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Three out of four starters return in the secondary, yet many are left wondering if Wande Owens was the glue holding together a weak unit last season. Guyton’s return from an injury for the Dartmouth contest proved to be a gamechanger for Yale but his performances were up and down throughout the remainder of the season. Daniyan kept improving at safety each week transforming from a fledgling freshman to a hardened veteran by the season’s end. Tarver was a liability all too often at safety in 2023, so he has a lot to prove to retain his starting position. Benn is back at safety after injuries limited him to just one game last year bringing much needed veteran leadership to the unit. Kamara could be one of the most talented players on the entire roster with his only drawback being that he doesn’t fit cleanly into the category of a safety, linebacker or cornerback. The cornerback position vacated by Owens is the main area of concern with our secondary. Damian Anderson was listed as Owens’ backup in 2023 and should have a great opportunity to earn the starting nod. Webster filled in as a freshman last season due to injuries but struggled to contain top passing threats. In 2022, Da’Quan Gonzales saw quality time as a freshman and even intercepted a pass against Harvard, yet somehow managed to fall off the coaching staff’s radar in 2023. Russ III, Barnes, and Saffold could all get into the mix of the defensive backfield with strong preseason play. Haaland, Grant, and Joseph Gonzales all return with experience at safety and will be key components of the special teams units.

Defensive backs were clearly a priority for Reno in the recruiting cycle with Yale welcoming a whopping 8 new defensive backs to the roster in Breylan Thompson, Chris White, Charles Barkley-Smith, JP Schmidt, Ty Ingram-Eiser, Brandon Banks, Dillon Rickenbacker and Billy Eastep. Thompson has the versatility to play safety or cornerback with great ball skills and punt returning abilities. White is a lockdown corner that plays with physicality and has an extra year of experience after a season at Cheshire Academy. Barkley-Smith will hopefully earn the Sir Charles nickname in the coming years as he’s a very fluid athlete with the ability to change directions on a dime. Schmidt is a sure-fire tackler that provides great run support and likes baiting quarterbacks into making risky throws. Ingram-Eiser hails from the same high school as the great Reed Klubnik and is a technician who stays true to his assignments. Banks does a tremendous job of playing the ball in the air, a trait our defensive backs have notoriously lacked. Rickenbacker was a 3-star recruit and is a very balanced safety with the ability to stuff the run or punish receivers over the middle. Eastep was also a 3-star recruit and uses his great closing speed to consistently disrupt passes.

Linebacker is an area of concern for the Bulldogs for the first time in years. Vaughn and Moore are both playing at new universities after graduation leaving giant holes at the inside linebacker spots. Shaffer clearly won the respect of his teammates with a shocking nomination as captain. He’s looked solid in limited playing time since his freshman season but hasn’t put enough on film to fully alleviate the worries. Biggs, a former walk-on at Utah, has seen similar action to Shaffer with quality play over a small sample size. Shaffer and Biggs have prototypical size for the position at 230 lbs. and 233 lbs. respectively although whether they can keep up with the fastest backs in the league remains to be seen. Ayo-Durojaiye returns at outside linebacker and hopefully will bounce back after losing his starting position in the middle of last season. There were high expectations for Ayo-Durojaiye entering the 2023 campaign, but he never seemed to regain his confidence after brutal games versus Holy Cross and Cornell. It will be hard to keep Kamara off the field at some capacity at linebacker if he doesn’t crack a top safety spot. Raymond, Warncke, Lee and Campbell all return with experience and should see additional defensive playing time as well as extensive special teams duties. Three freshmen enter the mix with the additions of Steven Partin, Eddie Palumbo and Joe McCord. Partin was a one-man army in high school playing linebacker, running back, quarterback, wide receiver and punter with fantastic speed and instincts. Palumbo is very quick to diagnose plays and should be one of the better linebackers in pass coverage on the roster. McCord played outside linebacker and defensive end at the high school level and possesses very active hands to shed blockers and the speed to track down plays on the backside.

