I was pleasantly surprised to see not only a flock of Yale football players but also former Yale coach Jack Siedlecki and current assistant coaches Duane Brooks and Rick Flanders at today's press conference announcing Tony Reno as the 34th Yale football coach.

I struck out in my attempt to set up a phone interview with Harvard coach Tim Murphy as he was on the road recruiting but I was able to talk to some people who have a history with Reno.

Flanders, who was the defensive coordinator at Yale when Reno was coaching the defensive backs, was absolutely tremendous talking about Reno and in particular any concerns that his lack of head coaching experience would be an issue.

"He is a good coach, good recruiter, good people person, all the things that you are looking for in a guy who wants to be a head coach," Flanders said. "The diversity and the kind of things that he has done ... People may only look at one part of a resume. Every Hall of Fame coach had to get their first opportunity, they weren’t a head coach when they took their first head-coaching job. He is very well prepared for this and will be a phenomenal job."

Siedlecki was not somebody I was expecting to see but once I saw him there, he was a natural person to talk to about Reno since he was the one who brought him to Yale.

Siedlecki talked of Reno's character and engaging personality but also said he is an intense competitor who will demand production from his players. Siedlecki thinks Reno's six years as an assistant at Yale will be invaluable as he attempts to make up for lost time.

"His relationships with people on campus, that is important, really important," Siedlecki said. "He is going to hit the ground running, he is going to understand the AI (academic index), understand the inner workings at Yale, he knows all the people."

Reno was involved in recruiting many of the players who will be seniors on the 2012 Yale team. Naturally I took the chance to speak to 2012 Yale captain Will McHale about his new coach.

"He was not my primary recruiter but I did speak to him and knew him a little bit through the process," McHale said. "It’s great, I think it is reflected across my class, the seniors interacted with him and to have a guy we are confident in, a guy we are comfortable with really goes a long way towards the immediate success of the program. I think it is one of those things that is going to be great even going forward to next year."

Last but certainly not least, former Yale captain Paul Rice was among those in attendance. Rice, who spent last season as a volunteer assistant coach, was a cornerback earlier in his career so Reno was his position coach.

Like so many others, he gave Reno a glowing endorsement. I asked Rice what qualities will serve Reno the best in his new gig.

"His preparedness, his intensity, his love for Yale. He is passionate about teaching and getting kids to play to the best of their ability. Even guys who weren’t coached by him, guys on the offensive side of the ball they were vouching for him. That speaks to his character to to his ability to lead.",

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.

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.

Yale senior punter Tom Mante and senior linebacker Paul Rice were named to the New England Football Writers Football Championship Subdivision all-star team.

Mante averaged 41.2 yards per punt to become the first Yale player to lead the Ivy League in punting since Greg Bowman in 1989 his four field goals included a 50 and Ivy League record tying 54-yarder.

Rice led Yale with 74 tackles and 9.5 tackles for losses. He also scored the only touchdown in a win over Lehigh on a fake punt.

Here's the complete team
DEFENSE
DL James Develin Brown Sr.
DL Don Smith Bryant Sr.
DL Jordan Stevens Maine Sr.
DL Carl Ehrlich Harvard Sr.
LB Paul Rice Yale Sr.
LB Sean Ware New Hampshire Sr.
LB Jon Takamura Harvard Sr.
LB Marcus Rodriguez Holy Cross Sr.
DB Terrence Klein New Hampshire Sr.
DB Marcus Dorsey Central Conn. Sr.
DB Michael Wright Holy Cross Sr.
DB Derrick Barker Harvard Sr.
DB Jeromy Miles Massachusetts Sr.

OFFENSE
OL Paul Jasinowski Brown Sr.
OL James Williams Harvard Sr.
OL Chris Poole Holy Cross Sr.
OL Vladimir Ducasse Massachusetts Sr.
OL Kevin Newhall Northeastern Sr.
OL Tom Neill New Hampshire Sr.
QB Dominic Randolph Holy Cross Sr.
RB James Mallory Central Conn. Sr.
RB John Griffin Northeastern Jr.
FB Chris Zardas Massachusetts Sr.
WR Buddy Farnham Brown Sr.
WR Steve Tedesco Sacred Heart Sr.
WR Landis Williams Maine Sr.
WR Shawn Leonard Rhode Island Sr.
TE Scott Sicko New Hampshire Sr.

SPECIAL TEAMS
KS Tom Mante Yale Sr.
RS Shawn Abuhoff Dartmouth So.

Yale punter Tom Mante, defensive back Adam Money, linebacker Paul Rice and tight end John Sheffield were named to the All-Ivy League first team on Tuesday.

Mante, one of eight unanimous first team selections, led the league with a 41.2 punting average and had 10 punts of at least 50 yards.

Money, the first Yale junior named to the first team since running back Mike McLeod and linebacker Bobby Abare in 2007, had 43 tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Rice led the 4-6 Bulldogs with 74 tackles and 9 1/2 tackles for losses while Sheffield had a team-leading 61 catches as a senior and his 126 career receptions is third all-time for the Bulldogs.

Defensive tackle Tom McCarthy was named to the second team as was Mante as a kicker while defensive lineman Joe Young and linebackers Travis Henry and Sean Williams were honorable mention selections.

Brown receiver Buddy Farnham and Penn linebacker Jake Lewko shared the Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League player of the year while Harvard running back Treavor Scales was named the rookie of the year.

OK, that's the news of the day. Now for my two cents. The obvious Yale omissions were linebacker Tim Handlon (68 tackles, two interceptions and three forced fumbles), center Jake Koury and defensive lineman Pat Moran. I was also surprised to see Mante on the second team as a kicker. He did become the first Ivy Leaguer with 50-yard field goals in consecutive games but also lost his kicking duties to Alex Barnes and finished 4 for 12 on field goals.

Also, if I were to cast a vote for rookie of the year, it would go to Brown cornerback AJ Cruz.

When he was announced as Yale's 133rd football captain, defensive tackle Tom McCarthy sat in his seat at the front of the room and did not move for several seconds. After getting over the shock of surviving four rounds of voting and beating out cornerback Adam Money, McCarthy rose from his seat and received a huge round of applause from his teammates.

"I never really expected this," McCarthy said. "Just to be elected with this group of guys, it is absolutely amazing. It is an honor."

The ironic part is that McCarthy will not be able to take part in spring drills. He missed the entire 2006 season mononucleosis and was granted a fifth year of eligibility. However, Ivy League rules stipulate that student-athletes can only be enrolled in eight semesters so he will need to skip the spring semester so he can enroll in the fall.

The awards were also given out. John Sheffield was named the Ted Blair Award winner as the team MVP while Paul Rice earned the award annually given to Yale's captain.

Here's the complete list of other award winners
Jordan Olivar Award (given to a senior other than the captain who has earned the most respect from his teammates): Larry Abare
Woody Knapp Memorial Trophy (player who typifies the cheerful disposition, leadership qualities and unselfish disposition to others): Brandon Scott
Robert Gardner Anderson Award (combination of skill, spirit and pride in accomplishment): Reid Lathan and Max Newton.
Norman S. Hall Memorial Trophy (given to an individual for outstanding service to Yale football): Tim Handlon
Gregory Dubinetz Memorial Trophy (linemen who exemplified the spirit of Dubinetz): Cory Palmer
Charley Loftus Award (most valuable freshmen): Mordecai Cargill and John Powers
Chester J. Laroche Award (given to senior who did the most for Yale): Rich Scudellari
Ledyard Mitchell Award (for proficiency in kicking): Tom Mante
Ted Turner Award (top offensive lineman): Cory Palmer
Keppel Award (given to offensive back who exemplified Keppel's work ethic, pride and dedication to Yale football): Rodney Reynolds
LoProto Award (awarded to defensive back who exemplies LoProto's passion and competitive spirit): Adam Money

Also, Tom McCarthy was named the top defensive lineman, Mante the top specialist and Travis Henry the winner of the Hammer Award.

From former Yale star Jon Reese's empassioned remarks to Reynolds' comical impersonation of Yale running back coach Rod Plummer, it was a memorable event.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Yale coach Tom Williams addressed his decision to run a fake punt faced with a 4th-and-22 at the Yale 25 in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Williams has received plenty of criticism, including in this blog, for the decision.

Here is what he said to the invited guests at The Commons at Woolsey Hall.

"I take responsibilities for all those losses, not just the one yesterday but for the other five," Williams said. "The only regret I have is that there is a man who wears a ‘Y’ on his helmet who thinks their opportunity to win the football game was taken from them, that is the only regret I have. I want to sincerely apologize to those men because I worked very hard to earn their trust and I love these guys as if they are my own children."

