Receiver Peter Balsam, the second-leading receiver on the 2009 Yale squad, was expected to suit up for his senior season after taking a year off. However, Balsam is not on the updated roster. I was able to confirm that Balsam is planning to enroll at Yale but will not be playing football.

Balsam had 45 catches for 520 yards and three touchdowns in 18 career varsity games.

Let's be honest, receiver might be Yale's deepest position in 2011 with the return of Chris Smith, who had a team-best 46 catches in 2010 and Gio Christodoulou, who led the Bulldogs with 563 receiving yards last season. Add in Allen Harris, one of the most impressive players during spring drills, highly-touted rising sophomore Deon Randall as well as talented youngsters Cameron Sandquist and Brandis Yarrington and Yale quarterback Patrick Witt won't lack of talented receivers to throw to. However, other than the 6-1 Harris the Yale receiving corps is on the smallish side. A player like the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Balsam could have added a different dimension to the Yale squad.

There are no other players missing from the roster although there is a new incoming freshman. Andrew Sutphin is a linebacker/defensive end from Indianapolis who played last season at Deerfield Academy. That brings the incoming freshman class to 32.

Pat Moran, who would have been a senior defensive lineman on the current Yale team, opted to take the year off so he could help in his father Jim Moran's reelection campaign in Virginia.

It looks like Jim Moran, who has represented Virginia's 8th congressional district since 1991, appears to be running away with things

Pat Moran has another year of eligibility and the last time I spoke to Yale football coach Tom Williams about Moran and receiver Peter Balsam, who also took the year off, are still planning to return to Yale next year.

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.

A few things from the weekly Tuesday press conference at the Yale Bookstore.

First, Yale coach Tom Williams said junior cornerback Adam Money had a stinger late in Saturday's game against Brown but he has been cleared to practice and did just that on Tuesday morning.

There's no change in the injury status of receiver Chris Smith and safety Larry Abare. Williams said there is a chance Smith can play against Harvard while Abare has been trying to persuade the Yale medical staff to slap a cast on his broken right forearm so he can get back on the field. If Abare does manage to get back on the field for the Nov. 21 game against Harvard, I wouldn't want to be one of Harvard's receivers, running backs or the quarterback because Abare will have some lost time to make up for and will be chomping at the bit to hit somebody.

There will be no switch in kickers. Alex Barnes will continue to handle extra points and kicks while Tom Mante will punt, kick off and be called on for the long-distance field goals.

Williams was accompanied by junior receiver Peter Balsam. I spoke to Balsam and Williams about the amount of injuries the receiving corps has had to endure this season and that will be the Yale football story in Wednesday's edition of the Register.

Among the other topics I addressed with Balsam was his reaction to seeing Brown score late in the first half, aided by Balsam's 15-yard penalty on the kickoff after Money's 77-yard interception return. Rather than needing to drive the ball 72 yards, Brown only needed to go 57 yards. When Bears' quarterback Kyle Newhall-Caballero capped the drive with a 9-yard TD run, Balsam walked in the general vicinity of Williams who voiced his displeasure. Balsam expressed remorse at the role his penalty for retaliating had in aiding Brown's second touchdown.

"I felt terrible," Balsam said. "It is totally unacceptable, it was a totally selfish play and it can’t happen again. It would be one thing if it was the first time it happened but I got one against Lehigh as well. After an interception, I made a tackle and I got up and pushed the guy. In that case I don’t know what to do, I guess get up and clap in the guy’s face who is yelling at you because pushing is unacceptable. It doesn’t get caught all the time but usually it is the second person who does it that gets caught. You just have to keep your head on straight and realize that you are not playing for yourself, you are playing for your 100 and however many teammates. Those guys work just as hard as you and you can’t make that kind of a selfish play that will jeopardize that hard work."

The first half came to an end with Tom Mante's line drive 51-yard field goal attempt sailing wide left allowing Brown to take a 14-12 lead into the break.

Yale's defense has done its job holding the explosive Brown offense in check. Kyle Newhall-Caballero threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Buddy Farnham and had a 5-yard scoring run.

Yale answered as Mordecai Cargill took a Patrick Witt screen pass and rumbled 41 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. Adam Money returned an interception 77 yards for the other score.

Special teams, outside of Mante's 57-yard punt, have not been special. Alex Barnes missed an extra point after the first score and Brook Hart was unable to haul in a 2-point conversion from fellow quarterback Witt.

Peter Balsam was called for a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the kickoff after Money's touchdown to allow Brown to start the drive at the 43 rather than the 28. When Newhall-Caballero scored, Balsam made the mistake of walking in the direction of Yale coach Tom Williams. Williams gave Balsam a serious dressing down about the penalty which likely prevented Yale from heading into halftime with a lead.

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.

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.

Tom Williams has seen his share of Thursday practices in his time as a college and professional coach and would be hard pressed to see a more productive one than the one which wrapped up about an hour and a half ago at Clint Frank Field in West Haven.

Running back Alex Thomas (ankle), safety Marcus Wallace (shoulder) and tackle Alex Golubiewski (knee) were all back in action. Wallace, who was the starter at free safety after spring practice was over, split time with Geoff Dunham with the starting defense during the scrimmage portion of the practice. Golubiewski, cleared to return to practice earlier this week, saw plenty of time at left tackle with the top offensive line unit and Thomas had a few impressive runs.

The two most impressive players in the scrimmage were receiver Peter Balsam, who caught TDs on consecutive series, and running back Mordecai Cargill, who had a couple of highlight variety runs. Considering that the Ivy League rookie of the week was Columbia punter Michael Williamsson, I'd have to think that Cargill has a chance to emerge as the league's best freshman since I would expect him to get plenty of opportunities to carry and catch the ball this season.

Receiver Reid Lathan (knee), fullback Josh Kozel (ankle) and tight end Chris Blohm (foot) were held out of practice with only Blohm expected to play on Saturday against Cornell.

WILLIAMS GIVING BACK
Williams is one of the college football coaches taking part in the Coach To Cure MD program. He will be wearing a patch on his shirt during Saturday's game.