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For the second time in his eight-year career, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith will serve as a team captain. For the first time, the honor comes via a vote of his teammates.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports that Smith and defensive end Justin Smith are this year’s new captains. They join 2011 holdovers Frank Gore and Patrick Willis under coach Jim Harbaugh’s unique two-year term approach.

“There’s no greater honor than being elected captain by your teammates,” Harbaugh said.

“He deserves it,” Gore said of Smith. “He had a great year last year. He had a great camp. He’s a hard-worker, great teammate, and everybody respects him in the locker room. He deserves to be the captain.”

In 2010, former coach Mike Singletary made Smith a captain. That year, he eventually was benched for Troy Smith. So maybe the guy most excited about this development should be Colin Kaepernick.