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There have been different iterations of Michigan football team captaincy. Since Jim Harbaugh arrived, there have been no more than four, and in cases like 2019, only three full-time captains, with two alternates.
In fact, according to the Bentley Historical Library, Michigan has never named more than four captains in a given year.
This year, with the unprecedented nature of the year and the 2020 season, it appears that the Wolverines have increased that number by three, with seven players having been voted team captains by their teammates. At least, that’s the sound of it from what Jim Harbaugh told Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football radio show on Monday night.
“Such worthy guys,” Harbaugh said of the team captains. “Carlo Kemp was a captain last year. Kwity Paye has been such a great leader. Aidan Hutchinson is stalwart. Josh Ross, same kind of — great player, great guy, great teammate, great leader. And Ben Mason and Nick Eubanks and Andrew Vastardis – all those guys just very deserving, top shelf players and leaders.”
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Kemp, as Harbaugh noted, is the returning captain, as he shared that honor in 2019 along with Ben Bredeson and Khaleke Hudson (Shea Patterson and Josh Metellus were alternates).
The other six — Paye, Hutchinson, Ross, Mason, Eubanks and Vastardis — are all new to the team roles.
Considering that Michigan had been looking for increased leadership and accountability, it could be a sign that the team could be turning the corner on that front.
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