As the season has unfolded for this year’s Colgate University football team, the scoreboard may not be reflecting the hard work, resilience and potential of the squad. Sitting at 2-7 overall, the Raiders find themselves in the middle of the pack in the Patriot League standings, holding a 1-2 record in conference play.
Despite the team’s struggles in the box score up to this point, there have certainly been some great moments throughout the season. Senior linebacker Brody Hock recalled the Raiders’ big 41-24 homecoming win against Cornell University.
“We [were firing] on all cylinders — we were working together as a team and as a full unit,” Hock said.
First-year defensive back Reece Allan weighed in on the Raiders’s matchup against Akron University earlier in the season. While they lost the game 20-31, the defense shined in the second half, and was a definite strong point.
“Talking more defensively, that second half was definitely a big moment for us, keeping them to only three points,” Allan said.
Another huge highlight from this season came in the team’s loss at the University of Pennsylvania, when junior wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders, who is fourth in all of FCS in receptions, set a new program record for receptions in a single game with 16.
“A record is actually huge. Before coming to Colgate I talked to my dad a lot about how I want to break every record and I just hope I can keep going,” Saunders said. “It shows my teammates trust me, my coaches trust me and my quarterback trusts me with throwing me the ball, and that means a lot to me, having that respect and just showing that work in the offseason after hours of practice and before practice that led up to that.”
Going forward, the players are still keeping their sights set high for both themselves and for the team.
“[I want] to just have fun and enjoy my last couple of games here, and as a team we’d obviously like to win out and hopefully have a chance to get the Patriot League [title],” Hock said.
The team has a very strong leadership core to push them towards their goals. Allan attested to this being the biggest difference he’s noticed between high school and college football.
“I feel like in high school there were sometimes where I felt I was kind of on my own, but being here we’ve got a great group of upperclassmen that have set an example for us,” Allan said.
Hock and Saunders have become part of that leadership core, Hock being one of the team’s seniors and Saunders one of the team’s captains. When asked about his increased leadership role, Hock reflected on his time as one of the team’s younger members, expressing gratitude for seniors who showed him the ropes. He also spoke about his evolution on the team.
“[I think I have become] an impact player on special teams, which kind of gave me a voice and a stance to be able to continue as a leader and to bring the energy and hold people accountable,” Hock said.
Saunders is also grateful for the leadership opportunity and feels that he has committed himself to guiding the team.
“[I’m] usually a quiet guy, but since becoming a captain, I’ve put myself out there and voiced my opinion. I’ve spoken a lot this year and I hope people hear my voice and understand what I’m trying to explain to them,” Saunders said.
Looking to next year and beyond, each of the three players provided vastly different perspectives.
Hock focused on the legacy he wants to be remembered by, by both his coaches and teammates.
“[I want to be remembered as] a dude who’d go out there everyday, boots on, always brought the energy and was a tough guy,” Hock said.
Saunders focused on his goals for next season and what he’s learned from this season to prepare him and the squad for next year’s run, and he expressed his goals for the future.
“My goals for next season are obviously All-American, Patriot League Champions [and] to go to the national championship as well. I want it all and I think we deserve it as a team, I deserve it for all the hard work we put in,” Saunders said. “It can be devastating when you put so much work into something and you can’t reap what you sow, so the fact that that next year everything is still ahead, we can finish these four games out and go into next season with our heads down and keep working.”
Saunders also spoke about what he has learned from this season.
“Nothing is promised and nothing is guaranteed, because we thought this year was going to be all hopes and dreams, but it hasn’t shown that to be yet. But we still have a lot ahead of us and we need to know to always be humble because football can bring you down sometimes, and we need to stay up,” Saunders said.
Allan was able to reflect more on long-term future goals for the program, with three years of football remaining.
“I hope in these next three years that we can get three rings. I think that’s definitely the main goal for all of us [first-years] coming in, and it’s hopefully something that we can do to make these seniors proud,” Allan said.
Despite a rocky season up to this point, with the present and future of Colgate football in the hands of players like Saunders and Allan, it’s hard not to be optimistic about both the short- and long-term future of the program.
