Now that the 29 high school seniors and one college freshman have officially committed to Yale, Bulldogs' head coach Tom Williams was able to talk about the class.

Recruiting playmakers on the offensive and defensive lines was a priority for Williams and his staff and considering that 16 of the 30 recruits are either offensive or defensive linemen, it would seem as if that mission was achieved.

"I think offensive/defensive linemen, big bodied guys, we didn’t feel like when we got here that there were enough of those guys on our team," Williams said. "Last year we tried to address it but we just couldn’t find enough guys that we could get into school who could help us win. (This) year we feel like we were able to do that.

"I don’t think we missed. I am thinking back right now of the kids we really wanted, I think we only missed on one kid. We hit our priorities. Our priorities last year where big bodies, we wanted length so we went after 6-4, 6-5, 6-6 guys who we could add weight to and figure out what we could plan and continue to stockpile speed."

Among the recruits Williams highlighted as potential impact players are Tyler Hutchison, a high school quarterback who projects as a receiver at Yale, offensive lineman Ben Carbery and defensive backs Ethan DeSilva and Rob Coury as well as running back Kahlil Keys.

Then there is Tevin Hood. Yale went hard after Hood when he was a senior at Hamilton High in Chandler, Arizona. The son of former NFL defensive tackle Eric Swann, Hood opted to go to Duke as a non-scholarship player. Although he played in four games as a freshman and had a 1/2 of a sack against Alabama, Hood opted to transfer out of Duke. While he flirted with the idea of enrolling at Arizona for a bit, Hood has been provisionally accepted at Yale and is planning to take a couple of classes during the summer session.

Williams has high hopes for Hood.

"He was a guy that we were clearly after last year and felt like we were going to get him," Williams said. "Obviously it didn’t work out but we think he is a legitimate big-time football player who can come in and impact us right away. He played in a BCS league and played right away which I think says a lot about him as a player but the thing that is just as important about a guy like Tevin is he will be one of the best students that we’ve got coming in as well. He will add a lot to the Yale community as well."

There are still two high school seniors that Yale is waiting on either grades or test scores to see if they can be placed in the bands that the Bulldogs have available. One has orally committed to another school and I don't plan on providing any specifics on him unless he ends up committing to Yale. As for the other, what I have been able to find out is that he will enroll in prep school and come to Yale as a freshman in the 2012-13 season if he doesn't get into the incoming freshman class. With that in mind, I feel it is appropriate to mention his name. Victor Hicks is a 5-9, 175 pound senior at Plymouth High in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He played just about everywhere and Yale will have to make a decision whether to play him as a receiver or defensive back if he is part of the Bulldogs this fall.

Here is the list of 29 incoming freshman and the one transfer who have committed, been accepted and confirmed that they intend to be enrolled at Yale in the fall.


