Among the former and current Yale players in attendance as Bobby Abare, Drew Baldwin, Geoff Dunham, Jordan Haynes, Pat Moran, Jake Stoller, Alex Thomas and Patrick Witt worked out for NFL scouts was somebody who knows the drill pretty well.

A year ago Shane Bannon was barely showing up on any NFL draft sites but a strong showing at Yale's pro day followed by impressive showings in individual workouts resulted in Bannon being drafted in the seventh round by the Kansas City Chiefs. I haven't had the chance to speak to Bannon since he was drafted so I spent a few minutes with him to talk about his experiences last season and also to have him talk about the process of attempting to catch the eye of NFL teams.

"It was fast," Bannon said. "It was the quickest six weeks of my life. I worked out at pro day, starting talking to teams and working out for teams and it just kind of snowballed from there. I think I was in the right place at the right time and the stars aligned and I couldn't be more grateful that the Chiefs drafted me. It was a great month for sure."

Bannon was thrilled to see his former teammates taking their best shot at the NFL.

"I thought they did great," Bannon said. "They came out and gave it their best shot so hopefully somebody saw something they liked and they'll get a couple phone calls. If not, that doesn't take away from anything they have done. I commend them for giving it a shot."

So what advice would Bannon give to the former Yale players hoping to get invited to NFL training camps.
"There is so much you can control," Bannon said. "If you get a workout or interview, just go out and be you and do what you know you can do. You can't let that stuff get to you because there is too much going on, sit back relax and enjoy it."

Bannon spent time on the Chiefs' practice squad and after the season signed a two-year contract with Kansas City.

"We'll see what happens in camp," Bannon said. "I have to make the team and I look forward to getting out there and competing for sure. It's a little different because you are not training to do a pro day any more, you are not doing specific benching and running 40s but I trying to get back in shape and get ready for OTAs and practice and hopefully the stars will align again."

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.