Yale Football Blog

• Establish the running game early on in the contest

The two-headed monster of Dudek and Lamar needs to get into a rhythm to force Holy Cross to stack the box.  Rotating Dudek and Lamar often will keep the Crusaders off balance trying to adjust to the patience of Dudek or the speed and power of Lamar.  Patient runners like Dudek need stellar blocking, so the three new starting offensive linemen need to prove that they can move bodies at the line of scrimmage.

• Limit the mental mistakes on defense

Oluokun, Oplinger, Tyler,  Mullen, Carlson, Rymiszewski, Alessi, Herubin, and Chism will not be suiting up for the defense this season.  The defensive linemen and linebackers all have some level of experience, but the secondary seems to be an area of concern with two safeties making their first starts and corners that have not proven themselves to be dominant just yet.  The Bulldogs will likely give up yards in the passing game to Holy Cross, but will need to clamp down in the redzone and on third downs to win this game.  Blown coverages, misaligned fronts, and penalties could be disastrous for our young defense.

• Don’t take Holy Cross lightly

The Crusaders have already played in two games and are looking for revenge after an embarrassing 32-0 loss to the Elis last season.  On paper, this should be the easiest non-conference game, but if Yale falls behind by a couple of scores, they may not be well equipped to mount an impressive comeback at this point in the season.

Offensive Line: Sterling Strother (LT), Dieter Eiselen (LG), Steven Cepalia (C), Lucas Tribble (RG), Jack Lee (RT)

This combination of offensive linemen seems to make the most sense for the Bulldogs.  The left side of the line is downright scary.  Cepalia and Tribble both played well as Sophomores last season and should blossom in starting roles.  Lee was penciled in as a starter on last season’s team before an injury derailed those plans.  Warfield is very talented and will likely be the first one to step in if any injury occurs.  Gargiulo is the only Freshman that cracked the offensive depth chart.

QB: Kurt Rawlings

No surprise here as Rawlings could wind up as Player of the Year if he plays up to expectations.  Reno refuses to name a Number 2 opting to list Conte or Check as the backup.

TE: JJ Howland

Howland earning the starting spot at tight end could be the biggest news to emerge from camp.  With Yale fans arguing over Lager versus Roman, Howland quietly stole the show.  We expect all three tight ends to see significant playing time and depth is no concern at this spot.

WR: JP Shohfi, Jamal Locke, Reed Klubnik

The Rawlings to Shohfi connection should be huge this season.  Klubnik had a stellar Freshman season due to injuries at the position, but was buried in the depth chart last season with so many talented Seniors healthy.  Locke has seen extended action since his Freshman season, led the team in all-purpose yards as a Sophomore, and then was used sparingly in his Junior season.  Look for Klubnik and Locke to bounce back and vie for Ivy League honors at the end of the season.

RB: Zane Dudek or Alan Lamar

How can you possibly name one a starter over the other?  Both could start anywhere in the league this season.  It will be interesting to see who trots out with the offense on the first play against Holy Cross.

Defensive Line: Charles Callender (DE), Devin Moore (DE), Nicholas Crowle (DT), and Spencer Matthaei (DT)

Devin Moore is the only surprise here and it probably shouldn’t be surprising considering how well he played in camp.  Hunter Roman was not listed in the two deep, but he should see quality playing time on passing downs.  Fraser, Keeler, James and Sampleton are listed as the backups and will rotate in depending on the situation.

Linebackers: John Dean, Jordan Carey and Ryan Burke

Dean played well as a Freshman and seems poised to have a breakout Sophomore season.  Carey is a bit of an unknown as he didn’t see significant playing time in critical situations last season, although he has been solid in practice and on special teams since day one.  Burke has been dominant when healthy and has the most talented backup in the Ivy League in Awodiran.

Defensive Backs: Deonte Henson (CB), Jaelin Alburg (CB), Tosan Agbeyegbe (S), Rodney Thomas (S)

Peggs and Dixon are both listed as backups, but will be key contributors.  Reno mentioned last week that Dixon and Thomas could wind up as the starting safeties.  Brian Abraham is the only Freshman to crack the two deep depth chart on defense.

The Bulldogs will travel to Worcester, MA this Saturday for a contest against the Holy Cross Crusaders at 1 PM.  The game can be seen on the Patriot League Network.

Holy Cross is entering the game with an 0-2 record after a close loss to Colgate two weeks ago and a lopsided 62-14 loss to Boston College this past weekend.  The Crusaders have a stout defense that limited Colgate to only 91 rushing yards on the game and 75 yards of total offense in the second half.  Junior QB Emmett Clifford went 20 for 34 with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in his first two career starts.  Senior WR Blaise Bell is Holy Cross’ most dangerous weapon after amassing 601 receiving yards as a Junior.  Senior LB Ryan Brady was a 2nd Team All-Patriot League selection a year ago and has already racked up 29 tackles with 8 tackles for losses in just two games.

Yale shutout Holy Cross 32-0 in last season’s October contest in the Bowl.

Ivy League Champion Foye Oluokun made his NFL regular season debut last night in the Falcons’ 6 point loss to the Eagles.  Oluokun was flagged twice for penalties, although the referees mistakenly announced three penalties on him throughout the game.  One penalty was a false start on a punt.  The second penalty was a roughing the punter call when he was blocked into the punter while trying to bring pressure.  A facemask penalty was attributed to him later in the contest, but the replay clearly showed that it was another Falcon.  Oluokun made a great play on a punt as he called off his teammates from touching the ball and an Eagle inadvertently touched the ball which Atlanta recovered.  He saw a few snaps at linebacker during the Eagles’ game winning drive as well.

8 days to kickoff in Worcester!

Foye Oluokun has officially made the Atlanta Falcons after an eye-opening preseason camp in which he was described as having the presence of a veteran by team management.  Jaeden Graham was initially cut from the Falcons’ 53 man roster, but was retained as a member of the practice squad due to his skill and potential.

Yale’s first opponent, Holy Cross, played its first game on Saturday losing to Colgate by 7.  We are now under two weeks to kickoff in Worcester.

Foye Oluokun has been fantastic in preseason camp for the Falcons and many believe he has actually outplayed the current starter at outside linebacker, Duke Riley.  He was the top performing defender in the Falcons exhibition against the Jets as ranked by Pro Football Focus.  Oluokun unfortunately suffered an injury on a special teams play in the Falcons contest last week and was absent from practice on Monday and Tuesday this week.  Let’s hope he can bounce back to secure his spot on the 53 man roster and contend for the starting spot.  Jaeden Graham and Matt Oplinger both appear to be on the roster bubble for the Falcons and Cardinals respectively.

The Yale-Brown scrimmage in Providence on Saturday is not open to the public.

Nicholas Crowle, a 5th year Senior from Milford, was named the next Captain of Yale football in the wake of Mullen’s departure.  Crowle has been a key member of the defensive line over the last four seasons, but often was sidelined with injuries.  The Political Science major from Stiles is poised to lead the Bulldogs in their defense of the Ivy league title in 2018.  Congrats to Nicholas!

The Bulldogs held a Blue-White scrimmage on Saturday at the Bowl.  Steve Conn wrote a very informative write-up on the event on Yale’s official athletic website.  Notable performers included Rawlings, Dudek, Lamar, Pope, Charles, Shohfi, Carrington, Abraham and Howland.  As many have pointed out on this blog, the playing surface should have been in better shape to begin the season.  The last year of natural grass in the Bowl could turn into a muddy mess.

The Bulldogs will head to Providence next Saturday for a scrimmage against the Brown Bears.