Around the time his former Yale football teammate Tom McCarthy was arriving in Atlanta to start his pro football career, Brook Hart was getting his first professional baseball win.

Hart's outing in the Casper Ghosts' 13-7 win over the Helena Brewers on Tuesday was far from his best. He came in with a runner on first and two outs in the sixth inning in a 7-6 game. Hart threw two consecutive wild pitches and then gave up a game-tying triple to Max Walla before getting Kyle Dhanani to ground out to end the inning. Although he did not come back out to pitch the seventh, he became the pitcher of record when Will Swanner homered in the top of the seventh to put Casper up 8-7.

Hart was a 23rd-round pick of the Colorado Rockies and assigned to Casper where he has been a solid member of the pitching staff, posting a 3.72 ERA in seven appearances. Hart started one game, finished two others and has a save.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For those who have Sirius Radio, Saturday's Yale/Dartmouth game will be aired on channel 130 with the Dartmouth crew of Bob Lipman and Wayne Young handling the duties. WELI-960, as always, will be broadcasting the game as well with Rob Vaccaro and former Yale coach Carm Cozza on the call.

There wasn't much more off Thursday's practice worth reporting. Yale coach Tom Williams said he had yet to name a starting kicker but was impressed by the efforts of starter Alex Barnes and Philippe Panico. Williams reopened the competition following last week's fiasco when a field goal, punt and extra point were all blocked.

The one position where there will be a change is at center because a knee injury is sidelining starter Jake Koury. Jeff Fell will start in his place and is the focus on my advance to the game. Defensive end Matt Battaglia is also expected to miss the game with a knee injury but team captain Tom McCarthy will be back after missing the last two games with a calf strain.

Starting quarterback Patrick Witt injured his throwing hand in Saturday's loss to Albany but he threw the ball pretty well at the portion of practice I was at on Thursday. If he is limited at all, Yale has a pretty nice Plan B as reserve quarterback Brook Hart threw for 390 yards against Dartmouth last season.

The Major League Baseball draft just concluded and Brook Hart was not among the 1,525 players taken.

That is very good news for the Yale football team since there would have been a potentially gaping hole behind Patrick Witt at the quarterback position had Hart chosen to pursue to professional baseball career rather than play his senior season at Yale.

Hart joined the Yale baseball program for the first time as a junior and while his numbers (3-3, 6.33 ERA and 53 hits in 41 2/3 innings) weren't impressive, tall lefty pitchers who average nearly a strikeout per inning and have a 38/14 strikeout/walk ratio tend to draw interest from MLB scouts.

Hart missed spring drills with the football team and Witt seems to have taken hold of the No. 1 QB position but things could have gotten a bit dicey had something happened to Witt and Hart wasn't around.

Even if Witt assumes the starting role, the Yale coaching staff can feel pretty good about having a veteran reserve like Hart who has started nine games in the last two seasons and owns program records for completion percentage in a season (62.1 in 2008) and in a career (61.2).

Yale was supposed to kick off its spring practice schedule today at 4 p.m. but received word that there will be no practice. I was not given an explanation but the opening practice will now be held on Tuesday beginning at 4 p.m. The next three Wednesdays are built in makeup days so there won't be a problem for the Yale staff to get its 12 practices (including the April 24 spring game) in.

As was the case last year, I won't be providing coverage at the start of spring camp because I am covering the UConn women's basketball team at the Final Four in San Antonio. I won't be back home until Wednesday and then have an assignment covering the WNBA draft the following day.

Now for some news people have been inquiring about, the identies of the two transfers. One is Trevor Peterson, a tight end who is transferring to Yale from Boise State and the other is punter Greg Carlsen, who attended Florida but was not a member of the Gators' squad.

Peterson was the No. 39 ranking tight end nationally coming out of El Dorado High School in Placentia, Calif. according to the scout.com database. Scout.com also reported that he was offered by San Diego State, Cal-Davis, Utah and Harvard with Oregon and Washington listed as other schools expressing an interest in the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Peterson. Peterson redshirted in 2009 and my understanding is that he will have four years of eligibility.

Carlsen is a potential two-sport athlete who was first in contact with the Yale baseball staff. He was told that they don't often take transfers unless they have four years of eligibility and Carlsen is expected to only have three years with the Bulldogs. When I spoke with Carlsen on Sunday, he said the combination of the education opportunities available at Yale and the chance to compete for the starting punting job with the graduation of All-Ivy League punter Tom Mante was intriguing to him. He also said he is considering playing baseball as well at Yale but has not spoken with Yale baseball coach John Stuper recently.

Both Peterson and Carlsen have been accepted at Yale but neither will be able to take part in spring practice.

I will leave you today with a link to a story the Register's columnist Dave Solomon did on Yale quarterback Brook Hart, who joined the baseball team and has made an immediate impact. Hart will not be taking part in spring football practice but will be a member of the football squad in the fall.

David White, a former assistant recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma, should be named as Yale's tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator shortly.

White will replace Mike Sanford who held the same position last season before leaving to become the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Western Kentucky.

Thursday was Yale's pro day with punter Tom Mante, tight end A.J. Haase and linebacker Travis Henry representing the Bulldogs. They had plenty of company as there 18 players from various colleges on hand.

While I am not an NFL scout, from my vantage point Mante, former Lyman Hall and Southern Connecticut State defensive back Andrew Pratt and ex-UConn and Pace linebacker Ricky McCollum seemed to help themselves while working out in front of a scout from the Green Bay Packers.

Since highly-touted UMass line prospect Vlad Ducasse was working out for scouts at UMass, that's where most of the scouts went.

Pratt had a 38 1/2 inch vertical leap, just off the 40-inch standard set by McCullough, ran a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash and had a strong effort in the standing broad jump. Mante more than held his own in the agility drills

Mante, who rewrote Yale's punting and some of the kicking record books, knows he isn't likely to be draft but said that about 12 teams have expressed an interest. While he did not punt the ball, his strong efforts in the running and jumping events shouldn't hurt his stock at all.

"It was good, I got to show off my non-kicking skills I guess, show I am an athlete," Mante said. "Obviously these times won’t matter for me but it is good to compete and see how I do against the rest of the competition."

Haase and Henry also had solid efforts although Henry had to shut it down after pulling up lame while running his 40.

Former Yale linebacker Paul Rice did not take part but he was in attendance and said he has a workout with the Cleveland Browns on April 11. Yale's MVP last season, h-back John Sheffield, was also there but I didn't get a chance to talk to him. Word I am hearing is that Sheffield is not focusing on a future in professional football.

Also in the house was former Fairfield Prep and University of Minnesota defensive lineman Garrett Brown. Brown did not work out but said that he had a strong showing for the scouts during Minnesota's pro day and he has been told that it's possible he could be taken as high as the fourth round.

Now for some recruiting tid-bits, Yale is still waiting on Brandis Yarrington, a speedy defensive back from Ann Arbor, Mich while running back Kahlil Keys will attend prep school in the fall with an invitation to play at Yale remaining open after a year of prep school.

Also, reports of running back Jackson Cummings from Rocklin, Calif. backing out of his commitment to Yale to become a preferred walk on at Stanford are correct. What I am hearing if that Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh reached out to Cummings directly Jackson obviously liked what he was hearing.

Also, there is a new player who has committed to Yale, 6-foot-6 tight end Michael Leunen out of Portland, Oregon and the two transfers from BCS teams have been accepted at Yale. I will have more on them including their names in the coming days.

The last time is that rising senior quarterback Brook Hart is indeed skipping spring football practice so he can continue his strong season as a pitcher on the Bulldogs' baseball team but he has every intention of being a member of the football team in the fall. While Hart's absence obviously gives Patrick Witt a chance to take command of the position, it should be noted that Witt did not take part in spring practice after transferring from Nebraska and still ended the season as the starting quarterback. However, my opinion is it is going to be hard for Hart to unseat Witt as the No. 1 QB even if he was around for spring practice. Spring drills begin on April 5 with the spring game set for April 24.

As Yale victories go, few are as improbable as Saturday's 23-22 thriller over Columbia.

Yale entered the fourth quarter without an offensive touchdown in more than 11 quarters and slippery freshman quarterback Sean Brackett, who starred at Griswold High, was eluding the usually sure-tackling Yale defense.

When Patrick Witt, who came on for the start of the third quarter for Brook Hart, hooked up with John Sheffield for a 20-yard TD to end the lack of offensive touchdown streak 32 seconds shy of 180 minutes or three complete games, Yale seemed to be in business.

Then Columbia's all-time leading receiver Austin Knowlin beat Yale safety Geoff Dunham for a 32-yard touchdown reception and Leon Ivery's two-run rush gave Columbia a 12-point lead with 8:32 to play.

That's where Adam Money took over. He chased down Ivery from the opposite side of the field, bringing him down at the 2. On the next play Paul Rice jarred the ball free from Zack Kourouma to keep the Lions from regaining the two-score cushion.

When Yale failed to move the ball, Columbia attempted to run the clock out. Brackett rumbled into Yale's side of the field but Money poked the ball out and recovered.

Witt hooked up with A.J. Haase for 22 yards and Peter Balsam for 8 yards and then Yale was given life when a defensive holding penalty on a fourth-down incompletion gave the Bulldogs 1st and goal at the 10. Witt found Haase along the left sideline for a game-winning score.

"It's probably the craziest win I have ever been a part of here," Sheffield said.

Here are a few numbers. Yale was being outgained 246-146 headed into the fourth quarter, was 1 for 8 on third downs entering the last quarter and somehow escaped with a win.

Mordacei Cargill led Yale with 73 yards but he was replaced by Alex Thomas after he lost his second fumble of the game. Two of Columbia's three scores came on the next play after Cargill lost the ball.

Witt was 14 of 23 for 166 yards and two touchdowns and was not sacked. Brook Hart played the first two quarters, was 9 of 15 yards for 64 yards and was sacked four times.

At halftime, John Sheffield had no catches and A.J. Haase caught two balls for 17 yards. They combined for 10 catches in the second half.

Rice led Yale with 14 tackles. Columbia ripped through the stingy Yale run defense for 235 yards despite being without starting tailback Ray Rangel (out for the season after undergoing surgery on his injured foot) and quarterback M.A. Olawale (who was in uniform but did not throw a pass in practice all week because of a shoulder injury).

Yale denied Knowlin a chance to become Columbia's career leader in receiving yards. Knowlin had three catches for 63 yards, leaving him 32 yards shy of the record.

The Bulldogs turned to Alex Barnes at kicker over Tom Mante after Mante missed three fields last week. Barnes kicked a 47-yard field goal while Mante was impressive both on punts and kickoff returns.

Just a few notes from Thursday's practice.

First, John Sheffield stole the show during the scrimmaging portion of practice making a series of impressive catches including one which he tipped twice and managed to corral just as he was falling to the ground.

Freshman receiver Chris Smith was not at practice. Yale coach Tom Williams said he hasn't heard anything definitive regarding the team's second leading receiver but since he has not practiced, Williams said he will not play against Columbia on Saturday.

The good news is that junior Jordan Forney, who has three of the Bulldogs' seven touchdown receptions, is back at practice and figures to start on Saturday. Forney was knocked out of the Lehigh game and missed the game against Penn with a concussion.

With tailback Jordan Farrell not 100 percent as he battles back from the flu and a case of bronchitis, expect to see senior Rodney Reynolds and freshman Mordecai Cargill to see the bulk of work in the running game.

The ever changing offensive line figures to have its sixth different starting lineup in the last six games. Williams said he expects the starting unit which played together on Thursday (tackles Alex Golubiewski and Cory Palmer, guards Nathan Burow and Gabe Fernandez and center Jake Koury) to start against Columbia.

As promised, the quarterback reps were split equally between Brook Hart and Patrick Witt. Freshman Dez Duron saw plenty of time but that was more to give the Yale defense a look at a running quarterback to help prepare for facing athletic Columbia quarterback M.A. Olawale. Of course there is one major difference as Olawale is 6-foot-1, 224 pounds while Duron is listed at 5-11, 180 which might be generous in both the height and weight departments.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Tuesday's press conference at the Yale bookstore as well as the weekly Ivy League football coaches teleconference is that Tom Williams was not asked about Saturday's Yale/Columbia game marking the first time two black head coaches will square off in an Ivy League game.

Following the question and answer portion of the press conference, I brought up the subject with Williams, who joins Columbia's Norries Wilson as the only two black head coaches in Ivy League history.

"I don’t know what it means other than two young black coaches who aspire to be head coaches," Williams said. "For everybody else, it is just Yale and Columbia and how the Ivy League race plays out. That is the only thought I had about it."

My follow-up question was whether the lack of attention on this subject is a sign of progress since there was a time when a matchup of two black coaches would probably be drawing attention from national media.

"I think it is progress that it is not front page (news), just two football coaches getting their teams ready to play each other," Williams said.

Now back to the football.

Williams said the status of freshman receiver Chris Smith, who injured his knee late in Saturday's 9-0 loss to Penn, is still up in the air.

"We're still waiting to find out, just have to wait to see what the doctors tell us and how Chris feels," Williams said. "We’ll evaluate that and hopefully make a decision by game time."

The good news is that Jordan Forney is expected to play this week after missing Saturday's game as he recovered from a concussion.

Williams said that quarterback reps were split equally among Brook Hart and Patrick Witt in Tuesday's practice and it looks like Yale is back to using both quarterbacks.

Yale moved into the top spot in scoring defense among Football Championship Subdivision teams allowing an average of 11.83 points per game.

