Michigan football names five 2022 team captains
Michigan has named its five captains for the 2022 season, and none of them are a surprise. Grad student senior Ronnie Bell, senior quarterback Cade McNamara, senior tight end Erick All, senior defensive back/wide receiver Mike Sainristil, and senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith are this year’s choices.
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Bell is the only repeat of the five. He was last year’s captain, but lasted only a half game before a knee injury ended his season. The Michigan receiver is back to full strength.
“I’ve been running routes for months, but … I didn’t run routes with people around me,” Bell said halfway through camp. So [it’s] kicking off the rust off, being comfortable with people around you.
“I don’t know what day it was, but I finally jumped up and made a play on the ball. [It was] one of the early days in camp and it was like once that happened, the biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders I think I’d ever had. Since then, I feel like I’ve been back and rolling.”
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McNamara continues to battle with sophomore J.J. McCarthy for the starting job, but he’s been a leader since last year. He led the Wolverines to their first Big Ten title since 2004 — at Big Ten Media Day in July he said, “I feel like it’s my team” when asked about his role.
All had a breakout season last year and also represented Michigan at Media Day. Smith is expected to build on his first year as a starter in which he plugged the middle, while Sainristil added defensive back duties to his receiver duties. He’s expected to spend most of his time on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Watch for more on this development in the hours to come.
