Dante Reno didn’t exactly get the VIP treatment when he arrived at Yale for an official visit. Despite his credentials as a former three-star quarterback from South Carolina, he struggled to catch the eye of the head coach—a scene straight out of a suspenseful family drama. Reno wasn’t fazed, though. Instead of holding a grudge, he chose to sign with the Bulldogs and play for that elusive head coach who also happens to be his dad, Tony Reno, the man with 74 wins to his name, making him second all-time in Yale’s coaching history.
Tony, who’s led the Yale program since 2012, was donning more of a dad hat than a coach’s visor when Dante entered the transfer portal. He wasn’t about to push Dante into anything, but there was always an open invitation if he ever wanted to join the team. And after a whirlwind of Zoom calls with other schools like Appalachian State and thoughts of visiting Stanford, Dante took a step back to reconsider.
“Mom, what if I just go play for Dad? How cool would that be?” That’s all it took for Dante to start seriously contemplating a homecoming. The decision came to a head as Coach Tony walked through the door from a recruiting trip to hear his son propose the idea. By June 9, Dante was committed, making a unique kind of college football history as the first quarterback in the transfer portal era to go home to play for his father.
The transition wasn’t without its challenges. Saying goodbye to South Carolina was tough for Dante. Entering the transfer portal mere moments before the deadline closed, he left a team where he’d developed strong relationships with head coach Shane Beamer, his assistants, and fellow players. Yet, the Gamecocks’ ever-changing offensive staff presented its own set of difficulties with multiple coordinator shifts in a very short time.
With four years of eligibility still on the clock, Dante is ready to dive into something new—not just playing under his dad—but potentially competing in the FCS playoffs, a fresh opportunity for the Ivy League since the change awarded by the Ivy League Council of Presidents. Yale’s recent track record, four Ivy League championships in seven years and putting players in the NFL, makes it a tantalizing prospect. For Dante, it’s a chance to grow, throwing alongside talented athletes and grabbing the attention of scouts who truly dig deep for talent.
Plus, he’s reuniting with friends from his Cheshire Academy days. With a high school legacy of over 2,358 passing yards and 20 touchdowns against just seven interceptions in his senior year, Reno brings his All-American flair back to Connecticut. Not to mention, he’ll experience the Yale-Harvard rivalry in a new way—from the field instead of the stands.
While Tony Reno’s been more on the defensive side of coaching in the past, he and Dante are primed for this fresh chapter together. They’re both headstrong on winning, and that’s a recipe for some exciting practices and games.
Dante anticipates that his dad will push him as his toughest critic, but he seems ready to embrace that challenge with enthusiasm. After all, that’s what family—and football—is all about.
