HAMILTON – The Colgate Coaches Show sponsored by NBT Bank returned to the airways Thursday night and featured football and golf in front of a live audience at the Colgate Inn.

This week's guests joining host Eric Malanoski on 94 WKXZ-FM Radio were football associate head coach Dan Hunt, golf head coach Keith Tyburski, and football student-athletes Gavin McCarney and Wendell Lewis.

Below are a few of the highlights from Malanoski's question-and-answer session with the Colgate participants.

HEAD COACH KEITH TYBURSKI

On this weekend's Colgate Invitational
"It's a pretty big event for us. Not every college team is able to host a tournament, and for us to be able to do so on a home course like Seven Oaks is a real privilege. We have 13 teams coming in from multiple conferences, including four from our league, and for all eight of our guys to be able to play on their home course is great."

On his youthful roster for 2013-14
"I'm very excited to get this year going. Having so many young guys around really helps lift my emotions on a daily basis. I'm very lucky to have the incoming class that I do. Not only are they going to establish themselves this year and gain a lot of experience, but just imagine two or three years down the road how much more tight-knit they will be as a team.

"They will be able to push each other and make us really competitive as a team."

On Colgate's Seven Oaks Golf Course
"It was one of Robert Trent Jones' first designs as a student at Cornell, just down the road in Ithaca. But the plans sat in a drawer for many years because of The Depression. When they were discovered in the '50s, the plans were finalized and they developed one nine first and then came back a few years later and completed the second nine.

"Over the years, the course has only gotten better. Jon McConville, our superintendent, does a wonderful job keeping it in great condition. And Marian Blain, the PGA Professional, and her staff do a great job managing the golf course.

"As someone who grew up in the area and grew up playing the golf course, it's really been fun to see it develop from something that's always been good into such a great finished product. We're very lucky to have it."

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH DAN HUNT

On last Saturday's opening drive against Air Force
"Every game we start with a script. We script the first 10 or 11 plays. They kids run it Thursday and they run it again Friday – we actually got an extra walk-through out there so we did it three times.

"We were able to stay ahead of the chains. We had one fourth-down conversion on the drive where Gavin (McCarney) did a nice job hitting Nat Bellamy with a pass. Once we converted that fourth down, we went play-action for the touchdown.

"It's always nice to be running plays you're familiar with. We had a couple of third downs we converted and just stayed right where we wanted to be from a down-and-distance standpoint, which made it pretty easy to finish the drive off."

On the team's outlook after Saturday's result
"There were a lot of positives. The execution was good as far as getting plays in and out and handling the noise. If we had been able to convert that fourth down early in the third quarter, it would have been 21-14 and maybe a different game.

"We really only had one penalty on offense and we had no turnovers, and all that stuff is positive. We know there are certain areas we have to get better, and we will try to do that this week."

On the play of Gavin McCarney
"Beginning your season 5-for-5 with a touchdown – that's a good starting point. They made no bones about their plan was to not let Gavin get loose in the run game, which is fine with this offense. Usually, if they are containing him in the run, there are going to be yards for other people.

"The rushing stats weren't there but that's OK; we know they're coming."

On John Wilkins' debut at tailback
"He's an impressive-looking young man and he really performed very well Saturday for his first start. That's a tough situation to be in for your first time, but he handled it very well.

"Our plan for John is to be that type of back who over the course of four quarters is going to wear a defense down and they're not going to want to tackle him. If you look at our last drive of the game, he was still churning away and turning out those tough yards. That bodes well for what we're going to do as an offense as the season progresses."

On what to expect from Albany this Saturday night
"Coach (Bob) Ford does a great job; I've known Coach Ford since I was in college. He'll have that team ready. They return five or six starters from a defensive unit that was pretty physical, to be honest with you. Last year, they presented us with some problems from a physical standpoint. Our kids know they will have to bring their A-games to be successful.

"Coach Ford will have them ready to play and Coach Biddle will have us ready to play.

"This is an important week for us. Last year, our goal offensively each week was to try to get better. We will let the wins and losses take care of themselves, but if we play the way we're capable of then the wins will come. Our kids know that every week we have to bring it so that come league play, we are ready to go."

QUARTERBACK GAVIN McCARNEY

On last week's Air Force game
"The young guys we have, especially on the offensive line, handled it very well. Their defense was very good, but we found out that offensively we can be as good as we want to be. It's up to us.

On the outlook for this year's rushing attack
"We are very young up front with three first-time starters. But John Wilkins is something else – 23 carries for 90 yards is very good for a first-year back against an FBS school. He certainly looks like he will be able to fill the role that Jordan (McCord) did last year and Nate (Eachus) the two years before that. It's going to take a little time for the offensive line to gel, but that will happen when everybody starts getting more comfortable with each other.

On the trip to Colorado
"I had never been to Colorado before and it was a great experience, especially visiting the Air Force Academy."

CORNERBACK WENDELL LEWIS

On overcoming the first-game loss
"Our attitude has to be everything we experienced in Game 1, with the crowd and the altitude and the heat, will make us better in Game 2.

On his outlook for the defense
"I love the personnel we have on defense. We have a lot of depth and a lot of experience, but one of the things people are sleeping on with our defense is we have a lot of speed. We have very high expectations.

"Plus, the youngsters look very intense. We've got a lot of hungry guys fighting for playing time."

On his leadership role
"I put a lot of pressure on myself in terms of leadership. Being a leader is a big aspect of Colgate football. I do the best I can to be a great role model on and off the field for those young guys. Yes, sir. I definitely take that as a big challenge."