Just returned home from the Yale Bowl and won't soon forget what I saw today.

We're not only going to start with Tom Williams' decision to attempt a fake punt leading by three points in the fourth quarter, we are going to finish with it as well. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, it was a reckless decision. In the 20 years I have been a sports reporter, I can't remember a coaching decision I disagreed any more strongly than this one. I am not alone. When I checked my phone, I had four missed messages in the hour after the game from people wanting to know why he wouldn't punt the ball and put the game in the hands of his defense.

This Yale team had been through so much this year, disappointing losses to Cornell and Princeton, so many injuries, a constantly changing lineup and a nearly completely new coaching staff. They could easily have had their eyes elsewhere especially in an academic setting like the one they reside in at Yale. But they didn't. They were on the verge of their most complete effort of the season and only needed for their coaching staff to demonstrate a little self restraint.

Faced with 4th-and-22 at their own 25 and Harvard out of timeouts, Tom Mante trotted onto the field to punt. All Mante did was average 51.3 yards on his previous three punts to clinch the Ivy League punting crown. Harvard had enough respect for Mante that their returner lined up 50 yards from the line of scrimmage when Mante dropped back to punt. But he never got the chance. The designed fake was snapped to up back Paul Rice, who twice this season got the call on successful fake punt calls who pitched the ball to freshman safety John Powers. Powers, a former dual-threat runner and passer during his days as the starting quarterback at Hopkins, nearly got the first down but was tackled seven yards short of the first down. Rather than Harvard needed to drive somewhere between 60-80 yards for the winning TD, it only needed to go 40.

There is no defending the decision. If Williams ponders a decision in that situation again that he will remember the post-game scene. Senior linebacker Travis Henry, one of the truly class acts on the team, kneeled on the 50 by himself for what seemed like an eternity or some of the seniors wandering slowly around the field as if they were trying to comprehend what had just transpired. Henry and the other seniors bought into Williams' deal from the outset. Even when some of them saw their playing time cut or their roles diminished, there seemed to be little discord in the program (at least none I discovered). Instead of walking off the field snapping a two-game losing streak to Harvard, the departing seniors were left to deal with a bitter end to their collegiate careers. Many of them will never play in a football game again and this was not the ending they envisioned or deserved.

I have gone on the record saying I am impressed with the job this coaching staff has done but there is no defending a decision like this. If you want to try it in a JV game or spring it early on Harvard, fine but not in the final quarter against your greatest rival. I compare it to fouling a 90 percent free throw shooter with a 1-point lead with 5 seconds to play in a basketball game. The risks simply outnumber the reward but such a large margin that you just don't do it. I also found it ironic that on a day when Yale ran the ball so well, the Bulldogs resorted to a gimmick with their version of the Wildcat formation. Williams scoffed at the impact of the Wildcat when asked about after the Penn game and yet they went to it. Why?

The sad part is that it all seemed to be coming together for this team. They shook the turnover bug, discovered a running game in sophomore Alex Thomas, the offensive line was playing better than it had all season even if the Bulldogs' two best linemen (Jake Koury and Cory Palmer) were dealing with injury issues. Defensively, Yale resembled the stingy unit of the last couple of years. All of that ended with one call which was simply to risky to justify.

The good news is the future is bright. Replacing John Sheffield, who finished third on Yale's career receiving list, and the entire starting linebacking corps will not be easy. But with Alex Thomas and Mordecai Cargill, the Bulldogs have two talented running backs. Speedy receivers Gio Christodoulou and Chris Smith return after dealing with injury-shortened seasons. Four offensive line starters are back and with the development of Chris Stanley and Kurt Stottlemyer, Adam Money should be able to move to safety to help fill the void left by Larry Abare's graduation. I think Yale could compete for the Ivy League title with an experienced group of returning players.

One of the most memorable scenes of the Yale football season I witnessed did not occur on the football field but at Yorkside Pizza on Monday night.

Yale's campus radio station WYBC has a live show every Monday from the restaurant and six Yale seniors went on the air including senior safety Larry Abare, who missed the last four games with two broken bones in his right forearm. Abare quietly informed fellow seniors Paul Rice, John Sheffield, A.J. Haase, Tim Handlon and Rich Scudellari that he received medical clearance to play.

