 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki The University of Toledo has named four captains for the 2006 football season. On offense, senior wide receiver Steve Odom and junior offensive tackle John Greco have been named captains. Defensively, senior linebacker Mike Alston and junior free safety Tyrrell Herbert have been named captains.  John Greco is just a junior, but he is the anchor of the Rocket offensive line. Greco was named First Team All-MAC as a sophomore in 2005. He anchored an offensive line that helped Toledo to the 13th best rushing offense and 10th best scoring offense in the country last year. He has started every game of his collegiate career, a rare starter on the UT offensive line as a freshman on UT's 2004 MAC Champions team.Steve Odom has caught a pass in every single collegiate football game he has played in, that is 37 straight games. He needs just 53 receptions to become the career record holder for receptions at Toledo. He also needs just 574 yards receiving and 8 more TD receptions to become the career record holder for each of those as well. However, Odom is more than just a great player. His teammates look up to him as a leader, which is one of the main reasons he is a captain this year. And if you talk to Steve Odom, you will find that he is thinking of the whole team all the time. "Summer workouts went great," Steve Odom told me when I asked him how the team has been preparing for the season. He went on, "I feel that we improved both individually and as a team. It seems like just yesterday we were in the bowl game. Spring and summer went fast and I am excited for the season."  Mike Alston became a force at outside linebacker last season for the Rockets. A great mix of speed and power makes Alston one of the most dangerous linebackers in the MAC. He was named First Team All-MAC last year with 9.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. He was the Defensive MVP of the GMAC Bowl last year. This season he is a preseason candidate for MAC Defensive Player of the Year. "We had high attendance numbers at the (summer) workouts, " said Mike Alston. And as a captain and leader on this team, he has tried to help the younger players as much as possible. "When they ask questions, I try to answer them all and help them out." This desire to help the younger players is exactly what Head Coach Tom Amstutz was looking for when he chose captains for this year's team.Tyrrell Herbert is a junior, who really surprised a lot of people last season. He became Patrick Body's replacement at free safety in 2005. However, within a few games he was leading the nation in forced turnovers and it was obvious that Toledo would not miss a beat without Body in the lineup. Herbert finished 2nd on the team with 94 tackles. He also led the team with 5 forced fumbles. Tyrrell has matured a lot in the past year, and is worthy of the captain status as a junior. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |