With the exception of the Harvard games, Yale's junior varsity games don't tend to be major draws.

That could change on Oct. 9 when Milford Academy plays the Yale JV squad at 2 p.m. at Clint Frank Field in West Haven (right next to Yale Field) especially with today's news that former Ansonia High running back Montrell Dobbs, who will be a captain of the 2012 Milford Academy squad, has committed to UConn.

Much like another former Ansonia High running back (Yale senior to be Alex Thomas) Dobbs is a true workhorse who seemingly gets stronger as the game moves on.

I spoke with Milford Academy coach Bill Chaplick on Thursday who had some words of praise for Dobbs and is hoping he will be the latest in a long line of top-flight running backs at Milford Academy. Among the running backs who have played for Chaplick at Milford Academy are LeSean McCoy, who ran for 1,080 yards in 2010 for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Shonn Greene, who had 766 yards this past season with the New York Jets. However, the player Chaplick compared Dobbs to was former Iowa running back Fred Russell, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher for the Hawkeyes.

Dobbs is one of a host of former Connecticut high school stars set to suit up for Milford Academy in the fall.

Defensive end Eddie Glenn out of North Haven, the Naugatuck duo of cornerback Ruben Berger and lineman Aaron Echevarria, Morgan quarterback Eric Bertinskas (who Chaplick said was planning to visit Iowa in the first week of August), St. Joseph linebacker Tyler Matakevich, another player Iowa recruiters have an interest in, Norwich Free Academy tight end Jaron Russell, Trunbull High receiver Franklin Gaines, Montville running back/defensive end Tyler Girard-Floyd, Masuk lineman Glenn Taylor and Ledyard defensive tackle Desmond Gray.

Although he won't be on the Milford Academy team, Chaplick sounds like a proud dad signing the praises of new Iowa commit Dean Tsopanides, a former Torrington High star who projects as a defensive end at Iowa. The original plan was to have Tsopanides play at Milford Academy in the fall but he made enough progress and opened enough eyes with his play in a week-long camp for Iowa to offer him a scholarship beginning in the upcoming season.

Yale JV will also host Bridgton Academy on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. and since Yale will host Harvard on Nov. 19, the JV game will also be played at Yale on Nov. 18. When I have more details on the JV schedule, I will be sure to pass them on.

According to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Class of 2012 receiver Matt Rubino out of Holy Spirit of Absecon, N.J. has committed to Yale.

Rubino was the second-leading receiver on a team which won the 2010 New Jersey Non-Public Group III state title. Obviously there are still steps to be made before Rubino officially becoming a member of next year's recruiting class as we are months away from Yale looking at Rubino's transcripts and sending him a likely letter.

Former Yale quarterback Brook Hart threw three scoreless innings in his professional baseball debut.

Hart, a 23rd-round pick of the Colorado Rockies, retired all nine batters he faced and had a pair of strikeouts in the Casper Ghosts' 3-2 loss at the Orem Owlz on Thursday.

Thanks to one of the readers of this blog for providing the link on the Consensus Draft Services Preseason FCS All-American teams.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Senior linebacker Jordan Haynes and senior quarterback Patrick Witt were named as honorable mention selections.

Haynes led Yale with 102 including 10 tackles for losses and also had three fumble recoveries and two interceptions as a junior.

Witt led the Ivy League with 2,216 passing yards in 2010 and heads into his senior season sixth on Yale's career charts with 3,665 passing yards.

Versus will televise five Ivy League games in 2011 including three games featuring Yale.

Versus' coverage begins with the Sept. 24 game against Cornell, the Oct. 22 Yale at Penn and Nov. 19 Harvard at Yale games will also be aired by Versus.

The Penn at Columbia game on Oct. 15 and Penn at Harvard contest on Nov. 12 will also be carried by Versus.

Former Yale quarterback Brook Hart, who was taken in the 23rd round of the MLB draft earlier this month, was assigned to the rookie league Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League.

Casper opens its season today against Orem.

Hart, one of four lefties on Casper's opening day pitching staff, resumed his baseball career as a junior at Yale. As a senior, he was 4-5 with a 2.23 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 13 walks in 64 2/3 innings. He finished his football career at Yale completing 172 of 287 passes for 1,896 yards and 12 touchdown passes. Hart set a single-season school record by completing 62.1 percent of his passes as a sophomore and his 59.9 completion percentage is also a Yale record.

I don't have very many details but former Duke defensive lineman will not be suiting up for Yale after all.

Hood, who was recruited heavily as a senior out of Hamilton High in Chandler, Arizona, opted to attend Duke as a preferred walk on. Hood played in four games as a freshman and was in on a sack in a game against Alabama.

