Yale QB Witt has tough choice to make

A shot at a Rhodes scholarship or a shot at the Ivy title: that's the decision that Yale senior quarterback Patrick Witt may be facing in a few weeks.

The Yale Daily News is reporting that Witt was selected for an interview for the prestigious scholarship, which allows students to study at Oxford for two to three years. The only problem is that his interview date is Nov. 19, the same Saturday that Yale will play Harvard in The Game. Because Witt applied in Georgia, his interview will be at Emory — not very close to the Yale Bowl. And kickoff is set for noon.

From the YDN:

“It’s still very new, it’s still very fresh just finding out this information,” he said. “So I need to kind of reevaluate. If the Rhodes Committee is willing to work with me, in a perfect world, I can interview first thing in the morning and get on a flight to be back in time for the game on Saturday. But I don’t know if that will be possible.”

The Harvard-Yale football game is the equivalent of Penn-Princeton basketball — a heated rivalry and marquee event. But this year, if Yale can beat Brown and Princeton in coming weeks (and Penn knocks off undefeated Harvard), Yale could be playing for a spot in a three-way tie for the Ivy trophy, adding another wrinkle.

According to the YDN, Witt's backup, sophomore John Whitelaw, played sparingly in just one game this season, but he might have to fill for the biggest game of the year.

“If it comes to [Witt missing The Game], I would definitely do my best to be ready,” Whitelaw said. “I guess a Rhodes Scholarship might be more important in the long run, but hopefully for the team’s sake we’ll be able to work something out.”