Yale wrapped up its 11th practice of the spring a couple hours ago. In preparation for Saturday's Blue-White Game, the Bulldogs practiced without pads.

It didn't stop receiver Jordan Forney from catching three touchdowns in the time I was there including a brilliant one-handed grab in the right corner of the end zone. Collin Bibb had one series where he broke up three plays and also got into it with Forney which seemed to be the emotional spark the coaches was looking for as the pace and intensity of the practice picked up after the pushing and shoving subsided.

There has been a string of injuries among the offensive linemen with Nate Blair, Nathan Burow, Alex Golubiewski and Justin Hymes all expected to be sidelined for the 2 p.m. spring game tomorrow at the Yale Bowl.

When I've been at practice, I've been impressed by the development of the freshmen and that is the focus of the story I filed for publication in Saturday's Register. Defensive tackle Chris Dooley has been the talk of the camp while Kurt Stottlemyer and fellow freshmen corners Bibb and Russell Perkins are playing well enough for the Bulldogs to move All-Ivy corner Adam Money to safety. Will McHale has played his way into a starting linebacker spot while Brian Leffler should figure into the mix at LB when he is fully recovered from a knee injury which sidelined him for the 2009 season.

After practice I caught up with 2009 Yale captain Paul Rice, who has been a volunteer assistant coach this spring. Rice worked out for the Cleveland Browns earlier this month and would love to get an invite to the team's rookie camp. If not, he is planning to join the coaching staff at Fairfield Prep in the fall.

I asked Rice his take on the development of the freshmen defensive stalwarts. Although space limitations precluded me from getting Rice's take in my story, here is what he had to say.

"Leffler and McHale will definitely push for playing time, at least in my eyes," Rice said. "Stottlemyer has gotten a lot of playing time, a lot of looks and I think he will have a good scrimmage. Dooley has had a phenomenal spring (camp), he has really opened a lot of eyes. It is a very good class. They are going to come in and do what they are supposed to do which is push for playing time and challenge the older guys.

"It’s a big jump (from being a freshman to becoming a sophomore) because you have a year of lifting, a year of film, a year of everything under your belt and now a lot more is expected out of you. It is an exciting time and these guys are up for it. You’ll see a lot of sophomores making impacts (in the fall) on special teams or even in starting roles."

I am heading that 2008 Yale football captain Bobby Abare is among the alumni expecting to return to the spring game. Although it has not been officially announced, Abare recently accepted a spot on the staff at Wesleyan after spending last season coaching at Wagner. Former Yale head coach Jack Siedlecki will be Wesleyan's offensive coordinator.

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.

Just a recap of the weekly press conference at the Yale Bookstore.

Junior cornerback Adam Money was the player who joined Yale coach Tom Williams at the event and he admitted he was pretty surprised to be named the Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Week. When I was speaking with Money after the question and answer session, former Yale coach Carm Cozza came up and whispered that his tracking down Columbia Leon Ivery at the 2 yard line was one of the best hustle plays he has seen in his time at Yale.

Considering the impressive Hall of Fame credentials of Cozza, Money may never receive a greater compliment.

A few updates on the starting lineup. Williams said Patrick Witt will start at quarterback, the starting offensive line of Alex Golubiewski, Nathan Burow, Jake Koury, Gabe Fernandez and Cory Palmer will start for the second straight week and Alex Barnes will continue to handle field goals and extra points.

A clarification from my pre-game blog, there was a freshman receiver wearing No. 21 but it was not Chris Smith but Collin Bibb.

He also said that Smith and safety Larry Abare, out with knee and arm injuries respectively, will not play. Jordan Farrell, who started the first four games at tailback, is close to returning after being worn down by a case of the swine flu and then bronchitis.

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.

Pretty forgettable first half by the Bulldogs.

By my count, Brook Hart has been sacked four times. He was also intercepted by Jared Sholly with the Penn sophomore returning the pick 15 yards for the game's only touchdown.

Yale had a promising opening drive behind some hard running by Rodney Reynolds. When the 12-play drive stalled, Tom Mante just missed a 54-yard field goal. Making matters worse, freshman Jeff Marrs was called for a personal foul allowing the Quakers to start their first drive inside Yale territory. The drive ended with Andrew Samson's 35-yard field goal.

Three plays later Hart telegraphed a pass intended for Chris Smith. Playing a zone blitz, Sholly retreated and jumped the route to put the Quakers up 9-0. A bad snap prevented the extra point from being attempted.

Yale did well to keep Penn off the scoreboard the rest of the way.

A few notes, Marcus Wallace got the start at strong safety for the injured Larry Abare.

The ever changing Yale offensive line featured Cory Palmer and Nathan Burow at tackles, Mike McInerney and Gabe Fernandez at guard and Jake Koury back at center after missing the last two games with a bruised calf.

Smith had a brilliant return on the opening kickoff negated by a holding penalty, called EXTREMELY late as was a personal foul call for a facemask on Adam Money to give Penn a chance to add to its lead in the final minute of the first half.

Adam Money and Travis Henry have had outstanding first half performances on defense for Yale while former Staples star Brian Levine has made his presence felt.

Yale, which managed only 92 yards of offense in last year's loss to Penn, managed just 56 yards on 30 plays in the first half.

If Yale doesn't protect Hart and apply some pressure on the pash rush, it could be a long second half.

The biggest news coming out of Wednesday's practice came from who was not on the field.

Senior safety Larry Abare, who leads the Bulldogs with 30 tackles, had his right arm in a sling. Abare suffered two broken bones in his right arm. Although no surgery will be needed, Abare said "I am going to keep looking at the x-rays but it probably looks not good for the season right now. I am still hoping I will be able to make the Harvard game."

It goes without saying that this is a huge loss for the Yale defense. Juniors John Pagliaro and Marcus Wallace will likely both see plenty of time filling in for Abare.

Junior receiver Gio Christodoulou spoke with his parents Tuesday night and decided to sit out the rest of the season so he could recapture his junior season and have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Christodoulou suffered a turf toe injury similar to the one that hampered Green Bay Packers' star Charles Woodson a couple years back and he was not going to be 100 percent so he made the decision to shut it down for the season. Christodoulou, while obviously disappointed to see his season end prematurely, admitted it's been easy to deal with emotionally because of the development of freshman Chris Smith gives the Bulldogs a big-play threat on special teams and at receiver even if he isn't the one providing the game-breaking plays. If Yale was struggling to make plays in the passing, kickoff and punt return games, Christodoulou would be taking his absence much harder than he is at the current time.

"He's the future of Yale football," Christodoulou said of Smith. "I think he is going to be a great football player, he already is, and I try to help him out. Since I got most of the reps during spring and fall practice, I help him out with what I learned."

Right on cue, Smith had an impressive diving catch of a deep ball thrown by Patrick Witt for about a 40-yard gain during the scrimmage portion of Wednesday's practice.

There will be a story on Abare and Christodoulou in Thursday's Register and look for a piece in Saturday's paper about how the Bulldogs go about trying to fill the rather sizeable void left by Abare's absence.

The good news on the injury from is that offensive linemen Jake Koury, Alex Golubiewski and Nate Blair are all back at practice. I expect Koury and Golubiewski to be back in the starting lineup. At practice, there were a number of combinations seeing time with the first team offense. Cory Palmer, Golubiewski, Koury, Nathan Burow, Blair, Mike McInerney and Gabe Fernandez all took snaps with the starters.

Senior linebacker and captain Paul Rice did not practice to reach an aching knee but Rice said he will be good to go on Saturday when Yale plays at Penn.