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Speaking of spring football . . .
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The Yale spring game was covered by the New Haven Register. There was also coverage on the Yale website. Sounds as if the Bulldogs are going spread offense under new coach Tony Reno and that John Whitelaw, who will be a junior in the fall, has a pretty good grip on the quarterback slot being vacated by Patrick Witt.
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If you are so inclined you can check out the replay of a "live blog" from Columbia's spring game. Apparently tailback Marcorus Garrett opened eyes with some long gainers for new coach Pete Mangurian's team and quarterback Sean Brackett was back in form after battling injuries last year. Backup quarterback Andrew Weiss also played well, an important development considering the difficulties the Lions had last year against Dartmouth when Brackett was hurt.
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The Harvard Crimson covers the school's spring game here and there are video highlights here. Treavor Scales and Zach Boden, Harvard's dynamic tailbacks, were held out of the game. Quarterback Colton Chapple, who put together several outstanding performances last year when Collier Winters was hurt, impressed head coach Tim Murphy despite so-so statistics. Said Murphy:“The thing about Colton is that when he was a freshman, I would not have predicted he would be as good as he is now. He’s improved everything: his mechanics, his arm strength, his accuracy, his leadership ability, his running ability, everything.”
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Butler, which will visit Hanover for Dartmouth's 2012 opener, saw Illinois State transfer Matt Lancaster orchestrate the first scoring drive of its Blue-White game. link.Green Alert Take: Butler used the kind of defense vs. offense scoring system that we saw out at Penn State Saturday and to be totally honest, it's pretty confusing not just from a fan's perspective but even the scorekeeper's perspective. It's understandable why teams do it, but it's not nearly as much fun from the stands. Nor is it as much fun on the field, according to players I've asked about it.
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Brown coach Phil Estes is tearing a page from Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens' playbook and making a bike ride to support a cause. Unlike Teevens, who bicycled across the country helping to raise breast cancer awareness, Etes, assistant coach Mike Kelleher and their wives are doing the Des Moines Register's Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) in honor of Brown football alum Bill Perry '88, who is battling cancer. link
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Speaking of good causes, check out this video from New England Division III football team Salve Regina explaining their push to recruit potential bone marrow donors for the Be The Match registry. Players spread out across campus and took to social media to bring in potential donors for the program that started at Villanova and is spreading throughout the Northeast.