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Thank you, along with some news and notes
Readers,
First, I want to thank you for the well-wishes. I went back and read all the comments, and I want to say I really appreciate them all. Thank you.
We had a boy. Bryce Christopher Hunn was born on Nov. 15 and weighed 8 lbs, 15 oz. He’s already got the size, so hopefully he will be running a 4.5 40 soon and I’ll be writing about him on this blog in 20 years.
Now for some Yale football news…
Here are the Bulldogs that earned All-Ivy honors.
First Team: Sr. OL Ben Carberry, Sr. RB Tyler Varga, Sr. WR Deon Randall, Sr. WR Grant Wallace and Sr. K Kyle Cazzetta.
Second Team: Sr. OL Will Chism, Jr. C Luke Longinotti, Jr. QB Morgan Roberts, So. DL Copache Tyler, Sr. LB Charles Cook and So. DB Foyesade Oluokun.
Honorable Mention: So. RB Candler Rich, So. TE Leo Haenni, Jr. DB Cole Champion.
Here’s a complete list of the All-Ivy League team.
REFLECTING ON “THE GAME”
Yale battled back from a 17-point deficit to tie the game in the fourth before eventually falling 31-24 to Harvard.
In front of a sold-out crowd, with the national spotlight shining bright and an Ivy League title on the line, Conner Hempel connected with Andrew Fischer for a 35-yard touchdown in the closing minute to hand Yale the crushing loss.
“Give Harvard credit, but we feel we lost that game,” Tony Reno said. “We had a lot of opportunities. We felt that should have been a 17-3 game, not a 7-3 game, at the half. We didn’t connect on a lot of plays. If we did, it was a different game…The players weren’t sad, but mad. They were upset. They knew we didn’t play up to their capabilities. The expectation was to win that game, and that’s something this team changed.”
The loss is clearly still burning. When asked about Harvard’s Andrew Fischer (8 rec., 149 yds, 2 TDs) and what made him so difficult to defend, DB Cole Champion refused to comment.
And if you missed it, here’s Chip Malafronte’s column on the 131st edition of “The Game.”
REFLECTING ON THE SEASON
Yale went from a two-win team in 2012 to playing for a conference title this season.
How does Reno sum up this season?
Reno said: “I didn’t know what to expect coming in. We knew our QB (Morgan Roberts) had a ton of talent, but not many snaps. Tyler Varga wasn’t healthy yet. We had young guys on the offensive line. The defense was still young. These were all questions I had coming in. And the league is so competitive. I’m definitely happy with the progress, but we still have a ways to go. We played for a championship at the end of the year, so we accomplished half of our goal.”
UP NEXT AT RB…
Varga will certainly be missed at RB. He had a remarkable season with 1,423 rushing yards and 26 TDs (22 rushing, four receiving), and will go down as one of the best backs in Bulldogs history.
Players like Varga can’t be replaced.
Candler Rich (67 car., 502 yds, 2 TDs) and Deshawn Salter (20 car., 111 yds) will look to step in and take over as Yale’s lead back.
“Both need to get faster and stronger,” Reno said. “They have different running styles.”
And don’t forget about John Barton. He was the starting JV RB this past season.
“He’s another guy with speed and patience as a runner,” Reno said. “He will compete too.”
MEDICAL HARDSHIPS
Unofficially, the following players will likely get an extra season because of a medical hardships: DT Nick Crowle, DT Ben Bedard, LB Brian Sykes, WR Myles Gaines and K/P Blake Horn.
CHAMPION NAMED CAPTAIN
Elected by his teammates, DB Cole Champion has been named Yale’s 2015 captain.
Champion has been a starter since his freshman season. He’s the first DB to serve as captain since Rob Masella in 1996. As a junior for the Bulldogs, he had a 51 tackles and an interception. He was also an All-Ivy League honorable mention.
“Carm Cozza told me a while ago, ‘guys always make the right decision,’” Reno said. “Cole is the perfect guy to help us make that next step. He’s a relentless worker and comes from a good high school program.”
Said Champion: “It means a lot. It’s humbling. But it hasn’t really set in yet. It’s a great honor mostly because it’s from my teammates.”
RECRUITING NEWS
Ray had it correct. OL Jacob Van De Grift is the latest player looking to be headed to Yale next season. The 6-5, 266 OT plays at Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, California). Here’s a look at the other likely future Bulldogs.
posted by Anonymous at
4:33 PM
17 Comments:
God Bless ya, and your wonderful wife.Can't wait to see bryce in those Yale blues buddy.
Thanks for the info as always.
