At St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, legendary football coach John Gagliardi has a tradition of making each member of his senior class – from All-American to bench-warmer — a “co-captain” of the Johnnies. His thinking: it’s a line that looks great on a resume.
2012 Notre Dame Captain Manti Te’o
At Notre Dame, tradition has held that the captaincy is an honor reserved for the best of the best, true leaders among many with leadership qualities.
Brian Kelly went a different direction in his first season, 2010, naming game captains. It was only the second time in history ND has gone that route, the first being in 1946 when Frank Leahy put together a team loaded with veterans – of WWII as well as college football – and there were many leaders to accommodate.
Last season was a bit of both. Harrison Smith and Michael Floyd were named co-captains, but when the latter was suspended for off-field issues, Smith became the only season-long captain, paired with a game captain named each week.
For 2012, Kelly is returning to a more traditional setup. He has named four co-captains – tight end Tyler Eifert and tackle Zach Martin on offense, linebacker Manti Te’o and end Kapron Lewis-Moore on defense. All are great choices, as this is a team with considerable senior leadership.
Incidentally, it’s Saturday’s opponent Navy that is going with individual game captains this season. Seniors Bo Snelson and Brye French, voted captains in February, were stripped of their titles after off-the-field violations.