Now for a programming note, we are holding off on our weekly Yale football chats for the time being but plans are in the works for a significant online presence the week of the Yale/Harvard game.

Speaking of "The Game", Yale is looking to get out word about some changes in parking policies. Passes will need to be purchased in advance and there will be no general admission parking available.

Here's the complete release
Parking Plans Changed For Yale-Harvard Game
The Yale Athletic Department is pleased to announce a new parking and shuttle plan for the November 21 Yale-Harvard football game at Yale Bowl. The following plan has been implemented to control heavy traffic in the vicinity of Yale Bowl caused by overwhelming interest in recent Yale-Harvard football games. In addition, the Department of Athletics at Yale is confident this plan will improve the game day experience for all of its fans.

YALE BOWL PARKING OPTIONS

For the 2009 Yale-Harvard game, in order to address parking challenges and the delays that have resulted from them in the past, General Admission parking will not be available. Instead, all parking at the Bowl will require a purchased pass. Parking passes must be purchased in advance and are available on a first come first served basis. In order to purchase a parking pass, fans must purchase at least two game tickets; two purchased tickets will then entitle them to buy one parking pass. Yale students and Yale employees can purchase one parking pass by visiting the Yale Athletics Ticket Office and providing proper identification. Fans without Yale Bowl parking should plan to park downtown, in the new subsidized option described below, or make other arrangements for transportation and parking.

There are approximately 4,000 available parking spaces around the Yale Bowl and these will be sold until they have been allocated. Yale does expect to sell out the parking passes in advance. Parking passes for regular-sized vehicles are being sold for $15.00. A limited number of oversized vehicle and bus parking passes are on sale for $25.00. All parking passes can be purchased online at the
Yale Athletics Tickets website or by calling the Yale Athletics Ticket Office at (203) 432-1400. All Yale Bowl parking lots will open at 8:30 am on Nov. 21 and we recommend spectators getting there as early as possible!

DOWNTOWN NEW HAVEN PARKING OPTIONS

To accommodate fans who do not wish to park at the Bowl, or are not able to purchase a parking pass, Yale has partnered with the City of New Haven and the New Haven Parking Authority to provide parking options downtown and FREE shuttle service from two locations (
BLUE LINE and
WHITE LINE) - to transport fans to and from the Bowl. Parking spaces sold at the Bowl will help subsidize these shuttles. Parking is available for a daily rate of $3.00 from 8:00 am - 8:00 pm on Nov. 21 at two downtown garages. The Crown Street garage is located at 235 Crown Street between College and Temple Streets. The Temple Street Garage is located at 60 Temple Street and can be accessed from George Street, Temple Street or North Frontage Road. A parking map for these garages and other public parking options can be found here . Yale University visitor parking is limited but also available on game day. A map for Yale University parking can be found here.

SHUTTLE BUSES FROM DOWTOWN NEW HAVEN

Starting at 8:00 am on Nov. 21, FREE shuttle buses will bring fans from downtown New Haven to Yale Avenue at the Yale Bowl. The buses will run during and after the game from Yale Avenue to two downtown locations. The BLUE LINE is located at the Corner of Chapel and College Streets adjacent to Old Campus and the New Haven Green. The WHITE LINE is located at Payne Whitney Gymnasium (70 Tower Parkway) on the Yale campus.

A FINAL NOTE

Yale Athletics has worked closely with the City Of New Haven and the City of West Haven to manage the impact on these two communities. After careful planning and thought, the Yale Athletics Department believes the implementation of this plan will help eliminate some of the parking delays and provide a safe and enjoyable atmosphere at Yale Bowl. The game day experience of our fans and the student-athletes participating in the 126th playing of the game is of paramount importance to us. Thank you for your cooperation as we prepare to make this a special day at the Yale Bowl.

It was a pretty uneventful but spirited practice this morning.

Quarterback Brook Hart saw most of the time with the first team as you would expect for a guy planning for his second straight start. Dez Duron was in there quite a bit too but that was more to give the Yale defense a look at some of the stuff Lehigh likes to run.

There is more of the flu hitting the team. It limited safety Larry Abare and linebacker Travis Henry last week. There were a decent amount of key players missing as a result of getting IVs from the Yale medical staff while some had to do with class conflicts.

Tackle Alex Golubiewski, safety Geoff Dunham and receiver Allen Harris were among those who were not practicing. Perhaps the most impressive players at the practice were senior h-back tight end John Sheffield and junior cornerback Adam Money.