OL Ben Carbery 6-5 275 Oak Park (River Forest, Ill.)
A three-year starter on the offensive line who drew interest from multiple Big Ten schools
K/P Kyle Cazzetta 6-0 190 Minisink Valley (Slate Hill, N.Y.)Was 9 of 14 on field goals including a New York Section 9 record 51 yarder
OL William Chism 6-3 280 Saint Andrews Episcopal School (Ridgeland, Miss.)
Leader of offensive line which averaged more than 300 rushing yards per game
TE Adam Conklin 6-3 230 Choate
Post Grad from Dover, Mass. had 35-yard TD reception against Lawrenceville and became reliable option in passing game as season wore on
DE E.J. Conway 6-2 225 McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.)Team captain was named to the MIAA A All-Conference squad and also started at offensive guard and holds school record in discus
DB Charles Cook 6-3 200 Parish Episcopal
Had 16 interceptions as a senior for TAPPS Division II champions
DB Rob Coury 6-1 190 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
Had 77 tackles and seven interceptions as a senior
DE Chris Coyne 6-4 225 Staples (Westport)
106 tackles, 12 sacks as a senior
DB Ethan DeSilva 6-1 195 Mission Viejo (Calif.)Named to the All-CIF Pac-5 Division first team as a cornerback had interceptions against Redondo and Aliso Niguel.
OL John Dunion 6-3 265 Dos Pueblos (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
Earned Channel League and All-CIF Southern Section Western Division honors as a senior
OL Andy Ellis 6-3 270 Cinco Ranch (Katy, Tex.)Leader of an offensive line which opened holes for two 1,200-yard rushers
DL Max Fink 6-1 215 Gulliver Prep (Miami)
Had 13 sacks as a junior and led team to two shutout wins as a senior
DE Davis Franks 6-4 240 Grace Christian Academy (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Tennessee Class 1-A Mr. Football Award winner after having 30 tackles for losses and 15 sacks
DB L.J. Hunt 6-0 205 St. Joseph (Trumbull)
Ran for nearly 1,000 yards and had 75 tackles for Class S champions
WR Tyler Hutchison 6-0 180 Huntington (W.V.)
Had more than 1,400 yards of total offense and 18 TDs as senior
RB/LB Everett Johnson 5-10 205 Union (N.J.)
Sideline to sideline defensive player was a two-year captain and selected to play in Snapple Bowl all-star game
RB Kahlil Keys 5-11 190 Choate (Wallingford)
Ran for 2,776 yards and 29 touchdowns as Casa Grande (Calif.) before spending PG season at Choate
DB Nick LaTesta 5-9 165 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)47 tackles, 4 interceptions as a senior
LB Tyler Manu 6-2 210 Rocky Mountain (Meridian, Idaho)
Team captain was second team 5A Southern Idaho Conference selection and named Rocky Mountain's male student-athlete of the year
DE/LB Pat Murray 6-3 215 Staples (Westport)
107 tackles, 15 sacks as a senior
DE Jeff Schmittgens 6-4 255 Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)
Two-year starter had 38 tackles and two sacks as a senior
OL Jack Sheahan 6-2 265 St. Rita (Chicago)
Helped open holes of offense which averaged nearly 250 rushing yards per game
OL Stephen Shoemaker 6-2 290 Bronxville (N.Y.)
Offensive guard/defensive tackle was named New York Class C Player of the Year
TE/DE Matt Spillane 6-5 250 Healdsburg (Calif.)
Had 57 tackles and eight sacks and averaged more than 15 yards per reception as a senior
TE/DE Ryan Stanney 6-3 230 Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.)
Second team Florida 2A selection as a tight end as a senior
K Parker Toms 5-10 180 Serra (San Mateo, Calif.)Had two field goals against Archbishop Mitty and is outstanding on kickoffs
LB Will Vaughn 6-1 195 Columbia (Maplewood, N.J.)
Had three games with more than 10 tackles including 15 in a win over Nutley
OL Seth Walker 6-4 240 Pope John II (Nashville, Tenn.)
Named to Hendersonville Star News All-County squad as an offensive lineman.
WR Grant Wallace 6-0 180 Burroughs (St. Louis)
Had 81 catches for 1141 yards and had 24 touchdowns as a senior including six on special teams

*-DL Tevin Hood 6-1 280 Transfer from Duke
Chandler, Arizona native had 19 sacks as a senior at Hamilton High and as a freshman walk on at Duke, had four tackles in four games.
*-will have three years of eligibility

With Yale's graduation fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with Jesse Reising, the linebacker who was nearly paralyzed during the Nov. 20 game against Harvard. As it turned out, we sat down on Friday which was six months to the date of his violent collision with Harvard running back Gino Gordon.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

As I wrote in my last story about Jesse back in February, he was in line to be commissioned as an officer in the Marines but the injuries he suffered prevented him from realizing his dream.

Reising, while obviously disappointed at being disenrolled from the Marines office training candidate school, was not about to wallow in self pity. As the story which is running in Sunday's edition of the Register documents, his future is looking pretty bright. He is heading over to Afghanistan to work as a contractor and is starting a non-profit organization to help care for the families of fallen service members.

