Spring Outlook – Yale Football Blog

The Bulldogs will begin their spring practices on April 9th at the historic Clint Frank Field.

Offensively, Yale needs to select and develop its QB of the future. Rafe Chapple appears to be the front runner currently, however, he is still very inexperienced as he only attempted 11 passes last season, completing 5 of those for 45 yards. Tre Moore, Lambie Lanman, Stephen Barmore and Henry Baldwin will be competing with Chapple for the starting role.

Yale has depth and skill at the running back and receiver positions. At RB, the Bulldogs return Deshawn Salter (561 rushing yards), Dale Harris (279 rushing yards) and former starter Candler Rich (122 rushing yards) who was out with an injury last year. The Yale receiving corps is stacked with the return of Chris Williams-Lopez, Robert Clemons III, Michael Siragusa Jr., Ross Drwal, Bo Hines, Myles Gaines, and Kyle Marcinick among others. Leo Haenni (HM All-Ivy in 2014) will likely hold down the starting spot at TE.

Finding a replacement for Longinotti at Center will be a huge priority for Yale this offseason. Khalid Cannon and Mason Friedline return to anchor the offensive line in addition to the experienced Karl Marback, Beau Iverson, Jeho Chang, and Jon Bezney. As a unit, the offensive line must get stronger and play more cohesively to protect a young QB next year. The success of the 2016 campaign will depend on this group’s ability to create holes and provide the QB with enough time to find one of our dangerous threats downfield.

The Yale defense is the strength of the team entering the spring. 1st Team All-Ivy selection Copache Tyler headlines the defensive line with experienced Marty Moesta (24 tackles and 3 sacks), Earl Chism (25 tackles) and Nicholas Crowle (25 tackles). Captain Darius Manora returns to lead the defense with fellow linebackers Victor Egu and Matthew Oplinger (HM All-Ivy). The secondary returns Hayden Carlson (92 tackles, 1 INT) Spencer Rymiszewski (49 tackles, 4 INT, 1st Team All-Ivy), Dale Harris (RB or DB?), Jason Alessi (39 tackles, 1 INT), Foye Oluokun (missed most of last year with injury), and Marquise Peggs (9 tackles). If the defensive line can generate more pressure and the secondary can limit big plays, this defense could be a special one for Yale.

In other news, Yale basketball was defeated on Saturday by Duke 71-64. Former offensive lineman Stephen Morse was spotted on camera this time supporting his alma mater.

Dale Harris should be kept as a RB this year. Yale has enough depth in the secondary. Harris is a legitimate option for the #1 RB position. His move to RB last year turned things around. Yale probably would have had a losing season last year if that move wasn’t made.

As for QB I favor Tre Moore. A dual threat QB is needed to maximize the effectiveness of the spread offense. Without Tyler Varga in the backfield the QB needs to be mobile to keep the defense honest.

Yale also needs to pick up the pace of the play calling. They took way too long to run plays last year. Get rid of all those signals from the sideline. They are slowing the offense down. Finally, jet sweeps need to be inserted to get all those speedy receivers more involved in the offense.

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