Yale Football Blog

There has not been an abundance of news trickling out of the football offices of Ray Tompkins House recently, but thankfully YDN’s Jared Fel has continued producing exceptional content on the team.  It sounds as though spring ball was very productive with players finally able to utilize helmets and footballs in practice as the school entered Phase II of the protocols.  With over 60% of the squad taking the fall semester off, it is great news that the players are finally getting in much needed work to prepare for a tough schedule in 2021.  Unfortunately, the practices were closed to the public, so we are devoid of any thoughtful analysis of the current level of play. 

The Falcons selected the talented tight end Kyle Pitts in the 1^st Round of the NFL Draft which could make life harder on former Yalie, Jaeden Graham, although he’s played well enough to keep his roster spot or make another NFL squad.  Look for teammate Foye Oluokun to continue improving for the Falcons and gaining notoriety around the league in the upcoming season.

Coach Reno brought in another talented recruiting class ranked 3^rd in the Ivy League according to 247 Sports with four 3-Star players.  Harvard and Princeton led the pack with five 3-Star players each.  Once the recruits are officially named by Yale, we will post our initial impressions based on their game films and statistics.

Keep an eye out for our positional breakdowns coming in the next few weeks.

Ikenna Ugbaja, 6’2”, 268 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Belmont Hill School (Belmont, MA)

Austin Tutas, 6’1”, 178 lbs., Quarterback, Archbishop Spalding (Severn, MD)

Andrew Weisz, 6’5”, 290 lbs., Offensive Tackle, The Benjamin School (North Palm Beach, FL)

Nate Denny, 5’10”, 190 lbs., Running Back, Bend Senior (Bend, OR)

Connor Smith, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Noble and Greenough School (Dedham, MA)

Kevin Jourdain Jr., 6’4”, 255 lbs., Defensive End, Holyoke (Holyoke, MA)

Sean Sullivan, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, St John’s (Shrewsbury, MA)

David Pantelis, 6’1”, 185 lbs., Wide Receiver, Upper Saint Clair (Pittsburgh, PA)

Mason Shipp, 6’1”, 175 lbs., Wide Receiver, The Peddle School (Hightstown, NJ)

Inumidan Ayo-Durojaiye, 6’2”, 190 lbs., Safety, Damascus (Damascus, MD)

Alvin Gulley, 6’2”, 290 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Belleville HS-West (Belleville, IL)

Bryce Hall, 6’3”, 235 lbs., Defensive End, Cranbrook Schools (Bloomfield Hills, MI)

Declan Savage, 6’4”, 260 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)

Luke Foster, 6’4”, 250 lbs., Tight End, Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, CT)

Tama McDonough, 6’5”, 245 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Asheville (Asheville, NC)

Kelvin Smith, 6’4”, 220 lbs., Linebacker, The Hun School (Princeton, NJ)

Dominic Zepherin, 5’11”, 175 lbs., Cornerback, St. Thomas More (Lafayette, LA)

Aaron Session, 6’5″, 297 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Morton Ranch (Katy, TX)

Aaron Smith, 5’11”, 170 lbs., Athlete, Waukee Senior (Waukee, IA)

Joseph Nash, 6’2″, 265 lbs., Defensive Line, Trinity Christian (Addison, TX)

Jack Michalik, Defensive Back, Brunswick (Greenwich, CT)

With the decommitment of Zane Minors and the addition of Nash and Michalik to this list, Yale now stands at 21 possible commitments. This would be a concern in any normal recruiting cycle, but with the Ivy League allowing certain 5th Year Graduate Students to compete, teams across the league appear to be limiting the number of admission slots for athletes this year in anticipation of many players returning to play four full seasons. While little public recruiting information exists on Michalik, it seems as though he is the son of former Bulldog, Rob Michalik ’91.

