HAMILTON – For no doubt the first time in history, Colgate Football is hitting the practice field in July.
 
The Raiders officially get underway Monday on the new and improved Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium. Colgate Athletics resurfaced the playing turf at Andy Kerr earlier this summer and its all set for Day 1 of football camp.
 
Head coach Dan Hunt is sporting a roster of 83, and he sounds ready to get things underway.
 
"We are really excited for the start of the season," Hunt said. "We have a lot of positive things going on in our program right now. We've had probably 40-50 kids up here over the summer working hard every day. That's the culture these guys started a couple of years ago, and to be able to have that many kids in Hamilton, New York, over the summer working and running really sets the right tone.
 
"It guarantees you nothing, but at least you feel like you're part of a great culture."
 
The Raiders begin with a pair of acclimation workouts, followed by two practices with just shoulder pads and helmets. Friday marks the first day of full pads.
 
Colgate's early start to practice coincides with the Aug. 26 season opener at Cal Poly. That game is being televised nationally on ESPNU.
 
By the Numbers
First-year Raiders can be found in the following numbers:
 
 1 TySean Sizer     47 Trevor Thompson
 9 Tre Caine        50 Quinn Stephenson
13 Abdoul Kouyate   51 Andrew Jaworski
15 Grant Breneman   68 Sammy Diehl
17 Jake Froschauer  75 Alex Sargiss
24 Malik Twyman     77 Jack Badovinac
29 Kyan Brumfield   83 Hunter Gossman
31 Blane Briggs     84 Nick Draught
38 Robert Brand     97 Owen Rosenberger
39 Hayden Howren    98 Sam Jennings
46 Barney Amor
 
Two Raiders switched numbers and one newcomer is a transfer. Here are their jersey numbers for 2017:
 
 2 James Holland Jr.
21 T.J. Holl
22 Nick Gill
 
From the Sources
Hunt, Holland and Pat Afriyie participated in the Patriot League's preseason media teleconference this week. Afriyie was named the conference's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while Ryan Paulish, Tyler Castillo and Abu Daramy all earned paces on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
 
The following are selected comments from the teleconference:
 
Head Coach Dan Hunt
(On the team's strengths going into the season, and those areas that need work) "The numbers may say when you read how many starters we lost, it looks like we lost a lot of starters – particularly on defense. But we have a lot of kids returning on that side of the ball who have played. They technically aren't starters but they've been on the field – and they're hungry. They want to prove that they are just as good as the kids who graduated, and last year we led the country in rush defense. The current guys want to do that again.
 
"On offense, on our first snap out in California, nine of the 11 guys on offense will have been on the field before. We have some decent numbers coming back in key positions, and that's going to take some pressure off the second part of the question.
 
"We've got to find out who our quarterback is and do that quickly. In our offense, a lot runs through them. That will be the emphasis in camp and we've got some great candidates, and we're going to have some depth in that position – more than we have had in a while. But we've got to find the starter and get that guy operating our system, because we have to execute our offense at a high level in the first four games of the season for sure."
 
(On the return of James Holland Jr.) "Obviously, last season didn't live up to the expectations we had set for ourselves. When I look at us offensively, everybody knows we like to run the ball and everybody knows how we run the ball. One of our mantras is we talk about 12 feet – if every play gains four yards, you'll never lose a football game. When we have James at the tailback spot, just his running style and his strength, he's going to maybe get hit at three and get you the fourth yard.
 
"When we lost him – that was a big hit for us last year. It happened during the Richmond game and we never really got back on track. Keyon Washington come in and he did an admirable job, but to have James back – this spring, he looked better than he's ever looked. He's kind of been forgotten a little bit and he's as talented of a player as we have on the team and as talented of a player as there is in this league.
 
"I look back to our games against James Madison in the playoffs two years ago when he raced 69 or 70 yards and no one could catch him – we're looking forward to getting that back. That's going to make us go and that's one of the things that will take some pressure off the quarterback, being able to give him the ball and letting him lug the mail for us in addition to a couple of other tailbacks."
 
(On the Cal Poly game and having two open weeks) "I really like the way it works out that we have an open week after Cal Poly. That game was finalized in April to May. In order to play in Week 0, a lot of things had to happen. We had to wait to make sure ESPNU was going to televise it and we had all of the stipulations they put forward to play that game. We started working on it probably in February, and it became official in May. Our athletic director did a great job getting us the 11th game.
 
"What I like about the bye after that game is Cal Poly runs Navy's offense – they are a triple-option football team. And that forces you defensively to basically install a brand-new defense. You can't just play your base defense against that. So to have a bye week after that is huge for us because it lets us put our regular defense back in as we get ready to play Richmond the following week. That bye I love.
 
"The second bye this year is so late in the season that I would be willing to bet from an injury standpoint it's going to serve us well. It's really a positive that we get the 11th game and the second bye. That will help us come November."
 
(On this year's roster numbers and the optimum number) "Healthy bodies, we have 83. You've got to be careful and you've got to be smart. The league rules allow you to have 90 on your roster. The Ivies have 115 to 120, and we played Navy two years ago and they're still coming out of the tunnel, they had so many guys. Ninety is the number we are given and it forces you to be smart with how you practice, and that's fine. We'll play by those rules.
 
"You have to follow the NFL practice plans and protect your kids from being exposed too much in practice. If I had my druthers, I would take 90. But you're always going to have kids injured and knocking it down. I'd like to be more than 83, but that's the hand we were dealt and we will make the best of it."
 
