"It shows the confidence the coaches have in me," said Ralph, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound defensive tac... Yale Has Continuity With R

"It shows the confidence the coaches have in me," said Ralph, a 6-foot-3, 285-pound defensive tackle. "I bring experience to the field. I won't mess up a lot. I like to help the younger guys, too."

"In the Princeton game my sophomore year, I had quite a few tackles and got my first sack," he said. "I waited nine weeks to get my first one. That's a long wait."

Only four other Yale defenders, three of them backs, are senior starters. Yet, after each of the first three games this season, coach Jack Siedlecki has praised his defense on Saturday. In the 22-19 loss to Holy Cross last week, the defense was responsible for only 13 points. It has allowed only one touchdown pass this year.

"We have plenty of juniors who are considered to be older players, but they hadn't had a lot of reps. I expect even greater things from them next year."

"I'm the biggest defensive tackle on the team, and I consider myself a run-stopper. I'm in the nickel package for a reason, but we have to put more pressure on the quarterback and make him make bad decisions. That's what our defensive line has to do."

"My claim to fame is doing 160 kilos [353 pounds] in the power clean, most on the team," Ralph said. "I can lift more than 500 on the squat. I've been tested at 550.

Ralph's parents live more than a half-continent away, but they see at least three home games every year. Even though his grandparents live in Michigan, they won't miss even one game this fall at Yale Bowl.

"They drive here in their RV," Ralph said. "Every year, they have season tickets for Notre Dame home games, but they canceled their tickets this year. They want to see me instead. My grandfather said, `We can see Notre Dame any time.'"

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