Teleconference Highlights

We had a bit more news than usual coming out of the weekly Ivy football coaches media teleconference today.

Below are my notes of some of the quotes I thought stood out.

Check them out and you decide.


Coach Norries Wilson:

Downplayed the win over Princeton a bit. Reminded folks that the game was close until the 3rd qtr.

Praised Ray Rangel. Said we’re getting all we can out of Ray and he is doing well at pass protection too. Noted that he’s giving everything he can in practice and knows he only has 7 games left.

"On defense we rallied to the football better and adjusted better to the QB as a runner."

We had Fewer foolish penalties. Better on 3rd down, but still not good enough. We were a little better on special teams. We used a double returner on punts to cut down on rolling balls.

On Austin Knowlin's spectacular TD catch and run:

"Austin has a lot of ability and never gives up on plays. He wants to put it in the box whenever he gets his hands on the ball."

On frosh punter Michael Williamson

"Michael Williamson has done a good job with his kicks. He understands that as a freshman punter people are going to come after him and he is going to get better."


Brown Head Coach Phil Estes:

The reporters asked a lot of questions about DE David Howard and whether he’ll be a draft pick. Estes seemed to think he had what it took.


Dartmouth Head Coach Buddy Teevens:

We had some potential drama here as he refused to comment on Yale Head Coach Tom Williams at all. That's despite the fact that Buddy hired him as an assistant at Stanford in 2002. You got the feeling things aren't that warm and fuzzy between the two guys.


I asked Buddy about DE Charles Bay perhaps making a big difference against the run. Teevens sais Bay is still sort of new to the game as he never played until late in high school. He's happy with how he's learning.


Harvard Head Coach Tim Murphy:

Cheng Ho had to be the guy last week because Treavor Scales’ grandmother passed away and he missed the game.

Cited the 38-0 Columbia win as proof that there are no weak teams in the league this year.


Penn Head Coach Al Bagnoli:

Keiffer Garton still doubtful for Bucknell. Still not sure about Columbia either. Kyle Olson will be limited. Wouldn’t say who will start at QB.

Chris Wynn has been hurt pretty much all season. He had a groin injury and then he hurt his knee against Lafayette. We’re trying to get him back up and running.


Princeton Head Coach Roger Hughes:

Blamed loss to Columbia on turnovers, (hard to blame him for that).


Yale Head Coach Tom Williams:

I asked him about the early morning practices. They’re still on and he says the players are talking about how the new schedule is helping them avoid class conflicts.