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Preseason Positional Rankings

  1. Defensive Line
    • With Patterson, Oso, Nickerson and Raine all returning this season, the defensive line should be the deepest and most talented positional group. The inexperienced linebacking corps and inconsistent secondary will need all the help that they can get from the defensive line this season, but these big-bodied men will be up to the task. This could be the top defensive line that Reno has fielded to date.
  2. Wide Receivers
    • Tipton is the star of the receiving corps and should benefit greatly from working with Grooms on timing and rhythm this offseason. Tipton had a relatively slow start to the 2021 season, yet it’s hard to argue that any skill player was more explosive than him by the end of the season. Beyond Tipton, there is a stable of experienced and talented receivers such as Sandifer, Pantelis, Nenad, Felton and Lindley in addition to a slew of underclassmen that could get into the mix such as Mason Shipp. The two transfers, Brunelle and Biggs, are the icing on the cake to a stellar positional group.
  3. Running Backs
    • While the 1-2 punch of Dudek and Alston was derailed in 2021, Alston continued to improve each week and played very well against Harvard. McElwain returns as a solid option as a power runner. Peterson and Eboboko impressed in limited time in 2021 and should be primed for breakout seasons. With McKenzie off the roster, Denney and Saffold should get into the mix as well.
  4. Quarterback
    • Grooms had an up and down season in 2021 but has a very high upside given his physical tools. Grooms’ performance in 2022 will boil down to the play of the offensive line and his decision making in the pocket. Grooms completed under 54% of his passes in 2021 and will need to improve this metric closer to 65% while limiting the interceptions (8 in 2021). The departure of O’Connor has created depth concerns at the quarterback position and Tutas would likely be the successor despite throwing just 2 passes in his career
  5. Tight Ends
    • Hawes’ performance in 2021 was one of the positive surprises of the season as he became interchangeable with Howland, a current NFL practice squad player. The further development of the Grooms-Hawes connection could be a nightmare for opposing defenses with linebackers simply being outmatched in size and speed. The quality of the depth beyond Hawes remains a question mark although Reno has recruited very well at this position in recent years.
  6. Offensive Line
    • The offensive line has the greatest potential to move up or down this list depending on injuries. Gargiulo hasn’t played a full season since 2019 and another injury to him would be devasting to the team. The only returning starter who played a full season in 2021 is Amegadjie. On the bright side, Mendoza could establish himself as a top-tier tackle in the Ivy League and Reno should be able to piece together an improved offensive line given the experience of Sullivan, Durand, Anderson, Schuller, Nauert and others.  
  7. Specialists
    • Bosman returns as punter and kicker this season. He was exceptional in punting last season averaging over 40 yards per punt, but his field goal completion percentage below 64% last season will need to be remedied to give Yale a shot in close contests. There is no designated long snapper listed on the roster and the depth beyond Bosman is cause for concern given the kicking struggles seen in the Spring Game.
  8. Defensive Backs
    • The secondary has the experience on paper to be a solid unit but the painful memories of years past persist. The projected starters of Owens, Hickey, Oldacre and Ellis are all seniors who’ve yet to be consistent in their play to date. Between the poor coaching techniques in the secondary, mental mistakes and missed tackles, the secondary has been a comedy of errors directly leading to defeats. If our secondary refuses to turn and play the ball in the air, it will be a long season.
  9. Linebackers
    • The low ranking of the linebacking corps is based more on a fear of the unknown than inherent weaknesses at the position. Pope returns with starting experience, while Moore, Vaughan, Abraham, Campbell, Frommer and Shaffer have all seen snaps over their careers. Reno could utilize the freshmen trio of Larry, Williams and Thomas if upperclassmen struggle. We’ve been blessed with battle-hardened veterans returning at the linebacker positions year-in and year-out, so it’s unsettling to enter the season without that critical leadership component in-place.

28 replies on “Preseason Positional Rankings”

I was hoping McKenzie would add a spark to RB. Did he never fully recover from the HS knee injury?

Damn Yale lost the Kid to BYU who would have been a heck of a QB . Now they lost McKenzie as well. That’s not good.

RECRUIT : GREAT GET !

SPENCER MERMANS 6′ 6′ , 245 LBS. D/E , T/E . CHARLOTTE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL, CHARLOTTE , NORTH CAROLINA. OFFERED BY 5 FBS SCHOOLS INCLUDING VANDERBILT & WAKE FOREST .

Not only is Holy Cross keeping up with Buffalo. , they’re handling them . Hope the coaches have Yale ready for next week.

Lots of unknowns going into the season.
Can the defense hold up? It sounds like the line will be good, but there has to be better play in the secondary

There always has to be better play in the secondary. It’s a historical weakness and has cost Yale undefeated seasons at least three times in my mind. 1974, 1981, and 2017.

Also 2021! Yale needed one yard to win against Harvard and they needed 76. Yale couldn’t get the job done and Havard breezed through 76 yards via the air!

So why is that?
Why has pass defense been such a historical weakness? Do we not recruit the right players? Is our coaching suspect?

Secondary play needs to improve, for sure.
But I posted the following after least season, and it still is priority one, in my book.:

If there’s one thing Reno & staff can and should improve, it’s this:
Yale has been the most penalized team in league games for each of the last 4 seasons – possibly longer (the Ivy website doesn’t have stats for ’16 or ’15, so my research only goes back through 2017).

In total penalty yards over the past 4 seasons / 28 league games, it’s not even close.

1,917 Yale
1,465 Columbia
1,428 Cornell
1,422 Harvard
1,375 Dartmouth
1,359 Brown
1,308 Penn
1,106 Princeton

30 of those 1,917 yards conceivably cost Yale one undefeated season (2017 Dartmouth) and another co-championship (2021 Dartmouth).

The penalties go hand in hand with the trash talk for which Yale now seems to have a reputation. Who knows if that reputation adds to the refs being quicker to throw their flags even if they don’t realize it.

If you’re up for some trashy trash talking from our bench, go to the Brown game when it’s in Providence and sit down low on the visitors’ side.

Poor technique on the part of DBs year in and year out is strickly the responsibility of coaching staff, and so is trash talking and certainly PENALTIES! I think we have seen the end of Reno’s successes. Neither the AD or the President will ever fire him. Get used to it.

I wouldn’t go that far. He is still a very good recruiter and talent usually wins. It’s when the talent is equal that coaching is a big factor.

If memory serves, which it does less and less, our last effective defensive backfield was 2017’s, led by Spencer R, Alessi, Carlson et al.

The way I comfort myself now is to think of our DBs as the supporting cast of a ballet or a synchronized swimming performance whose only purpose is to showcase the receivers. They are not there to seize the spotlight, or, God forbid, the football. In this they’re quite capable.

No media babble at all . NHR is nonexistent, Nothing at all on 4 day Yale Not daily news, Worcester Telegram has something about the game . Ridiculous

Good Luck Yale , can’t go to practice, No media coverage, no Radio.
No more Yale Football , not in my time. Very disappointed in lack of publicity. Yale lost a Yale fan of over 55 years. You can kiss our asses.

I was looking forward to traveling to Worcester. I always enjoyed travel to see the other schools. To see Yale play. I have made a decision not to follow Yale anymore as well. If Yale treats its fan like this. Than why be a fan. . I hope Yale gets all that they get

I can’t imagine not following or caring about Yale football. It has been a big part of my life since the fifties. Would I change some things? Of course. Do I think the “progressive” Ivy League schools treat football as if we were still in the fifties? Of course. Should we have an 11th game and start the season two weeks earlier? Of course. Is it depressing to see only 5k in the Bowl? Of course. Despite that I’ll be faithfully watching and listening each week.

Holy Cross gets it . they’re having a meet and greet at pizza joint. Open to all . Unlike Yale , only for a select few. Big mistake alienating your fans. Bunch of enormous fools great in Academia. But ignorant in hospitality to the general public. , Salovey, disappointed in him, Reno, a paranoid delusional Napoleon complex.. No excuse little man.

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