Scudellari, the last of the six to arrive, raced over and gave Abare an exuberant hug. I was sitting down with Rice for a story on the Yale captain running later this week and about 20 feet away I heard a roar from the area where the Yale players were sitting. I didn't need to sneak a peek at who was on the air and what the topic of conversation was.

Abare played it cool when I spoke with him earlier on Monday about his status for Saturday's game against Harvard but clearly he wants to play in the worst way and it looks like he will get his chance.

All you need to know about Abare can be summed up by the reaction of his teammates and head coach Tom Williams to the latest development.

Here's a sampling of the quotes, most of which I couldn't get into the story I wrote about Abare for Wednesday's paper because of space considerations.

TOM WILLIAMS
"When he told me there was a possibility he could play, I almost cried. I got goose bumps because I am so happy for the kid. If he can get out there for his last football game and have a positive experience, that is why we get into this (profession).

"Paul (Rice) would say it as well that Paul was voted captain but Larry is a co-captain in a lot of ways. Like Paul, Larry is a lead by example player and he provides so much energy and passion. Our guys love that and they feed off of that. They probably want him to be able to play even more than themselves to play. For him to have that opportunity would be huge for our entire team, he would give all of us a big lift."

PAUL RICE
"Larry Abare playing would just mean everything to this team. This program has benefitted tremendously with Larry being here more than words can ever express. For him to come back after a redshirt (season) and still get hurt, still stay with it and still be an active member of this team and now have a chance to play in his last Harvard game, just seeing Larry able to play and in shoulder pads will get this team fired up. Emotionally he is second to none in terms to what kind of emotion he brings to this team on defense and on special teams.

"I think I’ll keep a safe distance from Larry before the game just because he will be really excited and I know how he gets before games and especially the Harvard game, I will keep a safe distance."

JOHN SHEFFIELD
"When he said that to me, I was so excited for him. Everything he has been through, getting hurt and take a redshirt and then to come back for a fifth year and have this happen, it’s terrible. I felt really terrible for him and for him to have one more chance in this game which is so much more important than any other game, that’s awesome."

Yale junior cornerback Adam Money was named the Ivy League's defensive player of the week. While other players in the league had gaudier stats than Money, his tackle of Columbia's Leon Ivery at the 2 yard line saved the game for the Bulldogs. He then caused and recovery a fumble to give Yale a chance to drive in for the game-winning touchdown with 58 seconds to play.

Money had five tackles, also had 99 yards on kickoff returns and other 49 on punt returns in a 23-22 Yale win.

Among the players he beat out for the award were Princeton's Steve Cody (15 tackles, 1 interception), Cornell's Chris Costello (14 tackles), Brown's James Develin (11 tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for losses) and teammate Paul Rice (15 tackles, a forced fumble).

Yale senior h-back/tight end John Sheffield, who had seven catches and 81 yards, was named to the honor roll along with Rice.

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.

Senior linebacker Paul Rice was named to the honor roll after making five tackles and scoring the only touchdown of Saturday's 7-0 win at Lehigh on a 40-yard run off a fake punt.

Penn, which hosts the Bulldogs Saturday at 3:30 p.m., had two players honored. Sophomore linebacker was named the Ivy League defensive player of the week after recording a sack and interception in a win over Columbia. Punter Scott Lopano was named the Rookie of the Week after averaging 44.6 yards per punt. Lopano had a 73-yard punt but also put two punts inside the 20 including one which pinned Columbia on its own 1.

Just a note that we are not going to have the weekly live chat but it is scheduled to return next Wednesday at 2 p.m.

It wasn't the prettiest of wins, that's for sure but a Yale squad without its starting tailback Jordan Farrell (out with the flu) and starting center Jake Koury (bruised calf) and then dealt with safety Larry Abare and receiver Jordan Forney being knocked out of the game, wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a gutsy win.

The only touchdown came on a 40-yard run by linebacker Paul Rice on a fake punt. Yale had been whistled for delay of game making the call all the more surprising.

The most noteworthy aspect of the game in my opinion was the play of the defensive line. Tom McCarthy had two sacks and blocked a field goal. Pat Moran was also in the backfield on a regular basis while Sean Williams had another strong game, capped by him snaring the ball on a bad pitch by De'Vaughn Gordon on an attempted hook and lateral play. He also forced a fumble. With Lehigh having used all of its timeouts, all that remained was for quarterback Brook Hart to take a knee on three straight plays. On a day where offensive success was the exception and not the rule, even that proved to be a challenge. Lehigh claimed they recovered the ball on third down. The officials disagreed to allow Yale to run out the final few seconds.