(On this year's seniors being his first full class) "They will always be special. We've kind of grown up together in this role and these seniors were my first. They were the first group that rode out with me a four-year term. I'll always remember this group. You talk about kids that change culture – I'm just so fortunate that these guys have taken the leadership role that they have. We haven't named captains yet, and this with group we're not in a hurry because they're doing such a great job. I don't know that we even need to single anybody out.
 
"It makes my job a lot easier when they've built the culture such that we spend our time talking about football and football and football. We don't have a lot of off-the-field issues that you read about. To not worry about kids not getting it done academically or kids getting in trouble or not doing what they should, it allows you to focus it all on football.
 
"This group really has set that bar for what we want our culture to be. Two years ago, certainly, they had an experience to take with them. Hopefully, we can do that again this year."
 
(On incoming freshmen and the main point of recruiting emphasis) "We have 21 freshmen coming in, and the biggest thing for this class was finding a quarterback. We actually found two, which I'm really happy about. I look at Grant Breneman from Cedar Cliff (High School), who had a really nice game in the Big 33 Game. We don't get a lot of kids in that game. The last player we had who played in the Big 33 Game was Nate Eachus, and he obviously had a heck of a career. So we did address that need, and on offense that was our biggest one besides offensive line.
 
"If you were to ask any coach in this conference, with our scholarships the way they are, the one position that is always going to need to be addressed is offensive line. We brought in three offensive linemen in this class who we're really excited about, who hopefully can get into the mix right away. We want that to be the strength of our offense, and we did pretty well there.
 
"On defense, it's the same thing: you've got to keep your defensive line going. We signed three or four defensive linemen who are going to fit the mold and under Pat's tutelage going to be big-time players there.
 
"You never know until they get here. But we're happy with what we've seen out of the ones who were here over the summer, that's for sure."
 
(On Pat Afriyie's growth since his freshman year) "Growth in every way. He's certainly much bigger and much stronger now – not that he wasn't a big strong kid then. If you looked as his film from high school, he was a running back.
 
"He came in and we found a role for him right away. He was an outside linebacker who we allowed to pass rush as a freshman. I remember vividly his last game that first season against Bucknell, he had a great game. We knew at that point he was going to be a great player.
 
"But what has impressed me about him after that is just how good of a person he is. It's such a great feeling to have a kid like that be our highlighted player this year. He represents not only everything you want your football player to be, but what I want my sons to become. And I would tell you the same thing about James.
 
"They are kids who exemplify everything you want in a human being. They work hard, they're never satisfied, they do whatever you ask them to do and they see beyond that. They're not just going to be compliant and do what you ask them to do. They're going to be committed and do more.
 
"I heard Coach Susan say this and I agree: When your best players are your hardest-working ones, good things should happen. I'm fortunate that Pat is a great student and a great representative of Colgate – as is James and all of our players. I really am fortunate to be able to ride with them."
 
(On the quarterback position battle) "If Breneman is good enough to beat out what we have, that means he's pretty good. So I would be comfortable with it. We're in a situation where whoever our quarterback is in Game 1, it will be their first real playing time. I'm certainly not saying that I'm not happy with what we have at quarterback with our upperclassmen.
 
"The one thing with our offense is you may go through some quarterbacks. For the last couple of years, we really haven't had a lot of depth at that position. Whenever the quarterback had the ball and ran, we kind of held our breath.
 
"Now, to be honest with you, we're going to have three or four guys who if they had to play I feel comfortable with them in the game. The freshman would be one of them, for sure. But it's nice as a luxury to not be tied to if the quarterback gets hurt, we don't have anybody behind him. We're starting to gain a little bit of depth. I'm sure everybody wants depth, but for what we do, to have two or three who could come in and keep us going. It's the first time we've had that luxury."
 
Senior Defensive End Pat Afriyie
(On being named Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and what it takes to lead the defense to another outstanding season) "It all comes from the mentality that we have to do things a certain way, at the highest standard possible, and do everything as perfectly as we can. We have to hold ourselves accountable to everything.
 
"That's what I do and what I've done ever since I've been here. I hold myself to a higher standard, and production comes from that. We have to hold ourselves accountable and play at that level so that we can accomplish great things.
 
(On playing in the Patriot League) "The Patriot League has gotten better since I've been playing. I was challenged my freshman year to play in this league, and each year it has gotten more and more competitive. We have to bring our all every weekend because there are a lot of good players on every team. The level of competition in this league is shown by the kind of recognition our players are getting, and it's a good thing for our league. I like how our league is improving."
 
Junior Tailback James Holland Jr.
(On returning from injury and his current status) "Last year when my injury happened, it was obviously unfortunate and not what I was expecting. But the trainers have been great with me and taken care of me. They've made sure I was taking my rehab very seriously.
 
"I had to strengthen my body in order to be healthy for this year, and I hope I'm going to have a full season this year. Hopefully, we can have another good year like we had two years ago."
 
(On playing in the Patriot League) "I played my freshman year and I've noticed that the level of competition rises each year. Playing for the Patriot League championship – every game matters. You lose one game and you know that takes you out of contention for a championship. We've also seen that it carries over to the playoffs and when we play other teams out of conference. When we played New Hampshire and James Madison two years ago, we had success and it shows that the Patriot League is a competitive league. We just hope it keeps getting better because we love to compete."