Cheers to you and yours,
Jon Harris
Defense wins championships and unfortunately the 'dogs young and inexperienced defense was not put in a position to succeed all year, especially when it counted against Harvard, because of a soft defensive scheme. Hopefully the youth movement will pay off in the next few years but not if the overall defensive philosophy doesn't change. Kudos to Conlin and the senior leadership on offense for keeping us in games all season but it is alot to continually ask of our offense to put up 40+ points a game in order to win. I believe the difference between an undefeated Ivy League championship season and an 8-2 third place finish comes down to poor coaching decisions when it came to personnel and defensive scheme. Although there were a few very talented underclassman, the under utilization of alot of junior and senior talent and experience at the expense of over utilization of freshman and sophomore inexperience played a large role in our team having to come from behind in most games and ultimately burying us in the game that mattered most. I give all of the credit to the unselfish leadership of the upperclassmen for turning this program around (including last year's seniors). Many of these upperclassmen were unfairly and blatantly overlooked for the younger players that were brought in but never flinched and kept working hard for the sake of the team. Those players are the unsung heroes. The intangibles that they can provide to a program if they were utilized are what championship teams are built with. I believe this team was robbed of a well deserved championship because of arrogance, ignorance and ego. Successful people learn from their mistakes. I can only hope that the folks leading Yale football can learn from theirs'.
10:47 is like a broken record. The same BS over and over.
Correct 5:52PM. Not sure who 10:47PM is but their opinion is just that, a ridiculous opinion. Putting a spin on a great 8-2 season and making it out to be a partial failure of some sorts is an idiotic aberration. Great season, great future, looking forward to next season. That is all factual and plain to see. Gotta love the fools who hate Reno searching and fishing for stones to throw at a program that has vastly improved year in and year out. I have a feeling that he is going to keep succeeding, and the ridiculousness of those naysayers is going to grow like a tidal wave. Which I hope catches them all in the under toe.
Go Bulldogs
Heres to riding that tidal wave next year.I guess I'm gonna have to go on the road a bit.
Only 4 home games next year.I thought it was a typo.But Tom Beckett not able to use any leverage.?Yale should have no less than 6 home games in any given year.
Yours Truly Jon Harris
It would be nice to get some big lineman like harvard and other teams do . harvard already has lineman 6-6-295lb how about us? blue boy wants to know WHY NOT US.
Jacob Van de Grift, OL, 6',5",290 lbs. accepted at Yale!
Murphy said this year's Harvard line was his best ever. They were tall but stiff. Did not overwhelm our D Line--which no one pretends was among the best in the league. It's a fools errand to chase prototypical Power 5 conference O Lineman--Reno found Khalid Cannon (truly an athletic specimen who had a great season) But Reno also has three more on the roster that have the same height and frame as Cannon who are destined for JV ball at best. There's a reason these kids did no sign w9th bigger schools. There are no D lines in the Ivy League that average 330 lbs across the front. And we don't line up in the Power I. We need mobility more than height. Our O line production these past two years, anchored by kids who did not fit the "Harvard" mold, was exceptional.
What is your basis for saying that three lineman are destined for only JV play?
?
Chris,
Any info as to what potential recruits will arrive this weekend?
Re O Line. Reno likes his O line set. In his first year the only changes were from injuries. Last year same 5 started all 10 games. Same this year (Friedline and Cannon were the additions) So once its set, chances are it's set. Bezney will likely replace Chism or Carberry. That leaves one slot, most likely at RT. O line is least injury prone group on field. So the raw math says there are fewer shots at proving themselves in game situations than D lineman who rotate in and out.
Ray,
I'm trying to confirm some names. Will list them when I get them. Thanks.
DE Ian Baker, WR Kyle Marcinick, OL Jack Bates, Ath Tre Moore and ?? Michael Johnson are some of the players visiting this weekend .
Hey Chris,any commits over the weekend.?
Jon Harris wants to know
Just an update .harvard footballgetting stronger and stronger. The other teams in the league will never be able to match there power. Aready they have virginafootball player of the year running back Noah reimers 4 star recruit alsoBoston high school poy briab dunlap wide receiver alsowide receiverJustice Shelton mosley 7000 all purpose yarda 88 touchdowns . The beat go on and on for harvard Boy ihate them go blue.
You are "blueboy"? An I am the jolly green giant. Troll, get away from here. You are trying to talk us down. You have NO IDEA or you prefer not to say who Yale is getting. Take a powder.
All in all a tremendous result that is indeed praiseworthy and stands us in good stead for the coming season. Go 'dogs.
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