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Byrne, Cuff, Marcorelle are ’07 football captains 8:51 a.m., Jan. 23, 2007--Senior offensive lineman Mike Byrne, senior running back Omar Cuff and sophomore defensive end Matt Marcorelle have been selected team captains for the 2007 University of Delaware football season, according to Fightin' Blue Hens Head Coach K.C. Keeler. “In Mike, Omar, and Matt, we have three proven leaders not only on the football field but in the locker room,” Keeler, whose five-year record stands at 41-22 and includes two Atlantic 10 Conference titles and the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA national championship, said. “Strong leadership is an important part of a successful team and I feel very good about the captains chosen by the team.” This is the earliest the team has elected captains during Keeler's tenure and Marcorelle is the first sophomore ever to earn the honor. Byrne, a 6-foot 6-inch, 295-pound offensive tackle, is the first UD offensive lineman to be elected captain since Jason Nerys in 2003. A two-year starter who has played both tackle and center, Byrne is a criminal justice major with a minor in psychology who earned College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) District 2 All-Academic honors last fall. He also was a third team All-Atlantic 10 Conference pick. A three-time member of the Atlantic 10 Academic Honor Roll, Byrne anchored a UD offensive line that helped the Hens rank in the top five in the league in passing offense (second, 253 yards per game), scoring offense (fourth, 26.3 points per game) and total offense (fifth, 356.6 yards per game). “Mike's an outstanding player who is one of the best offensive linemen in the league,” Keeler said. “He brings a strong work ethic and a lot of emotion to the game. He has tremendous respect from his peers and is a leader by example.” Cuff, a 5-10, 195-pound running back, has been among the top rushers in NCAA Division I-AA, now known as the Football Championship Subdivision, over the last two seasons, earning consensus All-America honors in 2005 and earning All-Atlantic 10 recognition each of the last two seasons. He rushed for 1,205 yards and 14 touchdowns and caught 41 passes for 414 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore in 2005 but was limited to 541 yards rushing and eight touchdowns and 31 catches for 277 yards in 2006 when he missed four games due to an ankle injury. Cuff currently ranks eighth all-time at UD in rushing yards with 2,328 and has scored 34 career touchdowns. He is a theatre major with a minor in Black American studies. “Omar is a great player with a great work ethic,” Keeler said. “He also plays with a lot of emotion, which raises the level of play from all the people around him.” Marcorelle, a 6-2, 250-pound defensive end, was elected captain despite having played just 13 career games for the Hens. After starting all 11 games as a true freshman in 2005, he was limited to just two games this past fall after suffering a shoulder injury in the loss to the State University of New York at Albany. The first true freshman to start the season opener since 1978, Marcorelle ranked seventh on the team with 51 tackles, including 29 solo stops, during the 2005 campaign and also added four quarterback sacks (a UD freshman record) and nine tackles for loss. He registered nine tackles, including two for loss, in two games this past fall. He is a health and physical education major. “Matt's strong work ethic and strong will to succeed makes him an outstanding leader,” Keeler said. “To earn an honor like this as a sophomore says a lot about the kind of leader he is.” The Hens will open the 2007 season Aug. 30 at long-time rival the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. The game will be the inaugural Colonial Athletic Association football contest as the conference begins sponsorship of football for the first time, taking in all those teams that had been members of the Atlantic 10. |
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