Draft Diamonds interviewed Yale defensive back and NFL-hopeful Marquise Peggs. You can read the interview here: https://www.nfldraftdiamonds.com/2019/03/marquise-peggs/
Men’s Basketball: Yale 88, Cornell 65; Columbia 83, Yale 75
Men’s Hockey: Princeton 3, Yale 2; QPac 4, Yale 1
Men’s Lacrosse: Yale 12, UMass 11
Baseball: Yale 4, New Orleans 1; New Orleans 8, Yale 7; Yale 8, New Orleans 7
Former Yale linebacker Foye Oluokun is continuing to make a name for himself in the NFL as The Falcoholic named him as the fourth best defender on the Falcons in 2018. Read the full article here: https://www.thefalcoholic.com/2019/2/28/18236389/foye-oluokun-atlanta-falcons-5-best-defensive-players-2018
The Greg Hall Senior Dinner will take place on April 17th at 6 PM at the Yale Club of New York. John Spagnola ’79 will be the Special Guest Speaker of the event. We’ve heard from concerned alumni that the loss of Hall will be felt most by current and graduating student-athletes seeking finance jobs on Wall Street, so we implore the alumni living in the city to step up to keep the network as strong as ever.
Spring Ball officially kicks off on March 26th.
Men’s Basketball hosts Cornell on Friday night and Columbia on Saturday night.
Men’s Hockey hosts Princeton tonight and Quinnipiac on Saturday night.
Men’s Lacrosse hosts UMASS on Saturday afternoon.
Baseball plays at New Orleans tonight, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon.
Men’s Basketball: Yale 77, Dartmouth 59; Harvard 88, Yale 86
Men’s Hockey: Dartmouth 2, Yale 0; Harvard 3, Yale 0
Men’s Lacrosse: Yale 14, Penn St. 13
Baseball: NMSU 19, Yale 6; NMSU 14, Yale 6; Yale 4, NMSU 2; NMSU 13, Yale 6
Former Yale football player Patrick Graham is now the defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins. Check out ESPN’s recent article on him: http://www.espn.com/blog/miami-dolphins/post/_/id/28736/dolphins-yale-guy-patrick-graham-who-dreamed-of-cia-seeks-smart-players
The Rapid City Journal published an article on incoming Native-American recruit Isaac Mitchell: https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/yale-recruits-rosebud-sioux-tribal-member-to-play-football/article_be52d8cf-a485-5fd0-b3ee-f19ccbdd57eb.html
Yale Men’s Basketball heads into the weekend as the top ranked Ivy League team with a 17-4 (7-1 Ivy) record. They have a crucial home slate ahead hosting Dartmouth on Friday night and Harvard on Saturday night.
Men’s Lacrosse dropped their home opener versus Villanova 11-10 in overtime. They hope to get back on track this weekend with a win over the visiting Nittany Lions of Penn State.
Men’s Hockey has had an up and down season with a current record of 13-9-3 (11-6-1 Conference). Yale is third in ECAC standings and has a difficult road trip ahead this weekend with contests at Dartmouth and at Harvard.
Baseball kicks off its season with four games at New Mexico State from Friday through Sunday.
Spring Ball is right around the corner and the Bulldogs are getting after it in the weight room. The focus this spring needs to be getting bigger and stronger along both lines as well as developing a cohesive secondary that can tackle.
Yale Football’s 2023 recruiting class currently has 29 known commitments to date. 247Sports ranks the Bulldogs’ class at #3 in the Ivy League. Here is the breakdown by projected position:
QB- 1
RB-2
WR-5
TE-0
OL-5 (4 Tackles, 1 Guard)
DL-4 (3 Defensive Ends, 1 Defensive Tackle)
LB-5
S-4
CB-2
K/P-1
There are eight prospects that received a 3 Star ranking from 247Sports and five prospects with a 2 Star ranking. Harvard currently has ten 3 Star prospects, while Princeton has nine 3 Star prospects.
Only one commit hails from the Nutmeg State, Quarterback Nolan Grooms. Oddly enough, there are more commits from the state of Arizona than Connecticut.
Josh McKenzie from Bergen Catholic is the highest-rated recruit despite tearing his ACL and missing his senior year of football.
