PROVO -- Members of the BYU football team today elected four team captains for the 2000 season.
Defensive captains for the season include senior defensive end Setema Gali, Jr. and senior safety Jared Lee. The offensive captains for the 2000 campaign will be senior receiver Margin Hooks and senior fullback Kalani Sitake.
"Every year the team elects two defensive and two offensive captains," head coach LaVell Edwards said. " As in the past, the players have again this year selected four outstanding individuals to serve as team captains. All four guys are seniors and have great leadership abilities, both on and off the field. I know the players really look up to these guys."
Gali, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end from Orem, Utah returns for his senior season after earning second team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a junior. Gali, who is featured in the Cougar's "Buff Don't Puff" campaign commercial, recorded 39 tackles last season, including 10 tackles for a combined loss of 55 yards. Gali ranked second on the BYU roster with seven sacks as a junior, including four sacks against New Mexico.
Lee, a 6-foot-0, 210-pound senior from Rexburg, Idaho returns for his senior season at free safety. The Ricks College transfer led the Cougars with 96 tackles as a junior, including a team-best 67 unassisted takedowns. Lee, an academic All-Mountain West Conference honoree, also led the team with four interceptions. Lee was also named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week during the season after racking up 22 tackles against Air Force.
Having been around the program since 1994, Sitake returns for his final campaign with the Cougars. Sitake, a 6-foot-0 245-pound fullback carried the ball 24 times last season, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Sitake also grabbed 15 receptions on the season for an average 8.3 yards per catch.
An All-America and Biletnikoff Award candidate, Hooks currently ranks fifth in the nation with a streak of 24 straight games with at least one reception. The 6-foot-0, 190-pound speedster led the Cougars in 1999 with 1,067 yards, averaging 97 yards per game. The first team All-Mountain West Conference performer produced a team-leading seven touchdown receptions and ranked third on the roster in scoring with 42 points last season. Hooks has produced 2,123 career receiving yards and needs just 944 yards to become the Cougars' all-time receiving yardage leader. Hooks is currently ranked ninth on that list.
The Cougars are set to kickoff the 2000 season at the Pigskin Classic on Aug. 26th in Jacksonville, Fla. BYU will be taking on defending national champion Florida State. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. (EDT).