Colgate head coach Dick Biddle likes where his squad stands after concluding the preseason portion of the football practice schedule Friday night.
The Raiders worked for two hours and plan to keep the same evening schedule of workouts next week leading into the Sept. 1 opener at Albany. Kickoff next Saturday is 6 p.m.
“You're never fully satisfied because that's just the nature of the profession,” Biddle said.
“But some of our positives coming out of camp are I've got a great quarterback (Gavin McCarney) and a corps of receivers who are very good. We found running backs and that was a key for us, because we graduated a kid in Nate Eachus whose now playing NFL football (Kansas City Chiefs). And our offensive line has gotten a lot better.”
15 Starters Return
Biddle returns seven starters on offense and eight on defense, yet it was the offensive side of the ball where he saw the most dividends during August camp.
“We're pretty consistent and we've got a chance to be pretty good on offense,” he said. “Probably the issues that concern me the most right now are defensively. We're struggling a little bit being consistent, and what I mean by that is we will play three or four plays well and then we'll give up a long run for 20 or 25 yards, or give up a cheap touchdown.
“We just can't do that.”
Biddle said the positive side of his team's inconsistencies on defense has been the number of playing combinations used during August.
“We've played a lot of guys in camp and we're probably going to use a lot of people,” he said. “But for us to get better and be championship-caliber team, we've got to stiffen up on defense.”
McCarney Likes His Cast
Biddle's junior quarterback agreed with his head coach's camp assessment.
“We can be a pretty explosive offense,” said McCarney, who threw for 1,649 yards last year and rushed for another 750. “We have a lot of skill guys back. My receivers are back and the bulk of our offensive line is back, which is good to know. Camp turned out pretty well for the offense.”
McCarney liked the contributions at running back of Jordan McCord, Robert Stup and Eddy Sihavong – all of whom have large shoes to fill with the departure of Eachus.
Biddle also noted the late-camp improvements made at tailback by freshmen John Wilkins and James Travellin. Colgate's first-year additions earned a thumbs-up from the 17-year Raiders head coach.
“Overall, it's a pretty good group and they are going to contribute one way or the other,” Biddle said. “Our freshman receivers have really stepped up and there are a couple of offensive linemen, freshman-wise, who probably will be in the two-deep.
“The two who have stood out to me – they're playing a position where you can stand out, running back – are Wilkins and Travellin. They both have looked good.”
Early Road Tests
Colgate opens with four of its first five games away from home, starting with Albany and then followed by a Sept. 8 visit to South Dakota. After the Sept. 15 home opener against Sacred Heart, the Raiders travel to Stony Brook and Yale to end September.
“If you have an experienced team, it's not a problem,” Biddle said. “We go to South Dakota and we have to go to Stony Brook, both of which are fairly long distances. We try to look at them as a pleasure trip.”
Biddle obviously wants to get his 2012 season off to a solid start.
“The importance of the first game, obviously, is to play well and get going,” he said. “If we react well on defense and in the kicking game, we'll be decent.
“I look at our schedule and there's nobody that much better than us and who we're that much better than. It's kind of a turkey shoot. Whoever we're playing – we could be playing Hamilton High School – we've got to bring our A game. We just don't have the margin of error and that's the way it is by and large in this league and at this level.
“Everybody's very consistently about the same.”
