th and 22 late in the 2009 game which set up Harvard to win the game but neglect to recall that the Bulldogs were in position to win that game before the fake punt ended up six yards shy of the first down which would have enabled Yale to run out the clock. In the 2010 game, won by Harvard 28-21,  Yale outgained Harvard 337-178 and possessed the ball for nearly 38 of the 60 minutes.

Yes, there are some holes to fill especially on defense. You don't lose guys like Jordan Haynes, Geoff Dunham, Jake Stoller, Drew Baldwin (all multiple-year starters) and not miss what they brought to the table. However, Reno vowed to have an aggressive, attacking mindset in offense, defense and special teams. It is sorely needed on defense. Too many times the combination of a lack of a pass rush and soft zone coverage enabled teams to pick the Yale defense apart.

McHale leads a talented group of returning defensive starters which includes sophomore safety Nick Okano and speedy defensive ends Allen Davis and E.J. Conway.

Before Reno begins coaching the Bulldogs, he needs to add to the talent pool. The next two weekend there figures to be close to 30 prospects (somewhere in the vicinity of 15 each weekend) on Yale's campus. Some of them will be the 10-15 commits who have been approved for early admission to Yale and the Bulldogs need to make sure those players are still in the fold while also trying to lock up pledges from the uncommitted players on their radar.

When Yale begins spring practice in April, the focus will be on putting together a team capable of making a run at the Ivy League title.

"Nothing has happened over the last two months that has taken away from our goal of winning an Ivy League championship next year," McHale said.

Reno: "The right man for the job"

I was pleasantly surprised to see not only a flock of Yale football players but also former Yale coach Jack Siedlecki and current assistant coaches Duane Brooks and Rick Flanders at today's press conference announcing Tony Reno as the 34th Yale football coach.

I struck out in my attempt to set up a phone interview with Harvard coach Tim Murphy as he was on the road recruiting but I was able to talk to some people who have a history with Reno.

Flanders, who was the defensive coordinator at Yale when Reno was coaching the defensive backs, was absolutely tremendous talking about Reno and in particular any concerns that his lack of head coaching experience would be an issue.

"He is a good coach, good recruiter, good people person, all the things that you are looking for in a guy who wants to be a head coach," Flanders said. "The diversity and the kind of things that he has done ... People may only look at one part of a resume. Every Hall of Fame coach had to get their first opportunity, they weren’t a head coach when they took their first head-coaching job. He is very well prepared for this and will be a phenomenal job."

Siedlecki was not somebody I was expecting to see but once I saw him there, he was a natural person to talk to about Reno since he was the one who brought him to Yale.

Siedlecki talked of Reno's character and engaging personality but also said he is an intense competitor who will demand production from his players. Siedlecki thinks Reno's six years as an assistant at Yale will be invaluable as he attempts to make up for lost time.

"His relationships with people on campus, that is important, really important," Siedlecki said. "He is going to hit the ground running, he is going to understand the AI (academic index), understand the inner workings at Yale, he knows all the people."

Reno was involved in recruiting many of the players who will be seniors on the 2012 Yale team. Naturally I took the chance to speak to 2012 Yale captain Will McHale about his new coach.

"He was not my primary recruiter but I did speak to him and knew him a little bit through the process," McHale said. "It’s great, I think it is reflected across my class, the seniors interacted with him and to have a guy we are confident in, a guy we are comfortable with really goes a long way towards the immediate success of the program. I think it is one of those things that is going to be great even going forward to next year."

Last but certainly not least, former Yale captain Paul Rice was among those in attendance. Rice, who spent last season as a volunteer assistant coach, was a cornerback earlier in his career so Reno was his position coach.

Like so many others, he gave Reno a glowing endorsement. I asked Rice what qualities will serve Reno the best in his new gig.

"His preparedness, his intensity, his love for Yale. He is passionate about teaching and getting kids to play to the best of their ability. Even guys who weren’t coached by him, guys on the offensive side of the ball they were vouching for him. That speaks to his character to to his ability to lead.",

Lively debate or crossing the line?

In the last few days the comments on this blog have taken a turn for the worse. A relatively simple post stating that junior linebacker Will McHale has been voted captain for next year's team turned into target practice on McHale's leadership ability and bordered on character assassination. Rather than spend part of the holiday season deleting more of these comments, I made the decision to delete the entire entry. One reader asked me for an explanation since he/she viewed it as a lively debate.

