Oh Captain My Captain

by BSD on Apr 30, 2008 10:09 AM EDT in Football

Your 2008 team captains have been announced, and I have mixed reviews.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., April 29, 2008 - A quintet of seniors have been elected captains of the 2008 Penn State football team.

Defensive end Josh Gaines (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) and safety Anthony Scirrotto (West Deptford, N.J.) were named the defensive captains. Center A.Q. Shipley (Coraopolis) and wide receiver Derrick Williams (Greenbelt, Md.) were named the offensive captains.

In addition, linebacker Sean Lee (Pittsburgh) will serve as an honorary captain in 2008. Lee suffered a serious knee injury earlier this month that will likely keep him off the field this season, but he is planning to return for the 2009 season as a fifth-year senior.

It's unusual to see five captains on a Joe Paterno team. I can't ever recall it. Each guy brings a different personality to the table.

On the offensive side of the ball I'm thrilled with A.Q. Shipley and Derrick Williams being named team captains. Both guys are very vocal leaders and the team responds to them well. Shipley is a guy who will get in your face on the sideline and pump you up to the point you'll want to run through a brick wall or else face his wrath.

Derrick Williams I can see being the face of the team in the media room. He will be the guy in the press conference after every game taking all the tough questions and answering them with a smile on his face. I'm interested to see if he's a guy who will spin every answer into a positive or if he will be willing to call out his teammates and coaches when things don't go our way. In that regard I'm kind of disappointed Deon Butler didn't get the nod. He was always good for telling it like it is. Hopefully he'll still get that role even if the captain title doesn't come with it.

On defense I think our selections of Scirrotto and Gaines show we're lacking leadership. Scirrotto was facing felony charges a year ago. Not exactly the kind of guy you want to push out there as the best we have to offer. But at least we know he's able to rally the troops and put the beatdown on people. Hopefully he can do it on the field as well.

Gaines is a good kid. He does the right things and keeps his nose clean. But he's not a vocal leader. He'll provide a good example in practice, but I don't see the defense rallying around him like they would around a Paul Posluszny. He reminds me a lot of Levi Brown as a leader.

This is why the selection of Sean Lee is so important. Even though he won't be on the field he'll be called upon in practice and on the sideline to provide that vocal spark defenses need when they're clinging to a four point lead late in the fourth quarter.

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Comments

Agreed

on Butler. He's a natural. But also agreed he doesn't need to be Captain to continue to be himself, which is a straight shooter--candid and personable and honest. I'm really pulling for DWheels this year; I feel like he deserves a return to his pre-injury 05 glory.

Nice analogy of Gaines to Levi.

"But at least we know he's able to rally the troops and put the beatdown on people. Hopefully he can do it on the field as well."--hilarious, and true! It's still so weird to try to identify with Scirrotto: we loved his 06 season and he seemed like a decent guy, traditional PSU mold. Then think what we might have done if some clown had spat on our girlfriend. Not justifying his troops-rallying beatdown, just trying to empathize and guess how hard a turn the other cheek action might have been. In any case, that's his only blemish, he's a Senior and longtime onthefield contributor. Let's see his leadership with the Captain's stripes.

Sean Lee is a mandatory. Much-needed. Should be a weird season for him, this year and next!

And I like the 5 captain motif! Agreed, never seen it before, but JoePa can use the help this year, as media pressure continues to grow. Spread some responsibility out, amongst the team as well. Havin extra dudes with the Title could be beneficial when clowns start to act up. Not exactly a defense against an 8inch blade, but, you know, could maybe help carry some weight when it's 11:30p, and Capn X tells you it's time to leave the bar, or to stop messin with girl Y, cuz she's a bad apple with a habit of framin dudes for sex.

by jtothep on Apr 30, 2008 11:31 AM EDT reply actions

On Williams and Scirrotto

Is it a captain's job to call guys out to the media? I thought you did that when the cameras were off. It's often counterproductive to call someone out in public.

Maybe going through what he did last year helped Scirrotto grow? In all seriousness, the guy who goes through the fire and comes out better for it is the kind of leader you need.

by Nick Blonde on Apr 30, 2008 12:52 PM EDT reply actions

Shipley's the right guy....

nobody talks about him much, but I like his attitude and demeanor

http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2008/04/psu_center_aq_shipley.html
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08094/870151-143.stm

Don't know much about Gaines, but a guy who leads by example is a good thing for this team. DWill is really the face of this class...guys who came to PSU to turn things around, so you know he wants the senior class to go out with a bang. And as for AS, maybe Joe feels like hes turned it around.

All in all, these captains may turn out better for the team than last years.

by Artiefufkin on Apr 30, 2008 1:12 PM EDT reply actions

Scirrotto: Coach's Pet

He's always been the Coach's Pet from the first day he arrived. He's a talented athlete and all, but when everything went down last year, it was like JoePa came up with an entire Public Relations strategy specifically aimed at protecting Scirrotto. I give him credit, though, because it worked like a charm. I don't think Scirrotto even missed a single play when all was said and done.

by Lexi on May 4, 2008 3:08 AM EDT reply actions