{"id":87678,"date":"2017-12-22T03:34:21","date_gmt":"2017-12-22T08:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=87678"},"modified":"2017-12-21T10:48:03","modified_gmt":"2017-12-21T15:48:03","slug":"raiders-ink-16-in-early-signing-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=87678","title":{"rendered":"Raiders Ink 16 in Early Signing Period"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Colgate Fills Needs at Receiver, O-Line, Linebacker, Defensive Back<\/em><\/p>\n

Colgate\u2019s initial foray into college football\u2019s early signing period produced 16 future Raiders and a happy head coach.<\/p>\n

Dan Hunt gave a thumbs-up to the new format of signing student-athletes during a three-day window that runs through Friday. This period complements the traditional National Signing Day that this year takes place Feb. 7, and Hunt believes the early date allows teams to get acclimated earlier with their incoming team members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like it; it\u2019s fun,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cObviously, we always have a good time with signing day (National Lampoon\u2019s Christmas Vacation was this year\u2019s theme on @CoachDanHunt) and it\u2019s nice to get this part of it wrapped up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows us to contact these kids a little bit more and go ahead and get a head start on next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colgate signed its 16 newcomers from nine states and across seven positions. Wide receiver, offensive line, linebacker and defensive back drew three signees apiece, with running back adding two and single signees for the defensive line and tight end.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania is home to five future Raiders, followed by two each from Connecticut, Illinois and New Jersey. Single-state representatives are from Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan and New York.<\/p>\n

Coaches Know What Fits at Colgate<\/p>\n

\u201cCredit to our assistant coaches because they know what is successful at Colgate,\u201d Hunt said. \u201cThey know the type of players who work in our offense and our defense. Sometimes, those are kids who a lot of schools want. But sometimes we may be the only school recruiting them, and that\u2019s OK with us. We know what we need, we know what fits our style and we know what can be successful here.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur assistant coaches work together finding talent and evaluating talent, and we\u2019ve been able to get kids who we can plug in and be successful early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunt has the proof to back up that statement. Not only have the Raiders captured Patriot League championship banners in two of the last three seasons, but Colgate has been the home of the two most recent conference Rookies of the Year in Abu Daramy-Swaray and Grant Breneman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a lot of pressure on these guys, which I like,\u201d Hunt said of a potential three-peat. \u201cI\u2019m not promising that this year but maybe there\u2019s a third in there. We will see.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Colgate staple for many years that has continued under Hunt is class football performance from class individuals. The head coach of the Raiders says more of the same is heading this way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love the quality of the people in this class,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve met all of their families and they\u2019re going to fit in great. I\u2019m excited we could do it in December and have some early Christmas presents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colgate Class of 2022 Early Signees<\/p>\n