Updated list of Yale ’25 commits:

Ikenna Ugbaja, 6’2”, 268 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Belmont Hill School (Belmont, MA)

Austin Tutas, 6’1”, 178 lbs., Quarterback, Archbishop Spalding (Severn, MD)

Andrew Weisz, 6’5”, 290 lbs., Offensive Tackle, The Benjamin School (North Palm Beach, FL)

Nate Denny, 5’10”, 190 lbs., Running Back, Bend Senior (Bend, OR)

Connor Smith, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Noble and Greenough School (Dedham, MA)

Kevin Jourdain Jr., 6’4”, 255 lbs., Defensive End, Holyoke (Holyoke, MA)

Zane Minors, 5’10”, 180 lbs., Running Back, Westlake (Austin, TX)

Sean Sullivan, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, St John’s (Shrewsbury, MA)

David Pantelis, 6’1”, 185 lbs., Wide Receiver, Upper Saint Clair (Pittsburgh, PA)

Mason Shipp, 6’1”, 175 lbs., Wide Receiver, The Peddle School (Hightstown, NJ)

Inumidan Ayo-Durojaiye, 6’2”, 190 lbs., Safety, Damascus (Damascus, MD)

Alvin Gulley, 6’2”, 290 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Belleville HS-West (Belleville, IL)

Bryce Hall, 6’3”, 235 lbs., Defensive End, Cranbrook Schools (Bloomfield Hills, MI)

Declan Savage, 6’4”, 260 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)

Luke Foster, 6’4”, 250 lbs., Tight End, Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, CT)

Tama McDonough, 6’5”, 245 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Asheville (Asheville, NC)

Kelvin Smith, 6’4”, 220 lbs., Linebacker, The Hun School (Princeton, NJ)

Dominic Zepherin, 5’11”, 175 lbs., Cornerback, St. Thomas More (Lafayette, LA)

Aaron Session, 6’5″, 297 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Morton Ranch (Katy, TX)

Aaron Smith, 5’11”, 170 lbs., Athlete, Waukee Senior (Waukee, IA)

Running Backs Coach and talented recruiter, Derrick Lett, has decided to depart Yale and bring his skills to Jonesboro, Arkansas as Wide Receivers Coach for the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Alan Lamar will also be transferring to Arkansas State where he will have two years of eligibility remaining. Best of luck to Coach Lett and Alan in Jonesboro and thanks for the memories in the Bowl!

As if the excitement for the 2021 season wasn’t enough, we now have another barnburner on the schedule: Yale at UCONN on October 16th.

Foye Oluokun continues to thrive for the Atlanta Falcons with 109 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 3 sacks, and 2 interceptions (one from Mahomes) on the season. Jaeden Graham has notched 3 receptions for the Falcons, while Dieter Eiselen made his first NFL appearance for the Chicago Bears in Week 9.

Ikenna Ugbaja, 6’2”, 268 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Belmont Hill School (Belmont, MA)

Austin Tutas, 6’1”, 178 lbs., Quarterback, Archbishop Spalding (Severn, MD)

Andrew Weisz, 6’5”, 290 lbs., Offensive Tackle, The Benjamin School (North Palm Beach, FL)

Nate Denny, 5’10”, 190 lbs., Running Back, Bend Senior (Bend, OR)

Connor Smith, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Noble and Greenough School (Dedham, MA)

Kevin Jourdain Jr., 6’4”, 255 lbs., Defensive End, Holyoke (Holyoke, MA)

Zane Minors, 5’10”, 180 lbs., Running Back, Westlake (Austin, TX)

Sean Sullivan, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, St John’s (Shrewsbury, MA)

David Pantelis, 6’1”, 185 lbs., Wide Receiver, Upper Saint Clair (Pittsburgh, PA)

Mason Shipp, 6’1”, 175 lbs., Wide Receiver, The Peddle School (Hightstown, NJ)

Inumidan Ayo-Durojaiye, 6’2”, 190 lbs., Safety, Damascus (Damascus, MD)

Alvin Gulley, 6’2”, 290 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Belleville HS-West (Belleville, IL)

Bryce Hall, 6’3”, 235 lbs., Defensive End, Cranbrook Schools (Bloomfield Hills, MI)

Declan Savage, 6’4”, 260 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)

Luke Foster, 6’4”, 250 lbs., Tight End, Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, CT)

Tama McDonough, 6’5”, 245 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Asheville (Asheville, NC)

Kelvin Smith, 6’4”, 220 lbs., Linebacker, The Hun School (Princeton, NJ)

Dominic Zepherin, 5’11”, 175 lbs., Cornerback, St. Thomas More (Lafayette, LA)

Coach Reno is putting together yet another stellar recruiting class with ample time to continue reeling in top recruits. Let us know who we are missing and we will continue to update the list.

The Ivy League announced last week that all fall sports have been canceled in 2020 due to the continued risk posed by COVID-19. While the League left open the possibility of allowing fall sports to compete in the spring, Coach Reno’s email to the football association only referenced looking forward to the fall 2021 season. Whether this was intentional or not remains to be seen.

If football is in fact delayed until the fall of 2021, there will inevitably be turnover on the roster. What will the roster and depth chart look like next fall? Have we seen the last performances from stellar athletes such as Lamar? Will our top coaches turn down potentially lucrative offers from FBS schools to stick around? Only time will tell.

With the focus now shifting solely to strength and conditioning, Yale must shore up its offensive and defensive lines by developing players that can physically dominate at the point of attack. Let’s pack some serious muscle onto our quarterbacks while we’re at it as no Ivy League defense has shown the ability to tackle strong quarterbacks with speed!

With the recent announcements that Bowdoin and Williams will be canceling all fall sports, the status of the fall football season remains in jeopardy for the Ancient Eight. Ivy League Presidents have been actively discussing the possibilities of an outright cancellation, a shortened Ivy-only fall season or a spring Ivy-only season. We are eagerly anticipating an official announcement from the Ivy League as to what the future may hold this fall.

The Patriot League has already placed restrictions on their out of conference contests, so don’t hold your breath for the Fordham at Hawaii matchup this season.

The Yale Bowl offers quite possibly the most social distancing friendly atmosphere in the entire country given the ample space and limited crowds for non-HYP contests. While the risk to the fans might be low, the true dangers would be for the coaches and Yale employees who interact with the diverse student body on a daily basis (assuming the players have adequate immune systems to fight the virus).

All we can do at this point is to hope and pray to see the Bulldogs in 2020.

After the cancellation of remaining winter and spring sports, the NCAA has announced a ban on in-person recruiting until at least April 15th.

We have not seen an official announcement regarding the cancellation of Spring Ball, but with students not returning to campus this semester and the closure of Payne Whitney Gymnasium, there is simply no hope of seeing the Bulldogs in the Bowl this spring. Some SEC schools have been hosting football practices, although the conference will not allow spring games.

The loss of spring practices is devastating to the 2020 Bulldogs as we needed all the time possible to improve timing between our quarterbacks and receivers given the graduation of Yale’s terrific trio. The offensive line, defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs had to fill holes and develop young talent to compete. Now, this will simply be a year of stunted growth.

Other Ivy foes such as Harvard and Dartmouth will not be as affected as Yale by the loss of spring practices. Both Harvard and Dartmouth return key components of their offenses and you know Buddy will find creative ways to roll out an All-Ivy roster of 5th year seniors.

Following in the footsteps of Florida State University, Yale’s Men’s Basketball program should urge Connecticut legislators to declare Yale as the 2020 National Champion.

Mitchell Tyler, 6’5”, 240 lbs., Defensive End, McKinney (McKinney, TX)

Connor Halverson, 6’4″, 270 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Westlake (Austin, TX)

Bennie Anderson, 6’3”, 273 lbs., Offensive Guard, Westminster Christian Academy (St. Louis, MO)

Teo Falk, 6’7”, 255 lbs., Defensive End, Sweden

Joe Gonzales, 6’3”, 185 lbs., Safety, Lake Stevens (Lake Stevens, WA)

Devyn Suggs, 6’4”, 195 lbs., Quarterback, Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, IL)

Kade Barnes, 5’10”, 170 lbs., Cornerback, Cy Ridge (Houston, TX)

