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."

Senior linebacker Jordan Haynes was Yale's lone representative on the All-Ivy League first team.

Haynes, the team captain, led Yale with 81 tackles while sharing for the team lead with five tackles for losses and two fumble recoveries.

Chris Smith, who was honored as a receiver and returnman, offensive guard Gabe Fernandez, running back Alex Thomas, defensive tackle Jake Stoller, linebacker Will McHale, cornerback Drew Baldwin and return specialist were second-team selections.

Quarterback Patrick Witt and receiver Deon Randall were honorable mention selections.

Princeton running back Chuck Dibilio was named the league's rookie of the year while Penn offensive tackle Greg Van Roten and linebacker Erik Rask, Dartmouth running back Nick Schwieger and Harvard defensive tackle Josue Ortiz and defensive back Matthew Hanson were unanimous All-Ivy selections.

The first practice of the week did not lack for intensity but after seeing a few scuffles between teammates and some chirping back and forth did not sit well with Yale coach Tom Williams.

Williams began his post-practice address by challenging his players to talk the talk only if they can walk the walk, something that did not happen enough in Saturday's loss at Lafayette.

"I made that point after practice that the line is drawn when the play on Saturday is not a result," Williams said. "When you can talk the game on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and not play that way on Saturday, it is just talk. They have to make sure they back it up. That is my whole point. If you want to be a tough guy, you have to be a tough guy on Saturday. Don't be a tough guy Tuesday-Thursday, be a tough guy on Saturday. I am anxious to see if we can do that."

It was a pretty productive practice other than the stuff after the whistle. Chris Smith, whose 174 receiving yards against Lafayette was the 11th best performance in Yale football history and most since Peter Balsam's 181 yards against Brown in 2008, made some impressive catches including a sweet grab of an underthrown ball which resulted in an enthusiastic greeting from his position coach Kefense Hynson. His fellow receivers were not having as much luck holding onto the ball.

Defensively, Jake Stoller (who has 3 1/2 sacks in the last two games) and Jordan Haynes came away with turnovers with Stoller bringing a fumble back about 50 yards for a score.

Wes Gavin, who started the first four games of the season at left tackle, remains on crutches with his injured left ankle protected by a walking boot. It doesn't look promising for Gavin to be back for Saturday's game against Penn. Freshman defensive back Nick LaTesta, a special teams standout, missed Tuesday's practice with a shoulder injury but Williams is hopeful LaTesta will be ready for Saturday's game.

The injury bug has wreaked havoc with some of Yale's most promising freshmen with running back Kahlil Keys (knee), defensive back Ethan DeSilva (knee) and defensive end Max Fink (hip) among those expected to miss the season. When offensive lineman William Chism suffered a hand injury in Saturday's scrimmage against Dean College, the original fear was that Chism would be sidelined for a while. However, he was back at practice in a limited fashion and Yale coach Tom Williams is expecting to give Chism some snaps in Saturday's season opener against Georgetown.

"He got about 10 reps today," Williams said after Wednesday's practice. "What they told us is they think they will be able to cast his hand, hard cast it and wrap it really tight and he should be able to get some reps on Saturday. All those guys who went down where guys we figured had a chance to play for us so it is nice to get good news on one of those guys. They'll have a chance to do something (surgery wise) at the end of the season but right now he is good to go."

Another freshman sidelined is former Staples star Chris Coyne, who is dealing with concussion-like symptoms. It is not a good sign that Yale gave Coyne No. 99 and then assigned that number to fellow defensive end Carter Deutsch.

The last item on the freshman for today is that Williams believes that Chism, fellow offensive lineman Ben Carbery, defensive backs Charles Cook and Nick LaTesta, running back Wynston Bouknight and linebacker Will Vaughan are the freshmen expected to see action against Georgetown. Plenty of their classmates should see action when the Yale JV team hosts Dean College on Sunday at 1 p.m.

MORE VISITORS AT PRACTICE
If you head to a Yale practice, the odds are pretty good that you will see an NFL scout or two in attendance. Wednesday was no different as representatives from the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals were at Clint Frank Field to see Yale's pro prospects up close and personal.

Both were there to see senior quarterback Patrick Witt but the Atlanta scout inquired about linebacker Jordan Haynes and safety Geoff Dunham while the rep from Arizona was asking about defensive tackles Pat Moran and Jake Stoller.

The season has yet to begin and scouts of New England, both the New York Giants and Jets, Carolina, Cleveland, Washington (twice), Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, Houston, Jacksonville, St. Louis, San Francisco and now Atlanta and Arizona have been at a Yale practice. To say it is a major jump from the last couple of years would be an understatement of immense proportions.

"First year, I don't think we had anybody who came through," Williams said. "Last season we had a couple of teams that came through to see Tommy (McCarthy) and (Shane) Bannon but it was really more during the end of the season and not at this time. I think they all come because Pat (Witt) is on the radar screen. When they watch practice, they have those other guys on their sheet and then they watch those guys and say 'tell me more about this kid.' We've had that happen almost every day, a guy will say 'I came for your quarterback but I want to know about Stoller, Moran, Haynes, Dunham.'"

Alex Thomas is also on the radar of some NFL teams.

"I think a lot of his looks will depend on his season," Williams said. "If they look at the stat sheet, the stats are good but they are going to compare him to an SEC running back who has 1,000 yards rushing. If he has the season I think he can have (he'll get a shot at the NFL)."

CHANGE IN PLAY CALLING
As I mentioned in a blog post yesterday, receivers coach Kefense Hynson is now calling the offensive plays, a duty which Brian Stark handled the last two seasons. Hynson and Stark are now listed as co-offensive coordinators.

I asked Williams about the reason for the switch.

"There was a medical situation with Coach Stark," Williams said. "It happened during fall camp. We didn't make a big deal out if but one of the things I wanted to make sure I did is to help him (Stark) in terms of taking some responsibilities that he didn't have to worry about and concentrating on his health. At the same time, I wanted to reward a guy on our staff who I felt like was the right guy to take that step. Coach Hynson has been an offensive coordinator at Western Washington, he has called plays so to me it was the logical choice. Coach Stark is still very much in support and still very much another voice in our room but I think it has worked out for our entire football team and we haven't missed a beat."

The natural follow-up question was how would Yale's offense be different with a new person calling the plays.

"He (Hynson) has been trained in the Boise offensive scheme," Williams said. "Chris Petersen, when he was the offensive coordinator at Boise was one of the best play callers I had been around. I think play calling is an art. It is something a guy can either do or not. Kefense is a guy who definitely can do it and he has been around guys who are really good at it. I think that will add a different dimension to the plays that we run. It is when we run them and I think if you are the casual fan looking at Yale football this year, you probably will notice a difference in that aspect."

Yale's defense, outside of one play, and special teams had strong performances in Saturday's 24-7 win over Dean College in a scrimmage at the Yale Bowl.

Yale had seven sacks (of course with the no hitting the quarterback rule at the scrimmage, defenders only needed to be in the general vicinity to get some of these sacks.

Carter Deutsch, who is back on defense after a move to the offensive line, had three of the sacks while Cliff Foreman had two sacks. Jordan Haynes led Yale with six tackles (according to my unofficial stats). After Haynes made his presence felt on Dean's first offensive possession, one of their assistant coaches could be heard telling his players "we've got to block the Mike (linebacker). Why can't we block the Mike." I am sure more than a few Ivy League coaches said or thought the same thing since Haynes is the Mike or middle linebacker at Yale. Haynes was not the author of the best hit of the scrimmage. That came from sophomore tight end who rumbled for yardage on his only reception when a Dean player came in and tried to lay a huge hit on Coty. The result was the defender being knocked backwards and Coty continued to move forward as if he was barely touched. The play happened in front of the Yale sideline and Coty's teammates went absolutely crazy after the play.

On special teams, Gio Christodolou brought back a punt 65 yards for a touchdown and a fumble recovery on a dropped Dean punt led to Alex Thomas' 2-yard touchdown. Yale coach Tom Williams was impressed with the efforts of his freshmen punters Parker Toms and Kyle Cazzetta.

He was not as happy with the effort of the first-team offense. At halftime he challenged them to come down the field and score and the Bulldogs did just that. Thomas ran three times for 41 of his team-high 45 yards on the six-play, 79-yard drive which ended with Patrick Witt hooking up with Chris Smith on a 28-yard touchdown.

Witt struggled at times throwing the ball down the field although he finished 13 of 20 for 122 yards with the one touchdowns and an interception. Smith led the team with 51 yards on three catches while Allen Harris had a team-high four catches.

Yale offensive starters were Witt, Mordecai Cargill at tailback, Cameron Sandquist, Deon Randall and Allen Harris at receiver, Kyle Wittenauer at tight end and the offensive line of tackles Roy Collins and Wes Gavin, guards Gabe Fernandez and Colin Kruger and center John Oppenheimer. On defense, it was ends Matt Battaglia and Austin Pulsipher, tackles Reed Spiller and Jake Stoller, linebackers Haynes, Will McHale and Wes Moyer, cornerbacks Drew Baldwin and Dawson Halliday and safeties Geoff Dunham and Nick Okano.

As for the freshmen, William Chism and Ben Carbery saw time on the second-team offensive line, linebacker Will Vaughan, running back Wynston Bouknight and corner Nick LaTesta where the ones I noticed as well as the two aforementioned punters.

There have been some injuries among the freshmen. Running back Kahlil Keys suffered a knee injury during practice earlier in the week and he may miss the season, defensive back Ethan DeSilva had a knee injury late in his senior season at Mission Viejo (Calif.) and will not play this season. Chism hurt his hand in the scrimmage and had an MRI done on Saturday.

I don't have very many details but former Duke defensive lineman will not be suiting up for Yale after all.

Hood, who was recruited heavily as a senior out of Hamilton High in Chandler, Arizona, opted to attend Duke as a preferred walk on. Hood played in four games as a freshman and was in on a sack in a game against Alabama.

After flirting with the idea of attending his home state University of Arizona, Hood followed through on his transfer at Yale. He attended at least one of Yale's spring practices and was provisionally accepted into Yale. He was supposed to be taking some classes during summer school and was supposed to suit up for Yale when fall drills began in August.

However, I just heard that he is not at Yale. If I find out where he ends up and/or what led to his change of heart, I will pass on the info.

The silver lining is that defensive tackle may be Yale's deepest position with the return of Jake Stoller, Reed Spiller and Chris Dooley and Patrick Moran coming back after taking a year off from school and football.

Tight end Chris Blohm didn't waste much time making an impression in front of New England Patriots scout James Liipfert and Ray Walsh Jr. of the New York Giants.

Blohm benched 225 pounds 30 times at Yale's pro day on Thursday and also was the only participant to clear 10 feet in the broad jump, maxing out at 10-1 throw in a 35 inch vertical leap and 40-yard dash times of 4.89 and 4.91 and it's easy to understand why Green Bay and Atlanta are among the teams showing interest in Blohm.

"It's been intense," Blohm said. "I was hoping to hit the number, the magic number (30 on the bench press) so it was exciting to get it. I am excited to see what happens and hoping for some positive reaction to these numbers. I was pretty pleased with all of them. The 40 was a question mark and it turned out to be OK. I am going to keep working out with these guys (fellow Yale seniors Shane Bannon, Tom McCarthy, Adam Money and Sean Williams) and (Yale''s head strength and conditioning coach) Emil (Johnson) and wait to see if there is any feedback."

While Blohm took part in every drill, Bannon, McCarthy and Williams picked their spots since all three had strong performances at other pro days.

"It's hard when you are an Ivy League guy," Yale defensive line coach Duane Brooks said. "I think all these guys can get in (camps). Tommy had the breakout at Fordham's (pro day). Blohm had a great day today and Bannon (Wednesday in Tolland). The question is can they get into a camp. The Jaguars and Miami are in the (Yale football) office. Tommy's going down to Jacksonville, Blohmer is probably going to San Francisco at some point. Detroit called, Atlanta called because when your numbers hit, people want to be involved. Money is a wild card guy. He is a guy who can do a lot of things and it's something he didn't think about before. It is a lot to think about. I think Tom (Williams, Yale's head football coach and a former assistant coach with the Jaguars), the way he talks to us, the way we practice it gives you a feel of what that life can be if that's what you want. Who thought about Shane Bannon (as an NFL prospect) and all of a sudden he is on the radar."

McCarthy's stock has been soaring since a standout effort at Fordham's pro day earlier this month. Before leaving on Thursday, McCarthy gave Liipfert his e-mail address, a pretty good indication that the Patriots are interested. Jacksonville and the Giants head the teams who have reached out to McCarthy and he is expected to have private workouts for both teams next month.

Bannon had a strong effort on Wednesday at a pro day in Tolland highlighted by a 4.69 clocking in the 40 and testing out well in the agility drills as well. He made a brilliant one-handed catch during pass receiving drills on Thursday.

"It is kind of a relief," Bannon said. "It is kind of emotional being here doing this after all this time. It is something we dream of and the fact that we got to do it was pretty awesome. For my size, my numbers are right where I wanted them to be. I am pretty pleased what I was able to do and accomplish these past couple of days."

Former Xavier High star Shea Dwyer, who set Wesleyan's single season record for rushing yards, as well as Southern Connecticut State defensive back Richard Kirkland also took part in the pro day on Thursday.

Yale will be having its junior pro day on Saturday with quarterback Patrick Witt, running back Alex Thomas, defensive linemen Jake Stoller and Pat Moran and linebacker Jordan Haynes expected to go through many of the same drills their former Yale teammates went through on Thursday.

Yale officially released its spring practice schedule and it will begin on April 4 and wrap up on Apr. 23 at 2 p.m. with the spring game which will start at 2 p.m. at the Yale Bowl.

Caught the last hour of practice today and here are some of my impressions.

Receiver Jordan Forney had a spectacular practice catching the ball including making a catch of a ball thrown behind him that was - for a lack of a better term - very John Sheffield like. Gio Christodoulou, who missed most of last season with foot and ankle injuries, got behind the secondary for a long touchdown catch from Patrick Witt.

Yale coach Tom Williams said the Bulldogs are planning to play Forney, Christodoulou and Chris Smith together in three-receiver sets which must be music to Witt's ears. Williams is also expecting big things from rising senior tight end Chris Blohm and was raving about the offseason work done by tailbacks Alex Thomas and Mordecai Cargill. Williams said Thomas added 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason while Cargill is bigger and faster.

Another offensive player drawing his praise is rising junior lineman Jeff Fell. The offensive line has been beset by injuries with Nathan Burow and Alex Golubiewski, who combined for 14 starts in 2009, both sidelined likely for the rest of the spring. Nate Blair hurt his right knee during a one-on-one drill.

There could be some offensive line reinforcements as Carter Deutsch moves over from the defensive line while former tight ends Roy Collins and Alex Birks are making the transition to offensive tackle.

Adam Money is moving from cornerback to safety with Kurt Stottlemyer, Collin Bibb and Russell Perkins among the leading candidates to start at corner across from Drew Baldwin. Austin Pulsipher moved from linebacker to defensive end and is vying for a starting job as the Bulldogs transition from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. Former safeties Jesse Reising and John Pagliaro are now linebackers and Reising would be on the two-deep chart if the season began tomorrow.

Yale seemed to have a plethora of defensive linemen so a move to the 4-3 makes sense. A player to watch is rising sophomore Chris Dooley who will likely move inside. Junior to be Jake Stoller seems to have put his shoulder issues which hindered his last two seasons behind him and could emerge into another impact player on the defensive line. With Pat Moran injured and captain Tom McCarthy taking the spring off so he can take advantage of a fifth year of eligibility in the fall out of the lineup, rising stars like Stoller, Dooley and Charles Holmes are getting plenty of chances to shine.

There have been some defections as fullback Josh Kozel and receiver Chris Morris are no longer with the team and receiver Peter Balsam is taking next year off but is planning to return for his senior season in 2011.

Also, former Oklahoma assistant recruiting coordinator David White is not joining the Yale staff. Don't know all the details but somewhere between being recommended for the tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator gig by Williams and getting the job, there was a snafu. A replacement for Mike Sanford, who left to become quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at Western Kentucky, could be announced by the April 24 spring game.