July 9, 2012

Dan Cason's first two seasons at Colgate couldn't have gone much better.

Cason, the former All-State wide receiver at East Stroudsburg South, impressed the Raiders' coaching staff so much that he played right away as a true freshman in 2010. He followed that up by leading Colgate in receptions (36), yards (485) and touchdowns (4) as a sophomore last year.

Going into his junior season the expectations are high for Cason, both by the coaches and from himself, but the past two seasons will go a long way into meeting them.

"Starting as a sophomore year last year was definitely great for me," Cason said. "It was a good learning experience. I feel like this season having that experience last year will help me. I feel like the coaches are pretty confident in me since I've been playing now for two years that they can trust me on the field."

A lot of work went into building that trust.

Cason attacked preseason camp as a freshman, doing everything he could to both catch the coaches' eyes and build their confidence in him. It worked as he played in all 11 games as a true freshman, catching 21 passes for 185 yards.

"It was definitely a big boost in confidence," Cason said. "I came into fall camp that year just trying to impress the coaches. I worked really hard in camp and the coaches saw that. As the season progressed I got more and more playing time and that was definitely a boost in confidence and helped get me experience. That helped me going into last year."

So did a full offseason.

Cason was able to go through winter workouts and improve his strength and conditioning. He was also able to continue learning the ins and outs of Colgate's offense, which he then put to use on the field during spring practice.

It all paid off when the season came, finishing his first year as a starter as the Raiders' top pass catcher.

For the full article by Joe Miegoc of Pocono Record click here