After flirting with the idea of attending his home state University of Arizona, Hood followed through on his transfer at Yale. He attended at least one of Yale's spring practices and was provisionally accepted into Yale. He was supposed to be taking some classes during summer school and was supposed to suit up for Yale when fall drills began in August.

However, I just heard that he is not at Yale. If I find out where he ends up and/or what led to his change of heart, I will pass on the info.

The silver lining is that defensive tackle may be Yale's deepest position with the return of Jake Stoller, Reed Spiller and Chris Dooley and Patrick Moran coming back after taking a year off from school and football.

Former Yale quarterback Brook Hart was one of 13 draft picks signed by the Colorado Rockies on Tuesdayhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Although I have not seen any official announcement yet, I would anticipate that Hart starts his pro career with Casper (Wyoming) Ghosts of the Pioneer League.

Yale captain and senior linebacker Jordan Haynes was one of 41 Football Championship Subdivision linebackers named to the preseason watch list by the College Football Performance Awards.

As a junior, Haynes led Yale was 102 and was also the team lead with 10 tackles for losses and three fumble recoveries while he had two interceptions and 1 1/2 sacks.

Classmate Patrick Witt, who had 2,216 passing yards with 12 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in 2010, was named to the quarterback watch list last month.

Also, I'm about a week late on this but Yale was picked to finish third in the Ivy League by the Sporting News (which is a few months premature in picking the order of finish considering fall drills don't start until August). Penn was picked to finish first followed by Harvard and Yale.

Former Cheshire High star Billy Ragone, a quarterback at Penn, was named the preseason player of the year while Yale incoming freshman Max Fink was predicted to win the rookie of the year award.

If picking the order of finish is a little dicey at this time, picking a freshman of the year is just outlandish. I've never seen Fink play so I can't say what sort of impact he will have. However, considering the amount of returning experienced players in the defensive front seven (where Fink projects to play), I'd be surprised to see any freshmen contribute early on. If I were picking a Yale player as a potential impact player as a freshman I'd lean towards offensive lineman Ben Carbery (not that an offensive lineman is likely to win an award like that) or defensive backs Rob Coury and Ethan DeSilva since Yale lost two starters on both the offensive line and in the defensive secondary.

As for the player of the year, Ragone was a finalist for the Bushnell Cup in 2010 so it's certainly possible that he could win the award in 2011 especially if Penn wins the title. Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger does return after sharing Ivy player of the year honors as a junior. I said in the days leading up to the announcement of the Bushnell Cup that no other Ivy League player impressed me more than Harvard defensive lineman Josue Ortiz and since he is back for his senior season, he would be my pick for player of the year.

Yale's website has the bios on the 29 incoming freshmen football recruits. There are no surprises on the list and it should be noted that Duke transfer Tevin Hood is not on the list but he has been provisionally accepted and will have thttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhree years of eligibility remaining.

Yale is still waiting on some test scores or spring semester grades from two others who could be added to the group of incoming freshmen.

Yale incoming freshmen Chris Coyne and Pat Murray will play for the Fairfield County squad in the Hall of Fame Classic, which will be played on July 8 at 7:30 p.m. at Ken Strong Stadium. As seniors at Staples High, Coyne had 106 tackles and 12 sacks while Murray had 107 tackles and 15 sacks.

Former Yale quarterback Brook Hart was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 23rd round of Major League Baseball's draft on Tuesday.

Hart was a highly successful lefty pitcher at State College (Pa.) Area High School, tossing a complete game in Pennsylvania District VI championship game as a senior. He garnered attention as the other pitcher in the 2001 Mid-Atlantic Regional final as Danny Almonte pitched his squad to a 2-0 win and a trip to the Little League World Series. It was later discovered that Almonte was too old to have pitched in the tournament.

Hart focused on football early on in his college career. He started five games at Yale as a sophomore in 2008 as he threw for 919 yards and seven touchdowns. He also set a Yale single-season record with a 62.1 completion percentage.

Hart battled Nebraska transfer Patrick Witt for the starting quarterback spot in 2009. Hart played in six games, threw for 750 yards including four TDs had five interceptions. Hart skipped spring football practice so he could restart his baseball career.

Hart was 3-3 with a 6.26 ERA in 12 games (including eight starts). He had 38 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. He was not taken in the 2010 MLB draft and returned to the football team.

As a senior, Hart played in just three games. He started against Fordham and was 15 of 29 for 227 yards with a touchdown pass and interception in a 7-6 Yale win.

He had a more significant role on the baseball team as a senior as he pitched in 11 games including nine starting assignments. His 2.23 ERA was second among the Yale players who pitched more than 10 innings. He was 4-5 with 47 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings.