The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame have announced the members of the NFF Hampshire Honor Society.
Those honored have maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better through their college career. The following Yale players were honored.

Yale University	George Buck
Yale University	Jordan Jefferson
Yale University	Michael Leunen
Yale University	Max Napolitano
Yale University	Nicholas Okano
Yale University	John Oppenheimer
Yale University	Beau Palin
Yale University	Derek Russell
Yale University	Cameron Sandquist

 
Penn head coach Al Bagnoli announced he will retire at the end of next season.
DC Ray Priore will take over as head coach.
Bagnoli has guided the Quakers to nine Ivy League titles in 22 seasons. 

Yale finished up its spring session on Saturday with its annual Blue-White scrimmage. The offense won 123-56, based on the scoring system (shown in previous post).

Both Morgan Roberts Logan Scott threw really well. With Tyler Varga, Candler Rich and Galen McAllister all out, and Kahlil Keys taking a bit hit early and missing the remainder of the game, Everett Johnson took most of the carries on Saturday.

“He was a workhorse for us,” Tony Reno said. “He did a nice job.”

Matt Rubino caught two TDs and Grant Wallace finished with seven catches for 152 yards and a touchdown. Wallace shown flashes of his potential as a freshman, but with Chris Smith and Deon Randall in front of him last season, his opportunities were limited. Expect Wallace to really emerge next season. Wallace and Roberts seem to have a real connection. On one drive, Wallace had three catches for 57 yards. Moments later, Scott connected with Wallace for a deep pass.

“I think he’s an unbelievable player,” Roberts said. “I keep on saying this, he’s going to be one of the best receivers in the Ivy League.”

Deon Randall didn’t play much, mostly on punt returns and was on the field for a few plays.

Nick LeTesta also looked solid at WR after moving over from DB. He caught a few passes, including a 62-yard bomb from Scott in the second half.

On the defensive side, Roger Kilgore intercepted a Scott pass and returned it 30 yards for a TD (though most players stopped on the play because of an inadvertent whistle). Cole Champion, Copache Tyler, Jack Rushin, Mary Moesta and Spencer Rymiszewski were some players that stood out.

Champion also mentioned Andrew Larkin, Rushin and Mikhail Reece as players who made real strides during the spring.

Also, there should be some healthy competition at safety with Champion, Foye Oluokun and Robbie Ries battling.

I thought it went well,” Reno said. “We had a lot of guys get chances to get plays in and we’ve continued to see growth in our offense and defense individuals as well as schemes. Overall, we had a good spring and grew as a team.”

Also, a handful of potential recruits were on hand for Yale’s Junior Day. Two in-state kids were Dario Highsmith from Middletown and Sharrieff Grice from Kingswood-Oxford.

A look at the spring team awards below…

2014 YALE FOOTBALL SPRING AWARDS (Presented by the 1981 Ivy Championship Team)

Offensive Big Award: Luke Longinotti, C, So.

Defensive Big Award: Copache Tyler, DT, Fr.

Offensive Combo Award: Sebastian Little, WR, So.

Defensive Combo Award: Marty Moesta, LB, So.

Offensive Skill Award: Kahlil Keyes, TB, Jr.

Defensive Skill Award: Foyesade Oluokun, DB, So

Strength & Conditioning MVP: Michael Bernardez, DB, So.

Strength & Conditioning MIP: Beau Iverson, OL, Fr.

One Team Award: Deon Randall, WR, Jr.

Every Play Every Day Award: Nick LaTesta, WR, Jr.

Yale announced this year's recruiting class today. Here is a look at the 32 players, along with a story here.

Name	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown	High school	Pos.
Jason Alessi	6-0	180	Bloomfield Hills, MI	Brother Rice	DB/K
Cody Arledge	6-5	266	Plano, TX	Plano West	OT
Stephen Barmore	6-2	210	Southington	Southington	QB
John Barton	5-8	190	Twinsburg, OH	Twinsburg	RB
Jon Bezney	6-5	295	Cincinnati, OH	Mariemont	OL
Will Bryan	5-11	180	Pomona, CA	Diamond Ranch	DB/RB
Hayden Carlson	6-0	195	Glen Ellyn, IL	Glenbard West	DB
Jeho Chang	6-4	280	Suwanee, GA	North Gwinnett	OL
Rafe Chapple	6-1	195	Alpharetta, GA	Greater Atlanta Christian	QB
Earl Chism	6-2	235	Elk Grove, CA	Pleasant Grove	DE
Nicholas Crowle	6-3	265	Fairfield	Fairfield Prep	DT
Tim Dawson	6-2	225	New Orleans, LA	St. Augustine	DE
Jake Dehart	5-9	170	Erie, PA	Cathedral Prep	WR
Ross Drwal	6-1	200	Omaha, NE	Millard West	WR
Conor Furey	6-6	235	Wilmington, DE	Archmere Academy	TE
Jaeden Graham	6-4	220	Aurora, CO	Cherry Creek	OLB
Nicholas Hardy	6-4	250	San Antonio, TX	Ronald Reagan	DL
John Herubin	6-3	240	Coppell, TX	Coppell	DL
Blake Horn	6-0	175	Davie, FL	Western	P/K
Anders Huizenga	6-6	295	Trophy Club, TX	Byron Nelson	OT
Andrew Johnson	6-0	195	Peachtree, GA	McIntosh	QB
Keefer Johnson	6-3	215	Grand Ledge, MI	Grand Ledge	DB
Ronnie Meder	6-2	215	Pittsburgh, PA	North Catholic	LB
Karl Marback	6-5	240	Birmingham, MI	Seaholm	DE
Jamal Locke	6-0	181	Ridgewood, NJ	Ridgewood	CB
Matt Oplinger	6-3	225	Summit, NJ	Delbarton	LB
Deshawn Salter	5-11	205	Constantia, NY	Christian Brothers Acad.	RB
Mike Siragusa	6-3	203	Cleveland, OH	Saint Ignatius	WR
Michael West	6-2	205	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	Los Osos	DE
Chris Williams-Lopez	6-0	185	Duluth, GA	Greater Atlanta Christian	WR
Noah Yates	6-6	200	Pt. Pleasant Beach, N.J.	Pt. Pleasant Beach	TE

Kickoff for the annual Blue-White scrimmage is now scheduled for 2 p.m.

So here is the plan for Saturday’s annual Blue-White scrimmage…

*Kickoff is 2 p.m. at the Yale Bowl.

*Quarters will be 15 minutes running time.

*It will be offense vs. defense. As for scoring, scoring rubric is below.



*The offense will get the ball at the 30 to begin each drive. There will be field goals and punts.

*Some players of note that will not play on Saturday: WR Deon Randall, RB Tyler Varga, RB Candler Rich, WR Robert Clemons, OL Ben Carberry and DL Ben Bedard.

Art Asselta has been named Yale's WR coach, the school announced Tuesday.

Asselta served as QB coach at McNeese State last season. He helped guide a McNeese State offense that ranked No. 7 in FCS scoring (40 ppg) and 17th in total offense (451 ypg).

He also held coaching positions at Hofstra, New Hampshire, Sacred Heart, Southeastern Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe and Stony Brook.

      

   

NEW HAVEN >> When Yale head football coach Tony Reno first talked about Victor Egu, he seemed cautiously optimistic.
“He’s a top-level national recruit,” said Reno, back in July. “He could be a dominant player, but he has to prove it on the college field.”
Read the rest of the story here.

So there will be one more week before the Bulldogs’ spring practice session wraps up. I’m still getting the details for Saturday’s Blue-White scrimmage.

Yale’s 20 seniors took their two-day trip to Gettysburg last week. Coach Tony Reno began the tradition last year.

“I learned a lot about leadership and accountability as a man and a teammate,” LB Will Vaughan said. “General Stanley McChrystal is an amazing guy, an amazing leader. When he speaks, he has the ability to control the room.

The team ran with McChrystal and toured the battlefield.

“Phenomenal,” Reno said. “It was a great leadership opportunity.”