Some of the faster safeties could wind up playing corner and a few of the tackles might transition to guard or center. There still could be room for more recruits especially if we have any members of this class heading off to Choate. Another commitment at defensive tackle would be nice to see in the coming weeks.
Ben Olson, the David D. Kelley Defensive Line Coach, has left the Yale coaching staff to join the staff at McNeese State. McNeese State hired former USF offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert in December to lead the FCS program based out of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Ben’s brother, Jake Olson, remains Chief of Staff for the Bulldogs. Reno has a difficult task ahead as he must swiftly replace Olson while still winning vital recruiting wars for defensive linemen. Best of luck to Ben in his future endeavors!
The 2018 football season marked the last season of grass in the Bowl as the grass field will be converted to field turf once the weather warms up.
Men’s Basketball is now 12-3 and plays at Harvard on Friday and at Dartmouth on Saturday. James Jones notched his 300th victory last week making him just the third Ivy League coach to ever achieve such a feat.
Men’s Hockey is 10-7-3 and hosts Brown this Saturday in New Haven.
Phil Steele recently posted his All-Ivy selections and here are the Yalies who made the cut:
First Team-Reed Klubnik, Dieter Eiselen
Second Team- Alan Lamar, JP Shohfi, Sterling Strother, Ryan Burke, Hunter Simino
Third Team- J. Hunter Roman
Men’s Basketball is off to a 10-3 start with a 6 game winning streak. They face off against Brown this Saturday in Providence (ESPN+ 3:30 PM EST).
Men’s Hockey is currently sitting at 8-5-3 and they host Clarkson this Friday at the Whale (ESPN+ 7:00 PM EST).
We will continue updating our recruit list as the news of more commitments trickles in. Reno is likely targeting offensive and defensive linemen in this final recruiting push to bolster a talented class.
Gerron Duhon- Cornerback, 5’10”, 170 lbs., Washington-Marlon (Lake Charles, LA)
Nolan Grooms- Quarterback, 6’2″, 180 lbs., The Taft School (Watertown, CT)
Jermaine Baker- Safety, 6’2″, 200 lbs, Nazareth Academy (La Grange Park, IL)
Hamilton Moore- Linebacker, 6’1″, 200 lbs., William G. Enloe (Raleigh, NC)
Ryan McCann- Tackle, 6′ 5”, 260 lbs., Rumson-Fair Haven (Rumson, NJ)
Michael Connor- Linebacker , 6′0″, 220 lbs., Ramapo (Franklin Lakes, NJ)
Jack Bosman- Kicker/Punter, 5’9″, 162 lbs., Santa Fe Christian (San Diego, CA)
Wande Owens- Running Back, 5’11”, 185 lbs., Glenelg (Glenelg, MD)
Archie B. Russ, III- Wide Receiver/ Cornerback , 6’1″, 180 lbs., Landon School (Bethesda, MD)
Brandon Babcock- Tackle, 6’6″, 275 lbs., Casteel (Queen Creek, AZ)
Jonathon Durand- Guard, 6’3″, 250 lbs., Basha (Chandler, AZ)
Tyler DiIenno- Safety, 6’1″, 205 lbs., Cheshire Academy/Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ)
Brayden Carey- Wide Receiver, 6’0″, 180 lbs., East Coweta (Sharpsburg, GA)
Joey Felton- Wide Receiver, 5’10”, 178 lbs., Linganore (Frederick, MD)
Josh McKenzie- Running Back, 5’10”, 180 lbs., Bergen Catholic (Oradell, NJ)
Clay Patterson- Defensive End, 6’3″, 230 lbs., Reedy (Frisco, TX)
Jack Twyford- Tackle, 6’6″, 270 lbs., Winter Haven Senior (Winter Haven, FL)
Trenton Johnson- Safety, 6’2″, 190 lbs., St. Mary’s (Albany, CA)
Josh Eboboko- Running Back, 5’11”, 180 lbs., Charlotte Christian (Charlotte, NC)
Aidan Maloney- Wide Receiver, 6’1″, 180 lbs., Liberty (Portland, OR)
Jailon Henry- Defensive End, 6’2″, 220 lbs., Lincoln (Tallahassee, FL)
Du’Shaunte Holloway- Linebacker/Running Back, 6’0″, 200 lbs., Villa Rica (Villa Rica, GA)
Mason Tipton- Wide Receiver, 6’0″, 185 lbs., Bishop Hoban (Akron, OH)
Joseph Vaughn- Outside Linebacker, 6’3″, 200 lbs., Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, CA)
Jonathan Mendoza-Offensive Tackle, 6’8″, 310 lbs., Westhampton Beach (Westhampton Beach, NY)
Marcus Mauney-Outside Linebacker, 6’1″, 219 lbs., Hunter Huss (Gastonia, NC)
Brandon Benn-Defensive Back, 6’1″, 195 lbs., The McCallie School (Chattanooga, TN)
