(Editor’s note: Carroll College media release)
HELENA – Carroll College head football coach Mike Van Diest announced the appointment of the 2018 team captains as picked by the returning players. Senior offensive lineman Willy Clements, senior safety McBride Galt and senior linebacker Reece Quade step into the leadership role for the Saints this upcoming year.
“I like when the players choose someone to be captain for the right reasons instead of just being a friend,” Van Diest said. “These three guys are all talented on the field, but they are great off of the field, too. They are great teammates, they are great students, they represent our football program and Carroll College to the utmost and I love that about them, and I like the way they treat other people.”
Clements has started every game the past two seasons and much of the year during his freshman season. Quade and Galt are two-year starters for the Saints. More than their production on the field, Van Diest is excited about their work ethic and the respect that they command from their teammates.
“All of them are going to be three-year starters, so they have done it on the field and they have each gotten better each year,” Van Diest said. “Players look at production for captains, but these three guys also practice hard every day. They love football, they love to be out there, they are great in the weight room. All three have the ability to be difference makers.”
The Saints changed last season from electing captains in the fall to electing them in the spring. The main reason for Van Diest is for the captains to take a leadership role with their teammates through the summer, in workouts and outside of them.
“They need to bring this team together and that doesn’t start in August, that starts now,” Van Diest said. “That is why we changed the voting to the spring because we depend on these guys in the summer to help maintain morale and keep everyone together.”
This year, Van Diest has made another change. The team will pick a game captain every week. It is an idea he picked up from new offensive line coach Tony Arntson, but he is doing it in a way that fits the Carroll culture.
“It is great having Tony around as a sounding board for fresh ideas. He talked to me about the way they did things as captains, having a game captains week to week,” Van Diest said. “We want some stability and that is what Willy, McBride and Reece bring. Those three had the most votes, but we had a lot of guys that got votes in that junior and senior class, even some sophomores. We’ll look at it, are they doing the right things off the field, how are their grades, and we’ll come in after Sunday’s meetings and nominate them so they can be the captain through the week and onto the game day.”
The Saints begin fall camp in early August and take on Rocky Mountain in a night game in Billings on Aug. 23.