MOVING AROUND
Some position changes of note that have taken place this spring…

With his athleticism, Pete Gerson is moving over from DE to TE. Reno said former TE Adam Conklin wanted to give DE a shot and it has worked out well. Eric Williams has shifted from QB to WR.

“He’s an athlete,” Reno said. “We wanted to get him on the field.”

Also, with a young and talented secondary, Nick LaTesta has moved over from CB to WR with hopes of getting more opportunities. He’s shown he’s good in space and has good hands. LaTesta made an impressive diving catch in the end zone for a TD at the end of Friday’s practice.

GROWING
What a difference a few months have made. Copache Tyler is huge. The 6-3 DT is now 300-plus pounds. Tyler came in last season and started all 10 games and had 33 tackles. He earned the team’s Charles Loftus award, given to the top freshman.

“He’s a stout and strong DT,” teammate Victor Egu said. “And he’s only getting, better, bigger and stronger, which is kind of scary.”

Egu, too, put on about 15 pounds of muscle and 6-3, 240 pounds.

LOOKIN’ GOOD
Vaughan said he’s been impressed with sophomore DB Roger Kilgore. He played on the JV team last season.

“I’m really happy with the way he’s progressing,” Vaughan said. “He hasn’t gotten that much of an opportunity yet, but he’s really shown improvement. He’s a very violent, downhill player.”

RENO ON STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

He’d like to see more physicality up front on the defensive side, but said that will come with time. He’s been happy this spring with the growth the quarterbacks have made as a whole.

HIGHSMITH IN ATTENDANCE

Yale appears to making a strong push for Middletown High QB and Gatorade State POY Dario Highsmith. He was in attendance for the Bulldogs practice on Friday and received a warm welcome from the team.

SOME NOTES FROM FRIDAY’S PRACTICE 

DE Marty Moesta continued to show strong passing rushing ability…D’Amani Grayer broke up what could have been a deep completion…Robert Ries also broke up a pass…Darius Manora stepped in and had an interception on a pass by Morgan Roberts…Both Roberts and Kahlil keys showed good speed on long runs...LaTesta made a diving catch for a TD on a pass from Roberts.

 


Soon-to-be sophomores Khalid Cannon and Mason Friedline are expected to see an expanded role on the OL next season. Read the story here.

The Bulldogs finished up week two of the spring session. I have to say, many players look bigger and stronger: Copache Tyler, Grant Wallace, Victor Egu, the list goes on. Tony Reno seems pleased with the progress so far.

“We’re making progress in a lot of areas,” he said. “The young guys are understanding the schemes better. Guys are getting a lot of opportunities.”

STANDING OUT

Some players who have really made some strides in the offseason? WRs Myles Gaines and Blake Rowlinson, TE Jackson Stallings, DT Jeff Schmittgens, LB Will Vaughan, along with DBs Spencer Rymiszewski and Dale Harris.

KEEP AN EYE ON…

DE Marty Moesta. He played in all 10 games and finished with 15 tackles last season. OL Khalid Cannon has been impressed with him.

“He’s really been stepping up,” Cannon said. “He’s like the QB on the DL right now, he’s making all the calls.”

FILLING THE SHOES

John Oppenheimer was as solid as a center could be last season. Moving over from RG, Luke Longinotti has done well stepping in. Fellow OL Mason Friedline said he’s much stronger, his snaps are solid and he’s making the right calls.

He’s a technician out there,” Friedline said. “He has the mental aspect, which is a huge part.”

SOME OTHER NOTES…

Tyler Varga and Brian Sykes were both wearing a walking boot and very limited on Friday…Everett Johnson had a solid run late in Friday’s practice…Logan Scott connected with Gaines, who made a diving catch for about a 20-yd TD… Keith Bloom has not yet been cleared to play (concussion), but is taking classes, Reno said…TE Blake Thomson is out for the spring with an injury…Avery Lewis is back for the spring and is gradually making his way back from his knee injury…

RECRUITING NEWS

Stepinac (N.Y.) Jr. QB Brandon Coleman has a Yale visit scheduled on Wednesday, according to Lohud.com. The 5-10, 160-pound Coleman also has visits scheduled with Harvard and Davidson. He threw for 1,144 yards and 12 TDs, while rushing for 715 yards and eight TDs last season. He also runs a 4.5 40.

