Yale will hold its first practice on Friday from 2-4 p.m. at Clint Frank Field. The Bulldogs will have afternoon practices until classes start on Aug. 31 when practices shift to the morning.

Naturally, the focus of my coverage figures to center on the positions where Yale has hit hard by graduation.

On offense, the Bulldogs lost veterans at fullback/h-back and tight end with a strong group of sophomores expected to push for starting positions. Replacements at center (with the graduation of Jake Koury) and right tackle (since starter Wes Gavin moved to left tackle).

Defensively, Matt Battaglia will hold down one defensive end spot but finding the starter at the other DE will be a priority as will replacing linebacker Jesse Reising, cornerback Chris Stanley and strong safety Adam Money.