Junior cornerback Adam Money caused a fumble and had an interception.

Until some strong runs by senior Rodney Reynolds in the second half, it seemed as if Rice would end up as Yale's leading rusher. Reynolds, the starter coming out of the spring, had seen limited time. With Mordecai Cargill managing 16 carries on 15 yards and Alex Thomas added 13 on seven rushes, Yale turned to Reynolds in an attempt to run out the clock. Reynolds carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards to not only help secure a win but likely play himself back into the picture at tailback.

Hart struggled, throwing three interceptions including two on consecutive second-half drives. His final interception came when he did something quarterbacks at every level are instructed not to do - throw the ball late down the middle. He was just 12 of 31 for 86 yards. John Sheffield caught seven passes for 55 yards and he is now tied with Ashley Wright for third on Yale's career reception list.

The offensive line shuffle continued. With Koury again not able to do, Gabe Fernandez started again at center, the guards were freshman Jeff Marrs and sophomore Mike McInerney while Cory Palmer and Nathan Burow.

Yale is now 3-2, 1-1 in the Ivy League heading into Saturday's game at Penn. The Quakers won 27-13 at Columbia.

A couple of reminders, tomorrow's JV game has been cancelled and my weekly live chat will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. Log in to www.nhregister.com/chat to ask questions or just check it out.

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.

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.

Unfortunately, I was unable to make it out to Yale's first practice yesterday so I caught the last hour of today's practice.

Here are my impressions, the freshmen running backs look pretty good in the 7-on-7 drills as Taylor Stib, Javi Sosa and Mordecai Cargill impressed me. Stib's patience following his blockers and darting through tacklers on one run caught my eye since freshmen running backs usually tend to be in a hurry. Stib also bested his teammates in a wind sprint at the end of practice. It's hard to read too much into what I saw today because it was a no-pad, minimal contact setting in the 7-on-7 (likely a few of the runs would have been stopped for short gains in a full-contact setting) but talent is still talent and judging by what I saw today, this is a pretty talented freshman class who will be given every opportunity to earn playing time.

The 7-on-7 started with the quarterbacks misfiring on the first five passes but when sophomore Chris Morris made a nice sliding catch on a pass from Nebraska transfer Patrick Witt, it started a run of eight straight completions. The most impressive hook ups were senior Reid Lathan making a diving catch on a deep post route to haul in a 40-yard pass from Brook Hart. Freshman Dez Duron displayed his arm strength with a deep out to Shane Bannon, one of the toughest throws to make. Duron was victimized by classmate Brian Leffler, whose interception was the only turnover in the 7-on-7 drills.

It's too early to read too much about who is lining up with the first team but it did catch my eye that former Hopkins star John Powers was out there at safety with Larry Abare, Paul Rice, Tom McCarthy, Adam Money and Drew Baldwin during part of the 7-on-7 drills so he must be doing something right. Collin Bibb, Powers and Ryan Falbo are the first-year players who had pass breakups down the field according to my very unofficial stats. Freshman Allen Davis broke up one pass at the line of scrimmage when the offense was starting to get rolling in the drills.

It was weird seeing a running back (Cargill) wearing Mike McLeod's old No. 28 and a linebacker (Leffler) with the No. 44 worn by Bobby Abare for the last four years.

The team won't start practicing in pads until Tuesday and that point until the the intrasquad scrimmage on Aug. 29 (from 12:30-2:30 p.m.) will be a pivotal time for the coaching staff to come up with the nucleus of the 2009 team.

"It's typical, the defense is a little ahead of the offense because the defense is reactive and the offense is trying to figure out the execution," Yale coach Tom Williams said. "I am not surprised at all with where we are.
"Yesterday we executed better offensively but we didn't have as much in so it was very singular and they could focus. Today, we added a lot more. You could tell a lot of guys are still thinking, we are still playing fast. But on day two, I don't mind that at all. If that is going on the week we play Georgetown, we have problems so I'd say we are on schedule."

Defensive tackle Matt Kelleher sat out with a sore knee and a hamstring limited fellow defensive lineman Patrick Moran but other than that, Yale looks to be in pretty good shape health wise.