YALE FOOTBALL 2014 SPRING ALPHABETICAL ROSTER                     as of 4/01/14 (74 players)

No.	Name	Pos.	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Hometown/High School
52	Aaron Ault	LB	So.	6-3	213	Altamonte Springs, FL / Lake Brantley
93	Benjamin Bedard	DL	Fr.	6-4	259	Grand Ledge, MI / Grand Ledge
35	Michael Bernardez	CB	So.	5-11	180	Queens, NY / Poly Prep Country Day
88	Stephen Buric	TE	So.	6-4	228	East Lake, FL / East Lake
65	Khalid Cannon	OL	Fr.	6-6	269	Gadsden, AL / Gadsden City
70	Ben Carbery	OL	Jr.	6-5	297	Oak Park, IL / Oak Park-River Forest
85	Austin Carter	LB	So.	6-2	216	Vero Beach, FL / Choate Rosemary Hall (CT)
37	Kyle Cazzetta	K/P	Jr.	6-0	212	Slate Hill NY / Minisink Valley
5	Cole Champion	DB	So.	5-11	182	Ft. Lauderdale, FL / St. Thomas Aquinas
67	William Chism	OL	Jr.	6-3	288	Ridgeland, MS / St. Andrews Episcopal
83	Robert Clemons III	WR	Fr.	6-0	178	Laguna Beach, CA / Laguna Beach
86	Adam Conklin	DE	Jr.	6-3	238	Dover, MA / Choate Rosemary Hall (CT)
22	Charles Cook	DB	Jr.	6-3	210	Dallas, TX / Parish Episcopal
76	John Dunion	OL	Jr.	6-3	268	Santa Barbara, CA / Dos Pueblos
10	Victor Egu	LB	Fr.	6-3	239	Concord, CA / De La Salle
98	Davis Frank	DT	Jr.	6-4	260	Clinton, TN / Grace Christian
75	Mason Friedline	OL	Fr.	6-5	285	Seattle, WA / King’s
82	Myles Gaines	WR	Fr.	5-11	175	Tallahassee, FL / Lincoln
92	Peter Gerson	DE	Fr.	6-3	225	Madison, CT / Daniel Hand
21	D’Amani Grayer	DB	Fr.	5-9	179	Phoenix, AZ / Brophy College Prep
80	Leo Haenni	TE	Fr.	6-3	237	Franklin, OH / Bishop Fenwick
1	Dale Harris	CB	Fr.	5-10	183	Brooklandville, MD / St. Paul’s School
15	Keith Hawk	CB	So.	6-0	179	Hacienda Heights, CA / Glen A. Wilson
43	Bryan Holmes	K/P	Fr.	5-11	198	Holland, MI / West Ottawa
22	L.J. Hunt	TB	Jr.	6-0	200	Stratford, CT / St. Josephs
71	Beau Iverson	OL	Fr.	6-8	269	University Place, WA / Charles Wright
36	Everett Johnson	TB	Jr.	5-10	195	Union, NJ / Union
45	Remick Kawawaki	OLB	Fr.	6-2	217	Vancouver, WA / Columbia River
24	Kahlil Keys	TB	Jr.	6-0	209	Petaluma, CA / Choate Rosemary Hall (CT)
41	Roger Kilgore III	DB	So.	6-2	183	Rahway, NJ / Bishop George Ahr
78	Ben Killion	OL	So.	6-6	289	Potomac, MD / Thomas S. Wootton
54	Carl Kreitzberg	DL	So.	6-3	275	Salem, OR / West Salem
73	John Lancione	OL	Fr.	6-3	285	Avon Lake, OH / Avon Lake
49	Andrew Larkin	LB	So.	6-2	222	Glen Ellyn, IL / Glenbard West
12	Nick LaTesta	CB	Jr.	5-9	172	Wood Ridge, NJ / Bergen Catholic
27	Avery Lewis	WR	So.	6-5	203	Dallas, TX / Richardson
