Purdue announces football captains

All were humbled by the selections and Danny Anthrop, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Robert Kugler and Frankie Williams vow to use their leadership skills to push Purdue's football program forward.

Darrell Hazell revealed that three seniors – Anthrop, Kugler and Williams – along with Bentley, a sophomore, were named team captains during Friday's annual kickoff luncheon. Bentley is the first sophomore to earn the title since Raheem Mostert in 2012.

This is the second straight year Kugler will serve in this role. It's also the first time in Hazell's head coaching career he opened up the voting to all players, not just juniors and seniors.

"When they opened it up for underclassmen, I figured they did it for him," Anthrop said of Bentley, who started all 12 games last season at linebacker. "He was someone I was going to vote for. I think what he brings is unmatched by a lot of guys.

What kind of leadership does this team need?

Kugler: "I think the team needs all different kinds of leaders. You've got guys that are more vocal, you've got guys that could've been captains. There's guys that are leaders in their own way, guys who go out on the field and show everybody how to do it and what to do. We just need all kinds of leaders and for it all to come together."

Bentley: "The great thing about this team is we have people that have been assigned as captains but we have so many leaders. It's a whole lot of people on this team that could've easily been selected as captains but we have so many. Our defense is full of guys who can lead this team and we've just been handpicked as captains for the team. That's how I look at the whole thing. The best teams have multiple leaders."

What leadership qualities do you see in the other captains?

Kugler: "Danny is a playmaker and it puts him into a leadership role because of how good of a player that he is, but Danny is the kind of guy – and I've said it before – everybody on the team loves Danny. He's a nice kid, he does everything right. He's tough, he embodies everything you want in a Boilermaker. Ja'Whaun is young, but for a young guy I don't think I've seen such a young guy command so much attention and respect from his teammates. You would think Ja'Whaun was a redshirt senior the way everybody treats him. Frankie is that redshirt senior who has put in the work. He's a guy everybody respects. He'll get on you if he needs to and he's a great leader."

Williams: "Danny Anthrop is a guy you could tell, go tackle that lion and he's going to go do it. Kugs is a guy who's vocal, leads by example, accountable. He's on and off the field – that's the perfect guy. That's pretty much why he got it twice. Ja'Whaun Bentley is an upcoming guy. He's very vocal and he's like the perfect fit for a prototypical football player who's in your face. He can relate to a lot of guys differently, he brings the best out of a lot of the guys. He brings the best out of me. He's passionate and you need that to get to where we're going."

Did you envision yourself as a captain at Purdue growing up?

Anthrop: "If you would've told me my freshman year in high school I was going to play Division I football, I would've laughed at you. I would've asked – who put you up to that? I've come a long way and I think this (knee) injury I had to go through really helped me grow up a lot. I think when I fell to that turf in Nebraska, I was more of a boy than a man and I've changed quite a bit. I look back and I see where I've been and what I'm doing now, the whole experience (Friday) was cool."

Does being named a captain fit who you are at this point in your career?

Williams: "When I was coming up as a freshman and I looked at our captains, I looked at it as if we're going to war. Those are the guys on the front line who are going to take all the bullets for everybody. I'm willing to do that and everybody knows that."

Saturday's scrimmage

At Ross-Ade Stadium

Time: 11:15 a.m.

Note: Players will be available for autographs following the scrimmage