Charles “Ceejay” Thompson, 6’2”, 190 lbs., Wide Receiver, Trinity Christian School (Cedar Hill, TX)

Ryan Lindley, 5’10”, 160 lbs., Wide Receiver, Westlake (Austin, TX)

Ejiro Egodogbare, 6’3”, 270 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Roxbury Latin (West Roxbury, MA)

Ben Mann, 6’4”, 230 lbs., Defensive End, Manheim Township (Lancaster, PA)

Tre Peterson, 5’10”, 178 lbs., Wide Receiver/Cornerback, Columbus (Columbus, GA)

Gabriel Sleenhof, 6’4”, 260 lbs., Offensive Line/Defensive Line, Ravenswood (Brentwood, TN)

Kiran Amegadjie, 6’5”, 275 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Hinsdale Central
(Hinsdale, IL)

Dean Shaffer, 6’1”, 230 lbs., Linebacker, Smithtown East (Smithtown, NY)

Zion Dayne, 6’3”, 240 lbs., Defensive End, South County (Lorton, VA)

Shaun Gold, 6’3”, 185 lbs., Wide Receiver, Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA)

Wyatt Raymond, 6’4”, 225 lbs., Tight End, Enfield (Enfield, CT)

Shamus Florio, 6’3”, 195 lbs., Punter/Kicker, Andover (Andover, MA)

Jacob Saffold, 5’10”, 190 lbs., Running Back, Norfolk Academy (Norfolk, VA)

Ryan Belk, 6’5”, 205 lbs., Tight End, Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, FL)

Nathan Puletasi, 6’3″, 265 lbs., Defensive Tackle, Choate (Wallingford, CT)

Grant Jordan, 6’2”, 195 lbs., Quarterback, Jesuit (New Orleans, LA)

Jack Karhu, 6’4”, 250 lbs., Offensive Tackle, Independence (Frisco, TX)

Sean Guyton, 6’0”, 175 lbs., Cornerback, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, CA)

Chase Nenad, 6’3”, 200 lbs., Wide Receiver, Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA)

Zack Haaland, 6’3″, 185 lbs., Quarterback/Athlete, Dallas Christian (Dallas, TX)

Damian Anderson, 6’1″, 165 lbs., Cornerback, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

Nathaniel Campbell, 6’3″, 200 lbs., Outside Linebacker, Oswego East (Oswego, IL)

Cole Hagen, 6’2″, 180 lbs., Quarterback, Corner Canyon (Draper, UT)

The 9-1 Bulldogs were ranked 24th and 25th respectively by the FCS Coaches Poll and the STATS FCS Final Top 25.

Kurt Rawlings was a late edition to the East-West Shrine Bowl and will be playing for the West. Check out this interview with Kurt from yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD_phz1-V3o

The Shrine Bowl will air on the NFL Network on Saturday at 3 PM ET.

Rawlings isn’t the only Bulldog who will be playing in front of fans and scouts on Saturday. Dieter Eiselen was selected to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and will play at the historic Rose Bowl. That game will air after the Shrine Bowl at 7 PM ET on the NFL Network.

Kurt Rawlings was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year as well as New England Football Writers Association’s Player of the Year.

Several Bulldogs were honored on the All-Ivy Teams:

Dieter Eiselen, OL, First Team All-Ivy

Kurt Rawlings, QB, Unanimous First Team All-Ivy

JP Shohfi, WR, First Team All-Ivy

Reed Klubnik, WR, First Team All-Ivy

Sam Tuckerman, K, First Team All-Ivy

Sterling Strother, OL, Second Team All-Ivy

Zane Dudek, RB, Second Team All-Ivy

Spencer Matthaei, DL, Second Team All-Ivy

Ryan Burke, LB, Second Team All-Ivy

Malcolm Dixon, CB, Second Team All-Ivy

Cameron Warfield, OL, Honorable Mention All-Ivy

Rodney Thomas, LB, Honorable Mention All-Ivy

Melvin Rouse, CB, Honorable Mention All-Ivy