Three seniors and a junior have been named as captains for the 2007 Nevada football season, head coach Chris Ault announced Thursday.
The captains, as voted on by the Wolf Pack players, are: senior tight end Adam Bishop; senior offensive lineman Charles Manu; senior nose guard Matt Hines; junior inside linebacker Joshua Mauga.
“I am excited about the overall quality of leadership that will be provided by these four captains,” Ault said. “They certainly symbolize all that is good about Nevada football.”
This is the second season in a row that a junior has been selected as a captain, which is a rare occurrence for Nevada football. Hines was voted a captain last season.
Each of the four captains is an honors candidate, and they have started a combined 74 games over the past three seasons.
Also on Thursday, Ault said that outside linebacker Ezra Butler has been suspended for the season opener at Nebraska due to a violation of team policy.
“I am certainly disappointed by this, but I know that Ezra will be a much better person and student-athlete because of these circumstances,” Ault said.
Butler, was an All-WAC selection last year who led Nevada in tackles and tackles for loss.
“I want to apologize to my teammates because I can’t be out there with them on Sept. 1,” Butler said. “Everyone makes mistakes, and I want to learn from my mistake. I am focused on earning back the trust of my teammates.”