I have a different opinion. I think it was a case of people sitting behind the their computer and posting hurtful anonymous comments about a college junior. If comments were directed at me, as some have been over the past three years, I would post them since I am getting paid to deal with it. The same thing with Yale football coach Tom Williams and athletic director Tom Beckett. However, I found some of the comments directed McHale as crossing the line. It is not the first time I have felt that was. I have always been amazed at the cattiness of some of the comments to this blog. Quarterback Patrick Witt is a popular target as he was subjected to utter nastiness even on entries announcing an honor for his academic achievement. Now it is McHale in the crosshairs.

I have taken great pride in maintaining this blog and providing updates on everything from scheduling, recruiting and even the results of the JV games because I believe Yale fans deserve to have this beat covered in the same manner with which we cover UConn football and basketball. However, I am beginning to wonder if I am catering to the wrong crowd. Most of the 500-700 hits this blog gets on a daily basis come from the silent majority of fans wanting to keep up with the team's progress. There is a select few who look at this blog as their sounding board where they can take shots at anybody they choose. This is not a message board nor do I have an aspirations for it to become one. It is a forum for me to provide updates on the team and state my opinion on matters surrounding the team. There is at least one message board dedicated to Ivy League football and if you wish disparage members of the team without anything to back up those attacks, I would suggest you take the comments there. I seem to have appealed to the lowest common denominator  among the Yale fan base and may have to rethink how frequently I provide updates since I seem to be giving these people a forum to spew their propaganda.

Look, I know this is a tough time for Yale football program. This year's squad was too good to finish 5-5 and get lit up by Harvard 45-7. Add in the tragic accident in Lot D before the Harvard game and the internal investigation surrounding Williams claims of being a Rhodes Scholarship candidate combined for a rather forgettable week. I am sure there are some frustrated people out there but if anybody thinks that this blog will be the place to take those frustrations out on Yale's newly-named captain couldn't be more incorrect.

Finally, I want to thank people who frequent this blog. I regret taking this step but everybody has their breaking point and enough is enough.

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.

Snow, Yale offensive line dominate Columbia

When the Ivy League announces its weekly player of the week, it would be fitting for one or more of Yale's offensive linemen to get the nod. Of course, there would have been a better chance of finding a sun bather at Saturday's Yale/Columbia game.

In a game played in a surprisingly potent storm, Yale made some Ivy League history.

After paving the way for Alex Thomas to run for 204 yards in a loss to Penn, the Yale starting offensive line of Ben Carbery, Gabe Fernandez, John Oppenheimer, Colin Kruger and James Talerico were at it again as Mordecai Cargill ran for 230 yards in the 16-13 win over Columbia.

I went through the record books for the Ivy teams and as far as I can tell, it is the first time an Ivy team had two backs rush for 200 yards in consecutive games. What makes the feat so impressive is that the Bulldogs were playing without both starting tackles as both Wes Gavin and Roy Collins were out with ankle injuries.

"Our O-line has really come together," said Cargill, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing yards late in the game. "It was (unfortunate) that Roy and Wes went down but we have a lot of solidarity up front. Our O-line is starting to mesh and we are looking to build momentum going forward."


I asked Columbia coach Norries Wilson how impressive it is to have two backs run for 200 yards in back to back games and I had to laugh at his response.
 
"I think Nebraska does it every week," Wilson said. "I think just looking at the stats, they have been intermixing the two backs. I don’t know what’s wrong with 41 (Thomas, who missed the game with a knee injury), we didn ‘t know he wasn’t going to play but (Cargill) made the most of his opportunity and they did a good job blocking for him.


"They are a real good group. They are playing Carbery as a freshman, they have a freshman who played last year (Gavin) who is a really good player. I really like 57 (Roy Collins). I think they have done a good job of playing some athletic kids who can play offensive line. They can reach block on the second step, they do a real good job of protecting their quarterback."
 
It is NOT the first time Yale had a 200-yard rusher in consecutive games as Robert Carr accomplished the feat in games against Cornell and Holy Cross but it is the first time it was done by different running backs.
 