4	Sebastian Little	WR	So.	6-1	223	Cheshire, CT / Cheshire
50	Luke Longinotti	OL	So.	6-4	278	Burlingame, CA / Junipero Serra
38	Darius Manora	TB	Fr,	6-0	212	Alexandria, VA / St. Stephens St. Agnes
55	Tyler Manu	DE	Jr.	6-2	224	Meridian, ID / Rocky Mountain
25	Galen McAllister	TB	Fr.	5-7	164	San Antonio, TX / James Madison
94	Pat McHugh	DT	So.	6-2	266	Sound Beach, NY / St. Anthony's
11	Spencer McManes	QB	Fr.	6-3	213	Roswell, GA/ Blessed Trinity Catholic
58	Marty Moesta	DE	Fr.	6-6	246	Grosse Pointe, MI / Grosse Pointe South
15	Anthony Morales	QB	So.	6-3	196	Cromwell, CT / Cromwell
56	Duncan Morfitt	LB	Fr.	6-3	220	Scottsdale, AZ / Notre Dame Prep
51	Patrick Murray	OLB	Jr.	6-2	202	Westport, CT / Staples
23	Foyesade Oluokun	DB	Fr.	6-2	209	St. Louis, MO / John Burroughs
2	Deon Randall (C)	WR	Jr.	5-8	192	San Diego, CA / Francis W. Parker
95	Mikhail Reece	DT	So.	6-5	267	Tampa, FL / Gaither
6	Austin Reuland	WR	So.	6-0	200	San Juan Capistrano, CA / Mission Viejo
32	Candler Rich	RB	Fr.	5-11	200	Newnan, GA / The Heritage School
34	Robert Ries	DB	Fr.	5-11	186	Cincinnati, OH / St. Xavier
19	Morgan Roberts	QB	So.	6-3	202	Charlotte, NC / Charlotte Country Day
62	Derrek Ross	OL	So.	6-4	272	Cincinnati, OH / Oak Hills
72	Dustin Ross	OL	So.	6-3	268	Cincinnati, OH / Oak Hills
81	Blake Rowlinson	WR	Fr.	6-3	205	Alpharetta, GA / Alpharetta
26	Matthew Rubino	WR	So.	6-2	193	Margate, NJ / Holy Spirit
89	Jack Rushin	DT	Fr.	6-5	291	Wilmette, IL / Loyola Academy
17	Spencer Rymiszewski	CB	Fr.	6-0	180	West Chester, PA / B. Reed Henderson
53	Jeff Schmittgens	DT	Jr.	6-4	240	Naperville, IL / Benet Academy
14	Logan Scott	QB	So.	6-1	196	Woodland Hills CA / Chaminade
69	Stephen Shoemaker	OL	Jr.	6-2	264	Bronxville, NY / Bronxville
16	Jackson Stallings	TE	Fr.	6-1	228	Moore, OK / Southmoore
59	Ryan Stanney	LB	Jr.	6-3	216	Oviedo, FL / Bishop Moore
28	Brian Sykes	LB	Fr.	6-2	191	Alpharetta, GA / Chattahoochee
48	Parker Toms	K/P	Jr.	5-11	193	San Carlos, CA / Junipero Serra
96	Copache Tyler	DT	Fr.	6-3	302	Springfield, IL / Springfield Southeast
39	Thomas Undercuffler	OLB	So.	6-1	212	Berlin, CT / Berlin
64	Adam Van Valkenburg	LB	So.	6-3	208	Longwood, FL / Lake Brantley
30	Tyler Varga	TB	Jr.	5-11	227	Kitchener, Ontario / Cameron Heights Collegiate
42	William Vaughan	LB	Jr.	6-1	226	South Orange, NJ / Columbia
29	Grant Wallace	WR	Jr.	6-0	194	St. Louis, MO / John Burroughs
8	Eric Williams	QB	So.	6-3	187	Portland, OR / St. Ignatius (OH)