Each spring, Stetson football coach Roger Hughes solicits applications from members of the team who are interested in being captains for the next season. The Hatters don't take captain selections lightly and it is certainly not a popularity contest.
 
The players who are interested take a leadership course, which is led by Hughes. They have to apply for the position just as they would apply for a job in the real world, and then go through a thorough interview process.
 
"When the players apply for the position, they submit a resume, two letters of recommendation and also commit to attend the leadership class we teach," Hughes said. "That class is twice a week for six to 10 weeks and in it we cover different kinds of leadership and we study a leader, in this case former Navy Captain Michael Abrashoff."
 
Abrashoff was brought in to command the USS Benfold, which was the worst performing ship in the Navy, and turned it into the best in 12 months. He detailed that transformation in his book "It's Your Ship" and he now travels the country to talk about leadership.
 
After the players go through the class, and interviews for the job, there is then a voting process that takes place. That process includes players owning their votes by signing their ballots.
 
The result was the selection of senior quarterback Colin McGovern, junior quarterback Gaven DeFilippo, senior linebacker Jamieson Craske, sophomore receiver Jeremiah Nails and junior defensive tackle Shane Parton earning the honor of being captains for the 2018 season.
 
Only McGovern, who has been a captain each of the past two seasons, returns to the role this year.
 
"Colin led the team on offense last year and brings a ton of leadership qualities to the table," Hughes said. "He is very highly regarded by his teammates."
 
DeFelippo was selected even though he missed the entire 2017 season following injuries he suffered in 2016.
 
"Like Colin, Gaven has some very prominent leadership skills that he has shown on the football field and in the business school as part of his academic program," Hughes said. "They both have a unique perspective in that they both had to take a year away from playing due to injuries and they served as student coaches that year. They both have a very good view of the program and a better understanding of what we, as coaches, need from them, as captains."
 
No stranger to injury, Craske missed most of the 2017 season, but he stood out during the captain selection process.
 
"Not only was he head and shoulders above everyone on the defensive side of the ball in how he performed in the interview process, but also in how he performed in voting among his peers," Hughes said. "He also has that unique perspective of the program from being a student coach most of last year."
 
Nails, a redshirt sophomore, earned the respect of the coaches and his teammates with his work ethic on the practice field during his two seasons.
 
"His leadership began to emerge last year as his playing time increased," Hughes said. "He works very hard at his craft and he emerged as a leader in the wide receiver room. He does a really good job of assessing situations and is very good at holding his teammates accountable when they are under-performing. He is also very good at articulating to the coaches the players' point of view, making him a great communication liaison to make sure everyone is on the same page."
 
Like most of the other captains, Parton has missed time on the field due to injuries, specifically this spring after knee surgery. He got a taste of being a coach during spring practice.
 
"He really emerged as a leader by example in the defensive room," Hughes said. "Even though he wasn't able to practice in the spring, he came in and worked each day to try to make the other guys better."
 
Players who went through the leadership course but were not selected as captains for 2018 will serve as Lieutenants this fall. Each of the five Captains will have two Lieutenants who will lead 10 squads of players.
 
"We will divide our players into groups of 8-9 guys," Hughes said. "Those groups will be judged and awarded points based on community service, grades, attendance in the weight room, etc., making everything we do a competition among those groups. They can also get demerits if someone fails to meet the criteria in a certain area. At the end of the semester we will tally up the points."
 
Hughes said the continual reinforcement of what it takes to be a leader has helped the team get through some tough times.
 
"We have had this leadership structure for the last three years and there are players who have been through the program each year. Those players have a very good understanding of what is required to be a good leader, not just on this team, and help us create a winning culture.
 
"Even with all that we went through last year, we saw that begin to emerge at the end of last season. Our attitude and expectations about the future of this program have never been better."
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.