Thanks to those who took part in the third of the weekly live chats. Here's a link to see how it went

Considering that Brook Hart is coming off a game where he passed for 390 yards, it should come as little surprise that Yale coach Tom Williams said Hart would start on Saturday when Yale plays at Lehigh. It will be Hart's first game in his home state of Pennsylvania as a college player. Hart was a member of the JV team in 2007 when Yale won at Penn in the Bulldogs' last game in the Keystone State.

Patrick Witt, who started the first three games before being benched for a violation of team rules in last week's 38-7 win over Dartmouth, could earn some time depending on how well he practices the rest of the week.

With freshman Scott Williams moving to defense and his injured classmate Derek Russell not expected to see any action this season, Yale is down to four quarterbacks. Bryan Farris and Dawson Halliday, who split time at quarterback on Yale's junior varsity team as freshmen, both shifted to defense. Farris actually plays both ways with the JV team since freshman Dez Duron is the only other quarterback available to play in the JV games. When Duron needs a break, Farris still plays some quarterback while also seeing plenty of time at safety.

Not much new to report on the injury front. Receiver Gio Christodoulou is out again with foot and ankle injuries. Offensive linemen Jake Koury (bruised calf) and Nate Blair (knee) are both questionable.

The major changes on the Yale depth chart feature the Bulldogs' impressive freshman class. Allen Harris is listed along with Jordan Forney as a potential starter at one receiving position, Chris Smith is the starter at the other position while Jeff Marrs is listed as the starting left guard.

Tom Williams' dad was at the weekly press conference at the Yale bookstore. He spent plenty of time speaking with former Yale coach Carm Cozza. It turns out that when Cozza was coaching at Miami (Ohio) before heading to Yale, Williams' dad was an assistant coach at rival Kent State.

A few other notes, for those who like to head out to the JV games, Sunday's contest against Navy Prep has been cancelled.

Finally, the third of my weekly live chats is set for Wednesday at 2 p.m. Log in to nhregister.com/chat.

After two mediocre offensive efforts in home losses to Cornell and Lafayette, I received more than a few questions in my weekly Yale football online chat about what's up with the offense and when will the new staff open things up.

Well, there were some new wrinkles in the 38-7 win over lowly Dartmouth. First, Yale coach Tom Williams and I have a different opinion on what constitutes a new wrinkle. I consider it to be something that has not been utilized in game action while is definition is something that wasn't worked on in practice.

While many of the dimensions Yale used en route to rolling up 520 yards I have seen in my weekly trips to practice, actually seeing them utilized in games was an encouraging sign of progress.

The no-huddle offense caught Dartmouth off guard. Then again, so did the fake punt, onsides kick, quarterback draw and so on and so forth. Yale was 7 for 14 on 3rd down conversion and if Brook Hart had not short-hopped a throw to John Sheffield, the Bulldogs would have been 2 for 2 on 4th down conversations. I also liked seeing Chris Smith getting the ball on reverses and the swing passes to the running backs.

The screen game, which Williams and offensive coordinator Brian Stark said would be a key component, was executed better today than it had been in the last two home outings. Brook Hart hooking up with freshman Chris Smith with a deep ball which turned into a 73-yard touchdown pass on a perfect pitch was also encouraging. Actually, I applaud the first deep ball which was incomplete but at least put into the mind of the Dartmouth coaches that Yale would at least consider throwing the ball down the field.

Any play that includes throwing the ball to tight end John Sheffield is a good play in my eyes. Sheffield caught a team-high eight passes, pushing his team-leading total of 25. He also passed a host of players including Curt Grieve and former NFL stars Gary Fencik and John Spagnola to move into seventh place on Yale's career reception list with 90 catches.

Sheffield broke three tackles on a 3rd and 9 play for a first down to set up Yale's first touchdown. With the emergence of freshmen Chris Smith and Allen Harris, the reliable Jordan Forney and big-play specialist Peter Balsam requiring attention from opposing defenses, I would expect Sheffield to have even more room to operate.

The quarterback plan of having Hart and Patrick Witt split time ended when Witt was benched for a violation of team rules. All Hart did was complete 28 of 40 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns. I know it was against Dartmouth but you couldn't help but think Hart moved ahead in the quarterback competition. Hart is showing more pocket presence and the Yale staff is encouraging him to limit his options leading to him cutting down on mistakes. Hart was sacked once, on Yale's first offensive play, but Williams blamed that on a receiver running the wrong route.

Even more than his gun of a left arm, I have been impressed by the way Hart handled a difficult situation. He set a Yale single-season record by completing 62.1 percent of his passes as a sophomore before being beaten out by Witt. With Witt having issues with turnovers and making some questionable decisions, Hart kept putting in the work and has been - by all accounts - the model teammate. All you need to know about Hart you can find out by watching the way his teammates celebrated with him. They know he could have rocked the boat but put the team's goals ahead of his own but he showed remarkable class and poise in the way he dealt with everything.