Nathan Puletasi- Defensive Tackle, 6’3″, 265 lbs., Mead (Spokane, WA)
Isaac Mitchell-Defensive End/Tight End, 6’4″, 246 lbs., Salina South (Salina, KS)
September 21st- Holy Cross
September 28th- Cornell
October 5th- Fordham
October 12th- at Dartmouth
October 19th- at Richmond
October 26th- Penn
November 2nd- Columbia
November 9th- at Brown
November 16th- at Princeton
November 23rd- Harvard
The Bulldogs finished the 2018 campaign at 5-5 with a 3-4 Ivy League record. After being picked to finish first in the preseason polls, the season certainly did not live up to expectations. From the first contest versus Holy Cross, it was apparent that the defense did not have the same level of talent as the 2017 squad. Dartmouth, Princeton and Harvard had their way with our defense, while an anemic offense cost us a victory against Columbia. If we had played Holy Cross later in the season, we likely could have pulled off a victory and having Rawlings or O’Connor in the Columbia game would have reversed that outcome.
The good news for the 2019 campaign is that almost everyone is returning. Crowle, Roman and Peggs graduate on defense, while role players such as Locke, Lager and Marcinick depart on offense. Galland, Horn, and Simino will need to be replaced on special teams. The offensive skill players are the most talented players on the roster. Rawlings and O’Connor are both superb quarterbacks who haven’t even reached their full potential. Lamar, Dudek and Alston form one of the best backfields in Yale history. Klubnik and Shohfi cannot be contained by Ivy League defensive backs. Howland and Roman could be 1st Team All-Ivy players by the time they graduate in two years. The offensive line is the weakness on offense, although returning all five starters is critical to next season’s success. Eiselen and Strother did not improve as much as we had hoped from 2017 to 2018, while the new starters of Warfield, Hinish and Cepalia did not play well consistently enough to dominate opposing defensive lines. The offensive linemen need to hit the weight room harder than they ever have this offseason, continue to study film and improve communication.
The defensive line was dealt a lethal blow before the season had even started with the loss of Mullen over alleged sexual misconduct. Roman was the top pass rusher, so developing another speedy end with moves will be a priority. Osorachukwu Ifesinachukwu or Reid Nickerson could potentially fill that void at end. Matthaei and Keeler return at defensive tackles and they need to get more physical at the point of attack as well as improve their abilities to shed blocks. Fraser, Goodyear and Raine could rotate in with them next season. Callender battled through injuries and seemed to regress from 2017 to 2018, but we think he’ll bounce back to have a fantastic senior season. Moore, Kissel and Sampleton all had their ups and downs throughout the year. We need at least one of those players to step up and assert dominance over opposing offensive tackles. Burke, Pope, Awodiran, Dean, Hill, and Carey all return at linebacker. Pope is the best of the bunch and we’d like to see him take on a leadership role in 2019. The linebackers across the board struggled with shedding blocks, tackling and covering running backs out of the backfield. The secondary in 2018 can simply be described as a disaster. Corners ran stride for stride with receivers and then refused to play the ball over and over again. Safeties offered little run support and were out of position in the passing game. Open field tackling in the secondary was non-existent as no one would take proper angles on ball carriers. Simple ten yard runs turned into sixty yard touchdowns repeatedly. Reno needs to find four trustworthy defensive backs through an extended open competition. The combination of Alburg, Dixon, Thomas and Henson just doesn’t cut it. Abraham, Granberry, Oldacre, Agbeyegbe, Dunham, Ellis and Hickey all need to be given every opportunity to claim a starting role as this unit is in dire need of a radical transformation.