HAMILTON – With the start of spring practice set for Wednesday, Colgate head coach Dan Hunt announced a couple of promotions and an overall restructuring of duties for the Raider offensive coaching staff.
 
Hunt promoted offensive line coach Brad Dunlay to run game coordinator, tight ends coach Terry Dow to pass game coordinator and shifted running backs coach Brendan Walsh to quarterbacks coach.
 
Hunt also will resume his former role as offensive play-caller when the Raiders tee it up in August for 2019.
 
"It allows us to use the strengths of each coach," Hunt said. "Brad has been here since 2012. He understands our run game and has added a lot to it. Terry has been here since 2013. He understands the pass game, has called plays and coached quarterbacks before. He has a unique point of view that will mirror what I'm telling the quarterbacks.
 
"And it's nice to move Brendan over to coach the quarterbacks. That gives him experience with O-line, running backs and quarterbacks. He used to be a center here and he understands our run game, understands the protections."
 
The chance for Hunt to make these changes came about when offensive coordinator Chris Young left this winter to take an assistant coaching position at Elon.
 
"It's a great opportunity for him," Hunt said. "He's been here for all of the playoff success we've had. He recruited some really good players here and oversaw some really good offenses. He's been a part of a lot of wins and he was ready for this move.
 
"Chris is going to be at the coordinator level relatively soon, just knowing their staff. He will take what we have done here and grow with what Elon is doing.
 
Young is slated to return to coaching wide receivers, a position he held for 11 years at Colgate before his promotion to offensive coordinator. Hunt said he has never been around a better wide receivers coach.
 
"He's very technically sound there." Hunt said. "And as a guy who has called plays, he will be good coaching wideouts because he knows what the quarterbacks are thinking. The more people who have called plays on your offensive staff, the better."
 
New Running Backs Coach Soon
Hunt is close to naming a new running backs assistant coach that will complete the staff as spring practice gets underway. The Raiders have 15 dates to figure out how all the new parts work together, and Hunt can't wait to see it in action.
 
"Our offense won't really change too much; it's always been our base system," Hunt said. "But it's going to be nice for me to get back into the feel of the game calling plays.
 
"This is a really effective way to use the coaches we have, and our offensive players will benefit from it."
 
Hunt is a three-time Dick Biddle Patriot League Coach of the Year, including this past season when he led the Raiders to a remarkable 10-2 record and another Patriot League crown. But before being named head coach, Hunt was a Colgate assistant from 1995-2013.
 
He was offensive coordinator the last eight of those years and he coached quarterbacks for 17 years.
 
"It's going to be nice," Hunt said. "Obviously, I'm going to lean heavily on the other coaches. When I first took over as head coach, I wasn't ready to take on calling plays and managing the game while overseeing everything else. But I am comfortable doing this now.
 
"I'm looking forward to really expanding my relationship with the quarterbacks and being able to put my own spin on the game."