HAMILTON – There won't be a Senior Day this year – not an on-field one, anyway – but that didn't stop Colgate head coach Dan Hunt from offering his usual glowing comments on the senior class.
 
This year's unit is just six strong and had to weather the Covid-19 Pandemic that shut down the fall 2020 season and left just a brief spring 2021 campaign. But these Raiders depart with a four-year overall record of 21-16 and a sparkling Patriot League mark of 14-6. That includes two Patriot League crowns and the memorable 2018 run to the NCAA playoff quarterfinals.
 
"To even pull off as much of the spring season as we did was special," Hunt said. "This group was fantastic. They're leaving with two Patriot League championship rings and a trip to the NCAA playoff quarterfinals, and they take that with them forever. It's a different year with a different ending, but this is a different group of seniors – in a good way. And we'll certainly miss them."

Here are Hunt's comments on each of his six senior team members.
 
Alex Sargiss
"Every year there are guys who give you four years, show up to work every day, contribute in every way they possibly can and really don't get a lot of time on the field. Those are the guys you really respect because we talk here as a program about loving football, and you've got to love football when that's your role. To come out and work hard in practice and give a look on a scout team and know you're probably not getting into the game on Saturday, and then be back out there doing it again on Monday – Sarge did that for four years. Players like him are always your character guys and the guys who go on and are extremely successful in whatever they do because they have that right attitude. I'm going to miss Sarge and I know he's going to be successful."



 
Quinn Stephenson
"When you play a position that is as specific as long snapper, you're already going into it saying that you know your role is going to be small. To do that and also to split time at it is really hard, and he's another player who came to work every day and was very specific in his craft and never stopped practicing his skills. His position is really one of those unsung parts of the game where, if you don't have a good one, you know it. Quinn made sure we always had a good one. To have the long-snapping part of things sewn up is something that as a coach that you appreciate. I appreciate Quinn and everything he gave for four years."




 
Nick Draught
"He was a high school quarterback who came in and changed positions. He worked extremely hard to become a good wide receiver in our program, and he did that. If you look at 2019, he had some big time catches in games and we got him involved in the run game and he had some long runs. He was really a guy who could come in and change a game with an instant play. Receiver wasn't his natural position, and he worked very hard to become a receiver who could contribute at a high level and make plays. He was always a great athlete, but he worked hard at the skills needed to become a good receiver and he did it. That work ethic is going to continue forward in whatever he decides to do."



 
Malik Twyman
"He's a guy you feel for. He played all four years and contributed during his entire time here. But when it became time that he was the senior and it was his time to be the top dog, Covid hits and it kind of gets taken away from him. But the fact that he came back and gave us what he gave us for two games at the end, never stopped working, never stopped being a leader, never stopped being a voice for Colgate – that's someone who showed you a lot about him as a person. He's going to be extremely successful in whatever he does post-Colgate. You can't take away the success he had, but you really would have loved for him to have a full year as the senior being the lead guy. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way. But he never complained and he never stopped working, and that's something that's going to take him a long way."


 
Jack Badovinac
"Jack will go down as one of the best to ever do it for us at offensive line. He's your typical Colgate success story in that he was an undersized offensive lineman from a height standpoint who we never once doubted would be great, and then he came in and lived up to every expectation we had. He played a lot of football and became a leader on the team and on campus. When you become a standard, you know you've done it, and he will become the standard for our shorter offensive lineman in that we will compare them to Jack. One way to leave a mark is to become a measuring stick, and that's what he is going to be. He will always be a measuring stick for his heart and his work ethic, and now as far as that type of player, we know what the recipe is. We will compare those guys to Jack moving forward, which is the highest compliment we can pay him."


 
Jordan Jefferson
"JJ is one of the most special people to ever play here. I can't tell you the value he brings to a football team on a day-to-day basis. When he's out there, you know it and the feel of practice is different. And when he misses time, and he's had some injuries, you know it. It's the pure love of the game and the pure joy of practice that he brings. In addition to obviously being a very good player and a very good defensive back who made a lot of plays for us, the intangibles he brings – he's one of those guys who, for me as a coach, makes it more fun to come to practice. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him; there's nothing Colgate wouldn't do for him. He is another person who will take on the world and be great, but talk about an impact when he leaves – I don't know that anyone can fill those shoes. I wanted this spring season for him because he was in his fifth year already. Anytime it got hard, we just thought of JJ. We tried to do everything we could to let him play some football. He's going to be missed."