Head coach David Elson announced Thursday that seniors Dusty Bear, Marion Rumph and Bo Smith along with juniors Jessie Quinn and David Wolke would be the team’s captains as it opens the season against the Gators. Kickoff time in Gainesville is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. (CDT), and the game will be televised live regionally by Lincoln Financial Sports.
Bear is a resident of Osprey, Fla., where he played at Venice High. He is slated to start at outside linebacker after switching to the position from defensive end in spring practice. He recorded career-high totals with 42 tackles, six stops for loss and 3.5 sacks a year ago.
Smith is a defensive back from Rockledge, Fla. WKU’s starter at strong safety, Smith posted 30 total tackles and three passes defensed — both career highs — as a junior in 2006 despite playing in just seven contests. He is also expected to handle kick return duties for the Toppers this fall.
Both Rumph and Quinn hail from Bradenton, Fla., where they starred at Manatee High School. Rumph has paced WKU in tackles each of the last two years after finishing with 87 stops last season, adding four passes broken up as he was selected first-team all-Gateway Football Conference. Quinn finished second on the team with 425 receiving yards and ranked third on the squad with 29 receptions a year ago, his first as a starter. He recorded multiple catches in each of the Hilltoppers’ final six contests.
Wolke, a native of Mount Juliet, Tenn., earned the nod to replace four-year starter Justin Haddix in preseason camp this month. He sat out last year with an injury after transferring from Notre Dame, where he saw action as a reserve for the Fighting Irish in both 2004 and ’05.
This is the first time in Elson’s five-year tenure that captains are being selected on a game-by-game basis.
