Ivy League media day and Chalk Talk

The Ivy League preseason media poll was released on Tuesday (see previous post for complete poll). Yale was picked fifth.

In addition to the release of the poll, the Ivy League held its media day teleconference with all eight coaches. Then Tuesday night, Tony Reno took part in the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Sports Council’s annual Chalk Talk event.

The event features area college football coaches including, Reno, New Haven’s Chris Pincince and Southern Connecticut State’s Tom Godek, and it’s moderated by News 8/My TV 9 sports director Noah Finz.

Here are two clips from Reno speaking at the event.




 Also, here is a link to a notebook off of Tuesday’s news and some additional notes below.

Reno on captain Deon Randall: “Deon has the ability to be a TB, a slot WR in our offense and generate a lot of touches and put pressure on defenses. Whether it’s running zone schemes, catching balls on the perimeter or down field. He gets in and out of breaks well. He’s not the tallest, but he’s pretty stout. He can get off tackles well, he gets yards after the catch and after contact. We can plug him in roles and accomplish a lot, and it creates interesting issues for the defense. We can use him in a lot of different areas. But we need to give him help. It can’t just be the Deon Randall show.”

Reno added he does not plan on using Randall in the secondary this season, unless necessary.

Reno on the 100th anniversary of the Yale Bowl and playing Army: “It’s really an unbelievable opportunity. Think of the history of it. During my time in the league, there hasn’t been an Ivy League school that’s played a BCS program. We’re the first to play a BCS program in a while. It shows the importance of football at Yale and the rich tradition Yale has.”

Reno on Varga: “He’s still in Canada. As of right now, he’s progressing. We just don’t know to what point.”

On the defensive side, Reno expects to start eight sophomores. Some, he said, that have a shot to really emerge this season: Victor Egu, Marty Moesta, Foye Oluokun, Spencer Rymiszewski, Dale Harris and Cole Champion. He said all had impressive summers.