"That is a testament to Brook," Sheffield said. "That is kind of the (attitude) we have had as a team is to put the team first. We was battling when Witt was the starter and he only had two reps, he made the most of it. Last week he comes in and did whatever he needed to make the most of it. As you saw today, that was an achievement and hopefully that is not the last achievement that he has."

If not for an extremely late flag thrown on Adam Money for defensive holding, Yale likely would have had a shutout. If my eyes did not deceive me, the flag on Money was not thrown until the junior cornerback neared midfield on what appeared to be his second interception of the season. If he did tug the shirt of the intended receiver, why not throw the flag before the ball in thrown because once it is in the air, it should be called pass interference. Was it a good call? I am not sure. But it was a late, really, really late call and should not have been the case.

Four Yale freshmen played few roles in Yale's offensive outburst.

Mordacei Cargill ran for a team-high 52 yards, Smith (3 catches, 82 yards) and Allen Harris (5 catches, 76 yardd) made some big plays and Jeff Marrs saw plenty of time at guard.

The news on Dartmouth quarterback Alex Jenny, knocked out of the game with an injured elbow on a cornerback blitz by Money, was not encouraging. Sounds like he could be out for a while.

Yale appeared to be OK health wise.

Drew Baldwin, who has top-flight ball skills, made a sensational interception for Yale's only turnover. Sean Williams, who continues to impress me, Tom McCarthy and Reed Spiller each had sacks while Geoff Dunham had a team-high six tackles including one of the bone-crunching variety on running back Nick Schwieger.

Sophomore Alex Thomas is finally healthy enough to make an impact. The former Ansonia High star ran four times for 28 yards including his first career varsity touchdown and had three catches for 26 yards.

Yale's football weekend will conclude with a 1 p.m. JV game against Dean College Sunday at Clint Frank Field. Among the players on Dean's squad are former New Haven area products Michael Mainiero (Shelton), Marvin McClendon (Hillhouse), Rodney Williams (Hyde), Ron Vece (Amity) and Dan Mazzacane (Cheshire).

The first thing I noticed once Yale began the scrimmage portion of practice was Max Newton was in at linebacker and John Pagliaro playing safety. They got the call in place of starters Travis Henry and Larry Abare who were dealing with flu-like symptoms, were getting medical treatment and where not at practice. Yale coach Tom Williams said he expects both will be good to go on Saturday.

Jeff Marrs saw the bulk of time at left guard with Yale's top offensive line unit and appears primed to make his first start. Marrs saw time with the No. 1 line during the preseason but his inconsistent play led the coaching staff to take their time getting Marrs ready to start. He would be the third freshman to start on offense for Yale joining fullback Jordan Capellino and receiver Chris Smith.

As promised, quarterbacks Patrick Witt and Brook Hart split time in practice. Witt had his best practice of the ones I have witnessed. He showed off his arm with long touchdown passes to freshmen Smith and Allen Harris in consecutive series. His best throw, however, may have come on a deep sideline out even though he lost his footing. Hart also had a solid practice and scrambled for a first down as he continues to prove he can make plays with his feet. There are no questions about Hart's arm strength.

Williams is encouraged by not only the play of Hart and Witt but also the way they have handled the situation with no clear-cut starter for Saturday's noon game against Dartmouth.

"We think they are both playing pretty well and the competition is on," Williams said. "We really haven't talked about it. I'll sit down with (Brian Stark, Yale's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach) and see what we are going to do.

"They have healthy demeanors. They are both team guys and both want to help the team and what's best for the program. They see the tape too, they can evaluate each other and have an understanding that it is really close, it is not a runaway by any stretch of the imagination. I think they both have earned the opportunity to play, we just have to figure out what the formula is going to be."

Freshman Dez Duron saw almost as much time but it was because he is the quarterback most similar to Dartmouth's Alex Jenny and Williams wanted Yale's defense to get to practice against a QB comfortable throwing on the run. Duron had his moments - both positively and negatively.

Fullback Josh Kozel is back at practice. Kozel injured his ankle in Yale's scrimmage against Union and returned to practice for the first time this week. Starting center Jake Koury was held out of practice as he is still bothered by a bruised calf. He practiced sparingly on Tuesday and Wednesday and his status is up in the air. If he can't go, Gabe Fernandez will start at center. Receiver Gio Christodoulou will miss his second straight game with an ankle and foot injury.

