Eastern Michigan Athletics
EMU Football Names 2016 Team Captains
7/29/2016 12:40:00 PM | Football
Mike Brown, Cole Gardner, Pat O'Connor and Shaq Vann to serve as team captains
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's football team has announced its team captains for the 2016 campaign. Providing leadership for the squad will be seniors Mike Brown (Sandusky, Ohio-Sandusky), Cole Gardner (Batavia, Ill.-Batavia), Pat O'Connor (Chicago, Ill.-Saint Rita), along with redshirt sophomore Shaq Vann (South Bend, Ind.-John Adams).
Brown, Gardner and Vann earn the honor for the first time, while O'Connor received the distinction for the third consecutive season. O'Connor joins former quarterback Andy Schmitt (2007-09) as the only players in the football team's 125-year history to be selected a team captain in three straight seasons.
Brown, a defensive lineman for the Eagles, has appeared in 30 games donning the Green and White and started 11 contests during the 2015 season. He ranked sixth on the team with a career-best 52 tackles last year, highlighted by an 11-tackle performance versus Army West Point, Sept. 26, his first double digit showing of his career. Brown also registered four tackles-for-a-loss over the course of the season.
Gardner moved from the tight end spot in 2014 to the offensive line last year to help bolster the line's depth. A fixture up front in 2015, he started 10 games for the Eagles on the offensive line. Gardner was named to the Academic All-MAC Team and earned EMU's Harold E. Sponberg Lineman Scholar-Athlete Award.
O'Connor returns after missing all of last year with a shoulder injury. In 2014, he was EMU's first defensive player since 2007 to make the All-MAC First Team. He led the conference with 7.5 sacks, six solo and three assists, and had 64 tackles with 14 for a loss. He finished in the top-50 sack leaders in the country, and became only the second player in EMU history to lead the MAC in sacks (Troy Campbell; 1998).
Vann is one of four MAC running backs named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. In 2015, he appeared in all 12 games for EMU, starting four contests. He finished the season second on the team in rushing with 586 yards on 100 carries, as well as five scores. Vann was the Eagles' top receiving threat out of the backfield, totaling 37 receptions for 269 yards and one touchdown. For his efforts, he was named EMU's Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
The Eagles open the 2016 season under the lights at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium Friday, Sept. 2, versus Mississippi Valley State. Both full season and flex package tickets are now available for purchase at EMUEagles.com/tickets, by calling 734.487.2282 or by visiting the EMU Ticket Office daily between 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Brown, Gardner and Vann earn the honor for the first time, while O'Connor received the distinction for the third consecutive season. O'Connor joins former quarterback Andy Schmitt (2007-09) as the only players in the football team's 125-year history to be selected a team captain in three straight seasons.
Brown, a defensive lineman for the Eagles, has appeared in 30 games donning the Green and White and started 11 contests during the 2015 season. He ranked sixth on the team with a career-best 52 tackles last year, highlighted by an 11-tackle performance versus Army West Point, Sept. 26, his first double digit showing of his career. Brown also registered four tackles-for-a-loss over the course of the season.
Gardner moved from the tight end spot in 2014 to the offensive line last year to help bolster the line's depth. A fixture up front in 2015, he started 10 games for the Eagles on the offensive line. Gardner was named to the Academic All-MAC Team and earned EMU's Harold E. Sponberg Lineman Scholar-Athlete Award.
O'Connor returns after missing all of last year with a shoulder injury. In 2014, he was EMU's first defensive player since 2007 to make the All-MAC First Team. He led the conference with 7.5 sacks, six solo and three assists, and had 64 tackles with 14 for a loss. He finished in the top-50 sack leaders in the country, and became only the second player in EMU history to lead the MAC in sacks (Troy Campbell; 1998).
Vann is one of four MAC running backs named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. In 2015, he appeared in all 12 games for EMU, starting four contests. He finished the season second on the team in rushing with 586 yards on 100 carries, as well as five scores. Vann was the Eagles' top receiving threat out of the backfield, totaling 37 receptions for 269 yards and one touchdown. For his efforts, he was named EMU's Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
The Eagles open the 2016 season under the lights at "The Factory" inside Rynearson Stadium Friday, Sept. 2, versus Mississippi Valley State. Both full season and flex package tickets are now available for purchase at EMUEagles.com/tickets, by calling 734.487.2282 or by visiting the EMU Ticket Office daily between 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
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