The defensive line remains a bright spot for the Bulldogs heading into the 2024 season. The defensive tackle position is stacked with Egodogbare, Gulley and Yang returning serious size and power to the interior front. Egodogbare was unblockable at times as a freshman but had his sophomore season derailed by an injury. Gulley is a classic nose guard type who is difficult for defenders to move at the point of attack. Yang seems to constantly surprise opponents with his combination of quickness and strength as the best pass rusher of the group. Jourdain, Oxendine and Austin all return to add even more depth at the position after solid play a year ago. Patterson is a huge loss at end, although Shaber is back after earning the starting slot in 2023. Tyler and McDonough both return with significant experience on the outside. Sophomore James Cave inherited the #33 jersey in the wake of Larry’s transfer and should be a force in 2024. There are still several talented sophomores waiting in the wings such as Jackson-Bass, Tate, and Fadeyibi. Reno and company hit the recruiting trail hard in search of defensive linemen bringing in Jackson Boone (6’4”, 210 lbs.), Xavier Rivers (6’1”, 230 lbs.), Trent Page (6’2”, 250 lbs.), Sam McGivern (6’2”, 245 lbs.), Mack Johnson (6’3”, 255 lbs.), and Lota Ugokwe (6’2”, 230 lbs.). Boone has ideal length for the position and has a very quick first step off of the ball at defensive end. Rivers has tremendous speed and power off the edge with the ability to blow through double teams or outmaneuver offensive tackles. Page was one of the top recruits in the class and seems to have the physicality to develop into a special tackle or end. McGivern plays with great technique and has a motor that doesn’t stop as he chases down ball carriers. Johnson uses his size and speed to effortlessly shed blockers with versatility to play multiple positions along the front. Ugokwe has one of the top highlight reels of the class as he explodes off the line of scrimmage to punish quarterbacks.

8 days to go!

Losing two NFL caliber offensive linemen in back-to-back years is never easy to recover from but the talent is in place for the Bulldogs to piece together a serviceable line. Michael Bennett should hold down the Right Tackle spot after an Honorable Mention All-Ivy season a year ago. Bennett is just a junior and appears that he could develop into a special talent. Three guards return with starting experience in Charron, Sullivan and Karhu, so it will be interesting to see who wins the starting spots and whether there is an opportunity for one of them to potentially flex out to the Left Tackle spot. Karhu was out with an injury for all of 2023 after solid play in 2022, while Charron and Sullivan started at Right Guard and Left Guard in 2023 respectively. Left Tackle and Center are the largest areas of concern along the front heading into the season. The graduation of Mendoza (now at Louisville) is the toughest loss as the team had to find a way to cope without Amegadjie early on in the season last year. Amegadjie is currently the backup left tackle for the Chicago Bears after a long recovery from his injury kept him out of action for much of the preseason. Bluhm filled in at Center due to injuries a year ago but without a magician at QB this year, his snapping issues could be amplified if they are not corrected. Seniors Connor Smith and Bennie Anderson saw substantial action last year and should vie for more playing time with strong camps. There is a slew of sophomores that could make an impact such as St. Aubyn, Lewis, Garrity or Avera. Reno brought in three freshmen offensive linemen in Bennett Anderson, Kevin Cassidy and Charlie Humphreys. Anderson was one the top recruits in the entire class and looked like a pancaking machine at the high school level. Cassidy is very athletic for a 300-pounder playing defensive end and tackle in high school. Humphreys hails from a football family in Texas and gives Coach Wheeler another athletic lineman to mold.

We are now just 15 days out from the start of the season! See below for our preseason rankings excluding the Bulldogs:

Harvard

Penn

Dartmouth

Princeton

Cornell

Brown

Columbia

The starting quarterback position remains a mystery with Reno noting that all four signal callers on the roster are still vying for the role during his tight-lipped media day session. Those four in contention are Marshall Howe, Brogan McCaughey, Grant Jordan, and Bradyn Fleharty. Howe stunned the fan base last season when he took snaps as the backup over Tutas who had looked very promising throughout the 2022 season. Howe is a quick decision maker with good accuracy and has decent mobility in the pocket. McCaughey might be the best pure passer of the bunch with the natural ability to elude defenders in the pocket long enough to locate an open target downfield. Howe and McCaughey appear to be the top contenders and the starting nod could be decided based upon what the passing game strategy is to be in 2024. If Reno favors screens to Pantelis and quick hitters to Shipp, Howe could be the best fit. If Reno wants to stretch defenses vertically, McCaughey could be the chosen one. The pass protection and snapping capabilities of the offensive line will also be huge factors as the choice might boil down to who can simply field a stray snap, dodge defenders, and secure a first down under pressure. Grant Jordan is the lone senior QB in the mix and saw limited action versus Brown and Morgan State. Freshman Bradyn Fleharty seems to have the most in common with Nolan Grooms as a true dual threat with speed, power and big play ability. The player who emerges camp as the starter might not remain the starter very long with a tough matchup in Worcester in Week 1 that could derail plans quickly. 