A few defensive details thanks to Jordan Haynes since it was extremely difficult to make out many of the plays. On the fumble recovered by Will McHale which led to Panico's field goal, McHale deflected a pass which was caught by a Columbia lineman. Cliff Foreman then jarred the ball free and McHale recovered. Haynes recovered a fumble after a huge submarine tackle. Again, I couldn't make out the player and he said it was Kurt Stottlemyer. Because of the conditions made passing extremely difficult, Yale was able to aggressive blitz its defensive backs on obvious passing situations. Collin Bibb led the way with two tackles for a loss including a sack.
 
Wilson was asked whether he felt the play before Nick Okano's game-clinching interception should have been called pass interference.
 
"You have to ask the official on that side, it doesn’t matter what I think," Wilson said.
 
The Yale players heard that Brown beat Penn 6-0 as the Bulldogs were running the final few seconds off the clock. Now Yale can clinch no worse than a share of the Ivy League title it it wins its final three games. Had Penn won out, Yale would not be able to catch the Quakers in the standings.



The main focus on my game story is on Cargill's monster effort and the fact that Yale did not attempt a pass in the second half. I have a notebook with reaction from Yale players about the winter wonderland they played in as well as Philippe Panico somehow getting a 38-yard field goal through the uprights.
 
Speaking of the snow, Yale history buff Bob Barton (a former New Haven Register copy editor and regular at Yale games for years) came up with a list of other Yale games of the last 50 years impacted by snow.
 
Temple 1953 (Yale 32-6) early November, probably 4 inches


Harvard 1955 (Yale 21-7), probably 2-3 inches


Princeton 1967, there were snowflakes but rain, thunder, little of everything, no accumulation


Think there was also a little snow at Princeton in 1985, but nothing serious.
I am thinking that if you said this was the most serious snow during a game in more than half a century, you'd be right.

Yale leads Cornell 17-3 at halftime

Aided by a strong start by Patrick Witt, Nick Okano's first career interception and a long punt return by Gio Christodoulou, Yale leads Cornell 17-3 at halftime.

Witt is 15 of 21 for 153 yards but he started 12 of 14 and overshot Allen Harris on a couple of throws. Harris leads Yale with 5 catches for 71 yards including 5-yard TD. He was stopped at 1 on another catch leading to Mordecai Cargill's 1-yard TD run.

Will McHale leads Yale with 7 tackles.

Cornell has utilized a very conservative offensive game plan, rarely taking shots down the field. Much of that may have to do with the fact that Yale's defensive front four got some pressure early on. However, it was curious to see Cornell settle for underneath completions when the Big Red had positive field position for much of the second quarter.

After a short completion brought up 3rd and goal at the 11, Cornell coach Kent Austin decided to wait until 3 seconds remained on clock to call his final timeout of half. Had he called it right away, Cornell could have taken a shot into the end zone and still had a chance at a field goal.

Spirited practice this morning

After two days away from the field, the Yale football team was ready to go this morning - maybe too ready.

With more hits causing players to hit the ground, Yale coach Tom Williams was not a happy camper. The last portion of practice saw more than a few players kicked out of drills.

Just stupid plays, especially the young guys," Williams said. "They are still learning how to practice. The whole idea is we want to practice full speed but we want to be smart. We want those guys to get to the game on Saturday. When that happens, the guy gets fired on the spot to make a point. You are going to miss out on these rep opportunities if you don't practice the way we want you to practice. I had to do that a couple times today but it is better to pull them off the pile than throw them on the pile. I like our attitude and like our aggressiveness. We pride ourselves on being physical but sometimes we have to be smarter in practice."

Junior linebacker Will McHale did not practice after dealing with some concussion like symptoms after Saturday's season-opening win over Georgetown. Williams said McHale feels fine but the decision was made to err on the side of caution.

"He had some tests on Sunday and said he feels fine, he is symptom free," Williams said. "This was simply precautionary. He should be back (practicing) tomorrow. We will probably keep him out of contact just to be safe but he is going to get reps tomorrow and be ready to go on Saturday."

The offense looked sharp early on in the 11 on 11 drills I witnessed including Patrick Witt hooking up with Chris Smith on a long touchdown pass

Later in the practice, the offense sputtered with Nick Okano and Brian Leffler recording interceptions and the ball ending up on the turf quite a bit although many of the miscues happened when the second and third team squads were in there.

The Baltimore Ravens had a scout checking out practice, the latest NFL team to send a rep to a Yale practice.