Williams said highly-touted freshman linebacker Brian Leffler will undergo knee surgery. Ironically. Leffler was practicing on Thursday and made an interception. With Leffler likely not to be at 100 percent, the decision was made to schedule the surgery to allow Leffler to return in the fall with four years of eligibility.

Considering that Lafayette beat Ivy League championship contender Penn last week, it's hardly shocking that the Leopards defeated a young Yale squad 31-14 Saturday at the Yale Bowl.

But the way it all went down caught my eye. I was struck by the jersey of Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley in the post-game press conference. Other than a patch of dirt on his left shoulder, the uniform was in pristine condition. This is after playing a game in the rain on a grass field. Curley was sacked once by linebacker Paul Rice. The defensive line barely got near Curley and Yale seemed content to let him play pitch and catch with his receivers. Curley took a nasty hit which knocked him out of the Penn game. With the Bulldogs struggling to stay with dangerous receiver Mark Layton, at times it appeared like it was akin to stealing candy from a baby. Curley targeted Layton 10 times on 28 throws and they hooked up 7 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

Yale coach Tom Williams disagreed with my assertion that the Bulldogs did not put pressure on Curley and credited the lack of sacks to the Leopards opting for short drops and quick throws. Well, the numbers (20 of 28 passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns) don't lie. The Bulldogs had no answers on defense against either Curley or running back Maurice White, who ran 21 times for 131 yards.

Lafayette, on the other hand, sacked Yale quarterbacks Patrick Witt and Brook Hart six times. Some of those can be attributed to the two Yale QBs holding onto the ball too long and it certainly didn't help that starting center Jake Koury's ailing left calf only allowed him to play a couple of series. Hart played one series in the first half and came into the game with Lafayette leading 24-7 in the fourth quarter.

Aided by Lafayette playing in a prevent mode on defense, willing to allow passes to be completed in the middle of the field so the clock would run. Hart was 13 of 17 for 154 yards and a touchdown. He was also sacked four times which was his Achilles' heel last year. Hart has a tendency to hold onto the ball too long but when he gets the throws off, he is a remarkably accurate thrower with the strongest arm on the Yale team.

On Tuesday Williams said he had no plans to play Hart unless something happened to Witt. By Thursday, Williams and offensive coordinator Brian Stark met with Hart for 5-10 minutes after practice to chat. Now there is a bonafide quarterback controversy at Yale. Look for more on Hart in Monday's edition of the Register.

Regardless of who is under center against Dartmouth in the next game, getting improved play from the offensive line is a must. Ben Meyer, Jeff Marrs and Gabe Fernandez were among the reserves who saw time on the top offensive line on Saturday. One thing I noticed in the preseason is that Yale's starting offensive line kept changing from the intrasquad scrimmage to the scrimmage against Union and the practices I attended. That is usually not a good sign.

Injury wise, Williams said Rice - knocked out of the game after he was the recipient of a crushing block on a special teams return - could have come back in. The status of Koury will bear watching while kickoff returner Ricky Galvez was also knocked out of the game.

Defensively, Larry Abare had 11 tackles and forced a fumble on the opening kickoff. Tim Handlon had 10 tackles while Adam Money had seven tackles and an interception. Yale's defensive linemen finished with six solo tackles and should have been more involved. They were pushed off the ball on a regular basis by Lafayette.

The good news is that Lafayette might be the best team Yale sees this year and the loss does not hamper the Bulldogs' Ivy League championship hopes. The Bulldogs return to Ivy League play when they host Dartmouth on Oct. 10.

The offensive balance was much better for the Bulldogs who ran the ball 29 times and threw it 31 times. A 13-yard run showed the potential of freshman running back Mordecai Cargill while freshmen receivers Chris Smith and Allen Harris continue to work their way into the rotation.

One last note, I spoke with Yale's director of athletics Tom Beckett who said that the 2014 game against Army at the Yale Bowl will happen. There are details to be worked out but the two sides have agreed to play a game in the 100th anniversary season of football at the Yale Bowl.

Just a reminder that the second of my weekly live chats will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Go to nhregister.com/chat to log in and ask questions.

Plenty of news to report out of a pretty solid practice.

Gio Christodoulou will not play on Saturday because of foot and ankle injuries suffered in the loss to Cornell. Yale coach Tom Williams said Christodoulou could be out "indefinitely." Reid Lathan is back and should make his 2009 debut against Lafayette on Saturday.

Sophomore Bryan Farris, who came out of spring ball running neck and neck with returning starter Brook Hart for the No. 1 quarterback job, has been moved to safety - at his request.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Farris saw plenty of action in the secondary today. The move was his idea. Seeing that he was behind classmate Patrick Witt and Hart, a junior, and with three freshmen quarterbacks joining the program, Farris decided to request the switch because he wants to play.

