Signing Day Show Archive
Campus Insiders Hunt Interview 1
Campus Insiders Hunt Interview 2
HAMILTON – Head coach
Dan Hunt and his staff backed up one of the most successful seasons in Raider football history with an equally impressive list of signees for the Colgate University Class of 2020.
The Raiders in conjunction with National Signing Day announced 23 names covering 10 different positions on the field. The coaching staff ventured to 12 states to accumulate their haul, and that was a point of emphasis heading into this recruiting calendar.
"We made it a goal last year," Hunt said. "I said to our alumni at the end of last recruiting season and going into this season that we wanted to get into some new parts of the country. With the scholarships and the brand of football we play in the Patriot League -- particularly at Colgate and with the type of school that Colgate is -- it's a national draw.
"So we got into some parts of the country that we normally haven't and that was on purpose. We have our staples that we like to go to and stay with, but we were able to spread out a little bit more throughout the country this year and get some really great players and really great people."
The Raiders actually missed a couple of recruiting weekends this year because they were busy playing a stretch of three-straight NCAA playoff games. Colgate won its eighth Patriot League title and advanced all the way to the NCAA quarterfinals after upset wins at New Hampshire and James Madison.
Hunt, whose squad finished 13th in the final national polls, said those good vibes carried over into the January recruiting rush.
"It has been very hectic since the end of the season," Hunt said. "Obviously we played a couple of extra weeks into December, which is a great problem to have. We missed a couple of recruiting weekends and we were really pushing it into January, but we were able to finish up and we've got a class that is really great and meets all of our needs.
"The recruits liked it (that we were pushed back). They said, 'Hey, here's a team that's in the national quarterfinals and I want to be a part of that.' It all worked out great."
Hunt for his efforts this year was named Patriot League and ECAC Coach of the Year, and 12 Raiders were named to either the All-Patriot League first or second teams. Now the task begins of filling the missing pieces for 2016 and maintaining the roll.
"We start out offseason conditioning here in about a week or so," Hunt said. "And then we'll get into spring ball and all of the evaluations of what we did last year -- what we did well and what we didn't do well and need to improve on. It doesn't end."
Colgate Football Class of 2020 | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown/High School |
| Louie Berkowitz | OL | 6-2 | 290 | Miami, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) |
| Marques Bruce | DB | 5-10 | 175 | Orlando, Fla. (Edgewater) |
| Nick Diaco | TE | 6-4 | 230 | West Deptford, N.J. (West Deptford) |
| Jacob Esarco | DL | 6-4 | 240 | Canfield, Ohio (Canfield) |
| Triston Fairchild | TB | 5-10 | 200 | Papillion, Neb. (Papillion Lavista South) |
| Aidan Gaertner | LB | 6-0 | 195 | North Oaks, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy) |
| Tommy Halkyard | PK | 6-2 | 190 | Matthews, N.C. (Charlotte Latin School) |
| Charlie Holsopple | OL | 6-4 | 265 | Aston, Pa. (St. Joseph's Preparatory School) |
| Nick Ioanilli | LB | 6-2 | 215 | Ellwood City, Pa. (Lincoln) |
| Jordan Jefferson | DB | 5-9 | 180 | Burlington, N.J. (Camden Catholic) |
| Michael Kane | TE/DE | 6-4 | 215 | Bethlehem, Pa. (Saucon Valley) |
| Jibby Kapadia | TB | 5-11 | 205 | Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. (Dobbs Ferry) |
| Titus Martin | OL | 6-3 | 285 | Noblesville, Ind. (Fishers) |
| Alex Mathews | TB | 5-8 | 190 | Mentor, Ohio (Mentor) |
| Dominick Pfisterer | ATH | 5-11 | 190 | New Hartford, N.Y. (New Hartford Senior) |
| Chris Puzzi | PK | 6-2 | 190 | Orwigsburg, Pa. (Blue Mountain) |
| Frank Rica | WR | 6-3 | 195 | Warren, N.J. (Watchung Hills Regional) |
| Cam Rohr | DL | 6-2 | 305 | Rochester, N.Y. (Irondequoit) |
| Noah Rothman | QB | 6-0 | 190 | Encino, Calif. (Harvard-Westlake) |
| Carmine Scarfone | QB | 6-1 | 205 | Parkland, Fla. (Cardinal Gibbons) |
| Jake Shaffner | LB | 6-3 | 215 | Cazenovia, N.Y. (Cazenovia) |
| Will Varble | OL | 6-3 | 275 | Simsbury, Conn. (Simsbury) |
| Nick Wheeler | LB | 6-1 | 225 | St. Louis, Mo. (Christian Bros Coll HS) |
Colgate Signing Day Show Archive
