Walland looks back at Yale football career

Legendary Yale football coach Carm Cozza recruited Joe Walland, TD '00, as an "athlete."

"There was no position for me on the team when I came in, so I came in to camp my freshman year playing wide receiver and switched halfway through to defensive back," Walland recalled.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Joe Walland, TD '00, was one of the greatest quarterbacks in Yale history.

When current head coach Jack Siedlecki arrived in the spring of 1997, Walland asked him if he could try out to be quarterback. "I just felt like seeing what it would be like," he shrugged. "I wanted to see if I had a shot at it."

Walland started out at the bottom of the depth charts in his freshman spring season, but moved up to No. 2 by the following fall.When the starting quarterback, Chris Whittaker, SM '99, limped out of the lineup with a preseason injury, Walland was prepared to step in. However, the position seemed jinxed: Walland tore his MCL in a scrimmage and missed the first two games of his quarterback career.

From that inauspicious opening, Walland went on to start in every subsequent game. In his senior season, he broke six NCAA records, including lowest career interception percentage (13 interceptions, 787 attempted), most plays attempted in a half (51, second half against Harvard in 1999), most passes completed in a quarter (20, third quarter against Harvard), and most passes completed in a half (33, second half against Harvard). Over his three years as QB, Walland posted nine Yale career records, including total offensive plays (1,030), completions (430), passing yards (4,832), touchdowns (46), and total yardage (5,608).

Yale Herald: Looking back, what were the best and worst moments of your Yale football career?

Joe Walland: The Harvard-Yale game was definitely the highlight of my career. It was so great seeing everyone rush onto the field after we won and knowing that we played really well. Off the field, some of my fondest memories are of hanging out with the guys in my class. We had a really close relationship and still keep in touch. We have a crazy weekend planned for this year's Harvard game.

Sophomore season was the most frustrating for me. We were 1-9 that season; we were the worst team in the Ivies and, honestly, we were really pretty bad. It was my first experience at the college level and I knew that I never wanted to go through that again. I think that is the main reason that we did so well my senior year. The [Class of '00] remembered that experience—nobody likes to lose, and nobody likes to lose that badly—and took initiative to lead the team to victory.

YH: Do you think you missed out on anything at Yale because of your commitment to the team?

JW: I don't think I missed out on anything. I firmly believe that anything you want to do, if you set your heart on it, you can accomplish. Playing a sport shouldn't take away from anything. I knew what I wanted to do here at Yale in terms of academics and social experiences, and I got it done.

During the regular season, there was no such thing as "off the field." We were always working out, practicing or watching tapes. In the offseason, a lot of guys played IMs—I did basketball and baseball—and we got together on the golf course for some good times. At the end of senior year, when I didn't have spring practice anymore, I finally got to enjoy a normal student life. I hung out with my friends a lot more, went on road trips, and traveled on weekends. It was a chance to relax and cool down after four grueling years.

YH: You graduated last spring with a B.A. in history. What are you doing now?

JW: I am living in Cleveland and working at McDonald Investments. I knew I wanted to do something in business after I graduated, and McDonald just made the best offer. A lot of people think that a history degree isn't going to be that useful if you're going into business, but they'd be surprised by how much writing is involved in investment banking.

Besides work, I'm trying to keep in shape—I make myself go to the gym after work almost every day. I haven't lost all the self-discipline I learned from football. It's definitely hard to get up the motivation, especially after the long hours I put in, but I'm trying not to let myself become a huge slob. I also play flag football in a local league on Sundays. Some people are very competitive, and it gets so serious that there are fights on the team. In the beginning, people would always say, "We've got Joe Walland, the quarterback from Yale!" but after a while, they calmed down and let me just play for fun.

YH: What do you think of Yale's current season?

JW: I've actually been pretty impressed. They had a good nucleus coming back and Peter [Lee, TD '02] is doing a great job filling my shoes—he really surprised me. I went up to see the Cornell game—that was a tough loss—and I know they did badly against Brown. But the difference between a good team and a great team is how it reacts to those bad games. I think that our team has reacted positively to those games and Peter has been able to bounce back. If I know the guys, which I think I do, they'll give what it takes.

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