The irony is that Farris split time at quarterback on Yale's junior varsity team with Dawson Halliday and now they are both defensive backs. Halliday saw extensive action as an additional defensive back in the nickel package, a role filled so admirably by current starter Adam Money last season.

The biggest winner in all of this - other than Farris - could be freshman Dez Duron. The reigning Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year moved up to No. 4 on the depth chart. He was in there frequently today since a class conflict kept third-string quarterback Rich Scudellari out of practice.

With starting center Jake Koury battling a left calf injury and guard Nate Blair sidelined by a combination of a reaggravation of a previous knee injury and a class to attend, senior center Ben Meyer and freshman guard Jeff Marrs saw plenty of time practicing with the No. 1 offensive line.

Freshman Taylor Stib, coming off a strong effort in Yale's junior varsity opener against Milford Academy, was rewarded by getting a number of carries in the scrimmaging portion of practice. With Jordan Farrell, Alex Thomas, Mordecai Cargill, Brandon Scott, Rodney Reynolds and Ricky Galvez all options at tailback, it's uncertain how much varsity time Stib will get but he certainly did not look out of place when he got the call.

Finally, a bit of housecleaning. There are three uniform number changes. Smith goes from No. 4 to 21, freshman running back Javi Sosa, who used to wear No. 21, will now wear No. 39 and junior linebacker Andrew Pappas changes numbers from 51 to 36.

The long-awaited release of the season's initial depth chart is out.

The biggest surprise is that five players who started games for Yale in 2008 are listed as backups.

That starts at quarterback where junior Brook Hart, who started five games last season, was edged out for the starting job by Nebraska transfer Patrick Witt.

Personally, I thought the biggest surprise came at right offensive tackle where Cory Palmer (the only returning starter on the offensive line) is now No. 2 behind fellow senior Jon Charest. I have seen variations of Yale's starting offensive line between practice, the intrasquad scrimmage and Union scrimmage and the only constants were Palmer and center Jake Koury.

Receiver Jordan Forney and H-back John Sheffield, the only returning offensive players to start every game last season, remain as starters but receiver Reid Lathan, who started nine games in 2008, is behind Gio Christodoulou while tight ends A.J. Haase (seven starts in '08) and Chris Blohm (three starts) are behind Caleb Smith on the depth chart.

One item to clear up on the offense is that although Alex Thomas is listed as the starting tailback, Jordan Farrell is expected to start against Georgetown. Thomas, Mordacei Cargill, Brandon Scott and Rodney Reynolds are all expected to see action at tailback this season. Ricky Galvez, a key backup to all-time leading rusher Mike McLeod the last two years, will likely be limited to special teams at least at the start of the season.

With starting fullback Josh Kozel slowed by an ankle injury, freshman Jordan Capellino moved to the top of the depth chart.

Defensively, Justin Oplinger, who started every game at defensive end, is now a second-string outside linebacker while Tom McCarthy (10 starts),
The constant on the defense is Larry Abare, who returns to the strong safety position after starting all 10 games there in 2008. Travis Henry, who started three games at a position called a defensive end but what was actually an outside linebacker, will return to that position. Paul Rice, who started nine games at cornerback, moves to inside linebacker while Adam Money, who started at corner in the Princeton game for an injured Rice, is the only other defensive player back who started for a Yale defense which led all Football Championship Subdivision teams in scoring defense for the second year in a row.

The defensive position which caught my eye was free safety where sophomore Geoff Dunham got the call over classmate Bedford Booth. John Pagliaro also seemed to be in contention to be a starter at free safety but the son of the former Yale running back is listed as Abare's backup at strong safety.

One of the many changes from the current coaching staff from the former staff is that if a player is not producing, they will not keep their job so don't be surprised to see the depth chart change in the coming weeks.

During Tuesday's Ivy League conference call, Yale coach Tom Williams announced that Patrick Witt will start against Georgetown although last year's starter Brook Hart is expecting to see time against the Hoyas.

Williams also said Jordan Farrell will be the starting tailback on Saturday.

Neither decision is particularly surprising. Witt was slowed early in the fall camp with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder but seems at ease with the high-percentage passing game put in by new offensive coordinator Brian Stark. He is also more athletic than Hart.

Farrell has had an outstanding camp and seems primed to make an impact. However, this will not be a repeat of the last few years when Mike McLeod got the call over and over again. Freshman Mordacei Cargill and sophomore Alex Thomas are among the long list of tailbacks pushing for time.