MAJOR HONOR FOR BANNON
Shane Bannon, who became the first Yale player taken in the NFL draft in seven years when he was selected in the seventh round by the Kansas City Chiefs in last month's draft, received a prestigious honor on Saturday night.

Bannon was co-winner of Yale's Meyer Humanitarian Award.

The award is given each year to a varsity athlete in the senior class "whose character exemplifies selfless devotion along with compassion and concern for their team and the community at Yale and beyond."

Bannon was recognized for his off the field work including spending the last three years being very involved in the annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive at Yale. He has also been a mentor for elementary school children at Shepherd Glen School in Hamden since 2009 and has volunteered with Special Olympics. He has participated in Youth Days and the athletics department’s annual holiday gift giving drive for underprivileged children all four years he has been at Yale.

LOOK FOR RECRUIT LIST NEXT WEEK
Last I heard, Yale was still dotting the i's and crossing the t's on its incoming freshman class. I'd look for the list to be officially released at some point in the next week. Don't look for any surprises as it is expected to consist of the 29 high school seniors as well as Duke transfer Tevin Hood.

Former Duke defensive lineman Tevin Hood has been provisionally accepted at Yale.

Hood played in four games as a freshman for the Blue Devils and had four tackles including 1/2 of a sack.

Hood will need to take two classes at Yale this summer, classes he previously planned to take, to play at Yale and have three years of eligibility.

In the next day or two, Yale is also expected to announce its class of incoming recruits which is expected to number 29 (30 counting Hood).

The list could grow by two 31 as the Bulldogs are waiting on a pair of recruits who are awaiting results of their SATs so they can land in the bands Yale has slotted for them. Since at least one of them has previously committed to another school, I will refrain from mentioning their names if they are included in Yale's incoming class.

Here are the 29 names that I have of committed recruits with the newest name being linebacker Will Vaughn, who had three games with at least 10 tackles as a senior at Columbia (N.J.) High School.



OL Ben Carbery 6-5 265 Oak Park (River Forest, Ill.)
K/P Kyle Cazzetta 5-10 180 Minisink Valley (Slate Hill, N.Y.)
OL William Chism 6-3 260 Saint Andrews Episcopal School (Ridgeland, Miss.)
TE Adam Conklin 6-3 230 Choate (Wallingford)
DE E.J. Conway 6-2 215 McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.)
DB Charles Cook 6-3 180 Parish Episcopal (Dallas)
DB Rob Coury 6-1 195 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
DE Chris Coyne 6-4 225 Staples (Westport)
DB Ethan DeSilva 6-1 190 Mission Viejo (Calif.)
OL John Dunion 6-3 250 Dos Pueblos (Goleta, Calif.)
OL Andy Ellis 6-3 290 Cinco Ranch (Katy, Tex.)
DL Max Fink 6-1 215 Gulliver Prep (Miami)
DE Davis Franks 6-4 235 Grace Christian Academy (Knoxville, Tenn.)
DB L.J. Hunt 6-0 195 St. Joseph (Trumbull)
QB Tyler Hutchison 5-11 165 Huntington (W.V.)
LB Everett Johnson 5-10 205 Union (N.J.)
RB Kahlil Keys 5-11 200 Choate (Wallingford)
DB Nick LaTesta 5-9 165 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.)
LB Tyler Manu 6-1 200 Rocky Mountain (Meridian, Idaho)
DE/LB Pat Murray 6-3 215 Staples (Westport)
DE Jeff Schmittgens 6-3 245 Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)
OL Jack Sheahan 6-2 265 St. Rita (Chicago)
OL Stephen Shoemaker 6-2 270 Bronxville (N.Y.)
DE/TE Matt Spillane 6-5 210 Healdsburg (Calif.)
TE Ryan Stanney 6-2 235 Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.)
K Parker Toms 5-10 180 Serra (San Mateo, Calif.)
LB Will Vaughn 6-2 185 Columbia (Maplewood, N.J.)
OL Seth Walker 6-4 240 Pope John II (Nashville, Tenn.)
WR Grant Wallace 6-0 180 Burroughs (St. Louis)