On Sunday, Stanford football announced their team captains for the 2022 season: Senior inside linebacker Levani Damuni, senior safety Jonathan McGill, junior quarterback Tanner McKee, 5th year inside linebacker Ricky Miezan, senior center Drake Nugent, and 5th year wide receiver Michael Wilson.
In terms of what each of the captains will bring to the table, all of them on the surface are going to be key to their respective units. If Stanford is going to have a bounce back 2022 season, all of these guys are going to have to do their jobs.
Starting with Damuni, stopping the run is going to be key this year. While linebackers have the responsibility of defending against both the pass and the run, stopping the run was a bigger weakness last year. Damuni had 85 total tackles last season (46 solo) to go along with 5.0 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks. If he can build on that and make even more plays in the backfield, that really would be huge for a Stanford team that was lacking in that department a season ago.
Staying on defense, McGill is going to need to be an elite ball hawk. He had two interceptions in the two games he played against Cal and Notre Dame last season. That’s his strength. If he can bring that in spades, that could be game-changing for Stanford.
McGill honestly is somewhat of a mystery player. He missed almost all of last season, before that he played in all six games of the pandemic season, so it’s hard to read much from that year, and then the season before that he was a freshman. In his freshman year, he played 10 games and had just one interception on the year and 34 total tackles (27 solo) to go along with 3.0 tackles for a loss. This will be the first full season he’s played since his freshman year. Stanford has never played a full season with a peak Jonathan McGill. That alone is reason for them to be excited about this season.
Switching to offense, McKee is going to need to have a breakout season. Last season he threw 15 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions in 10 games. This season, he better flirt with 40 touchdown passes and throw fewer than 15 interceptions. That needs to be his goal. Jared Goff in his junior season at Cal threw for 43 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. McKee needs to be in that same ballpark.
One thing that does help McKee is he’s had a normal offseason while also knowing that he’s going to be the starter this season. A season ago, he was in a battle for the starting job with Jack West. By having this entire offseason as the starter, McKee has been able to develop a better rapport and rhythm with his receivers and offensive line. That should hopefully lead to a big-time season for him.
Back to inside linebacker, Miezan is going to have to do the same thing as Damuni: Help stop the run and make the Stanford defense be a lot stouter. Miezan had 67 total tackles (36 solo) last season to go along with 6.5 tackles for a loss and 0.5 sacks. He didn’t get as many tackles as Damuni, but he had more tackles for a loss. So, if Miezan is going to have a big season, it’s going to start with him really making plays in the backfield and being a weapon in that department.
Up front, Nugent is going to be critical to the offensive line’s success. The center is the quarterback of the offensive line, really setting the tone for the entire group. Nugent said on Tuesday that he’s feeling a lot more comfortable with McKee and that their relationship has really developed over the course of the offseason and fall camp. Nugent is a senior and has a lot of authority in that offensive line room. Given how important the offensive line is this year in terms of them being a group that needs to take a major step forward, Nugent is arguably the most important captain on the entire team.
Finally, Wilson being healthy is huge for the wide receiving corps. He’s a veteran who leads by example and is really precise in his route running. He’s also feeling faster than he’s felt in his entire career and after playing in only four games last year due to injury, he’s very excited to have a healthy season to close out his Stanford career. While not being the most athletic receiver on the team, he’s really the one who sets the tone for the entire group with his attention to detail and discipline. Success with the wide receivers starts with Wilson.
If there was one guy who I could add to the captain list to make it seven, it would definitely be Kyu Blu Kelly. He’s a senior who is going to be crucial to the secondary and one who a lot of guys look up to as well. Jonathan McGill is definitely the leader of the entire secondary, so it makes sense why he was chosen ahead of Kelly. But given his overall abilities and also the fact that he is the one who was named Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team Defense, a strong case can be made for Kelly to be a team captain.
When looking at all six of the captains, it’s clear that all of them are going to be key to the team’s success this year. All six of them work extremely hard and are great teammates, so there’s nobody in that group who I would remove from the list. They’re all deserving. It’ll be fun to see how they all do this year and how instrumental they'll be in getting Stanford back to the level that they’re hoping to get to.
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