Early Signees Football Roster

HAMILTON – Colgate head coach Dan Hunt and his staff look to keep the good times rolling with Wednesday's announcement of 13 future Raiders for the 2019 signing class.
 
This marked the second year of an early signing period, and Hunt continues to like the new format.
 
"It's good for the player because now they can take a breath and go back to focusing on their grades and go back to focusing on being a high school senior," he said. "It's good for us because we know what we have and we know what we have to get.
 
"For us, I like the number of kids who we've signed so far. But we still have chances to find a couple of new kids too. Overall, we're in a really good situation."
 
Hunt is referencing the fact that National Signing Day on Feb. 7 remains a chance for the Raiders to enhance what they signed Wednesday. But this at least is a very promising start.
 
The fifth-year head coach said outside linebacker and wide receiver were focal points this period, and the results were very positive. He also stressed the continued importance of offensive line play.
 
Colgate after a memorable year saw all five of its offensive line starters earn some type of postseason awards recognition.
 
"It's our heartbeat and we needed to make sure we had quality numbers coming, which we've done and we have another one coming in February," Hunt said. "You look at your class like a puzzle and you have to stay disciplined to keep your numbers where they should be.
 
"Coach Stan Dakosty has done a great job of keeping us focused on that blueprint to make sure we not only meet our goals but also have the means to meet those goals."
 
Still Reaching Far and Wide
Colgate signed student-athletes from seven states, with two each from Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and New York, plus single signees from Florida, Pennsylvania and Ontario.
 
This year's group is spread over seven positions, with three receivers, two defensive backs and two each on the offensive and defensive lines. Also on board are a tailback, a linebacker, a tight end and a linebacker-defensive back hybrid.
 
"We've hit different parts of the country once again," Hunt said. "We're spread out, which is what we want to be. We got every position on board that we were shooting for in this signing period, and there are a couple of more coming in February that we already know about.
 
"But as far as a December signing period, we addressed a lot of the needs we had with some really, really good football players."
 
Hunt also said it was a mixture of recruiting victories locked up long ago with some last-minute bits of holiday cheer.
 
"Some of these kids have been committed for a long time and some of them committed just last night, with a range of everything in between," he said. "A lot of them were along for the ride with us this season, and the level of success we had on the national level appealed to them.
 
"They want to be part of it and they want to keep it going."
 
Playoff Momentum Paid Dividends
Colgate, of course, won its first nine games and earned the Patriot League's first NCAA national playoff seed at No. 8. They Raiders then knocked off sixth-ranked James Madison 23-20 before falling to No. 1 North Dakota State.
 
Those playoff moments kept the coaching staff occupied and off the recruiting trail. But the Raiders were garnering plenty of publicity, and that definitely appealed to this year's class.
 
"The key is sending the message that, 'Yeah, we'd love to be at your school and your house but we're still playing for a national championship,'" Hunt said. "Our last week of the season, there were only eight teams playing. We like to think that our recruits see that and understand we will be there as soon as we can.
 
"Most of our recruits believe what we believe – that it's about winning and about a high level of excellence. It's a tough problem to have but a great problem to have. I would take it again next year."
 
Hunt said Dakosty as the recruiting coordinator kept the staff organized and in touch with the class.
 
"Our staff did a great job, especially because we played so long," Hunt said. "In two of the three contact weeks, we were still playing, so they did a great job staying in contact with these kids and making sure we got them."
 
There's still work to be done leading to National Signing Day on Feb. 7, but Hunt and Co., at least can take a well-deserved sigh of satisfaction. Plus, the magical ride Colgate Football is on doesn't look to be slowing anytime soon.
 
 "I'm really happy with the 13 guys we have, and it's pretty cool that that's the number.


Colgate Football Class of 2023 Early Signees
(Updated Dec. 22)