Wide receiver remains a position of strength for the Bulldogs despite losing an NFL-caliber talent in Mason Tipton. Pantelis, Nenad and Shipp have all started contests throughout their careers and return to form a formidable senior trio. Pantelis was game-ready on Day 1 of his career at Yale and in the early days with Grooms at the helm, the offense revolved around short screens to Pantelis. While the offensive strategies have evolved since 2021, the focus must be to get the ball in Pantelis’ hands as he is the best receiver on the roster for racking up yards after the catch. Nenad has prototypical size for the position and can really stretch defenses vertically with his speed. Shipp might be the most well rounded of the corps yet really needs to have a breakout season in 2024 to keep the Bulldogs offense humming. The primary question is not how will our top receivers perform in 2024, but can our top receivers stay healthy? All three have battled numerous injuries over their careers and with less experience on the depth chart than previous years, it will be vital to keep these players healthy for a full season. The return of Felton does alleviate some of these concerns as he’s an explosive athlete that has started as a kick returner since his freshman season. Beyond the four previously mentioned wideouts, there is very little experience with only Nico Brown, Kelvin Smith, Cameron Price and Aidan Stephens seeing limited action in contests. We’re hopeful that sophomores and juniors such as Donovan McKoy and Nico Brown will make tremendous strides as Yale needs the next generation of receivers to develop in a hurry.

The exceptional talents of Jackson Hawes were arguably underutilized in 2023, but the loss of Hawes at tight end will likely be most felt in the area of run blocking. Yates has proven to be an adept pass catcher and has a great feel for finding holes in pass coverages. The offense will need an effective run game to open up passing opportunities, so it will be vital for Yates to take opposing defensive ends and linebackers out of the equation to spring Pitsenberger and Peterson loose. There are ten tight ends on the roster, although only Yates, Spencer Mermans, Luke Foster, and Ryan Belk have seen action. Belk was a key contributor on special teams last year and without his blocked punt against Princeton, the Ivy League title may have slipped away in 2023. Reno brought in two talented tight ends from Texas in the recruiting class with Colton Sanders and Brady Wagner. Both freshmen have identical sizes (6’3”, 215 lbs.) and similar pass catching attributes that could earn them action in the passing game, although they will likely need to develop more strength to see run blocking action. Sophomore Robby Tattersall impressed during the spring game and should play a larger role in 2024.

Pitsenberger and Peterson return to form a stellar duo that should relieve some pressure on our inexperienced signal caller. Both backs have the speed, power, and vision to start for any Ancient Eight member. Pitsenberger shows a bit more patience before hitting the hole and possesses more size and power than Peterson, but Peterson flies through narrow gaps and has a bit more top end speed than Pitsenberger. We’ve harped on the topic for years that having two quality backs with varying styles puts defenders at a disadvantage and once again Reno will have the 1-2 punch of dynamic backs in his toolset for 2024.

Denney came on strong at the end of 2023 scoring a touchdown versus Harvard and if it weren’t for a bobbled reception in The Game, he would have been hailed as a hero for his performance in the contest. Daal is the largest of the backs at 223 lbs. and has been impressive in practice over the last two seasons, so we expect additional contribution from him this upcoming season. Freshman Cutler Adams is a playmaker with the speed to simply outrace defenders and the natural instincts to weave through traffic on inside carries. Freshman Adam Pandolfi is a well-rounded athlete who played running back, safety and punter at the high school level and has the vision to develop into a special back in the coming years.

Projected Three Deep:

Pitsenberger/Peterson

Denney

Daal