QB Hess, RB Cook repeat as captains

Staff report

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Youngstown State senior running back Jamaine Cook, senior defensive tackle Aronde Stanton, junior quarterback Kurt Hess and junior linebacker Dom Rich were selected as captains on Monday.

It is the second straight season that Cook and Hess have been named team captains while Stanton and Rich are first-time selections.

Cook, Hess and Stanton started all 11 games a year ago.

Cook rushed for 1,386 yards and 13 TDs last fall and is sixth on YSU’s career rushing list.

Hess set single-season school records last fall for TD passes (26) and completion percentage (64.8) and has started every game of his career.

Stanton, a junior college transfer, had two sacks and four tackles for loss last fall in his first season with the program.

Rich, who had a solid spring and has had an impressive fall, was sidelined following the third game last year with an injury. He has worked his way back and is now the starter at “sam” linebacker.

In 2011, Cook and Hess were first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference picks and already this year are on the preseason watch list for the Walter Payton Award which honors the FCS’s top offensive player.

The Penguins worked out for a little more than two hours in full pads on Monday morning in what was their 20th practice of the fall. YSU worked on individual situations and spent the final 30 minutes holding offense vs. defense team situations. Highlighting the period was a long touchdown pass from Hess to wide receiver Andre Stubbs.

YSU is set to resume practice at 10 a.m. today. The first day of classes on campus is Wednesday.

The Penguins open the season on Sept. 1 at Pittsburgh. The contest will be available on ESPN3 and WKBN-AM 570 will provide radio coverage.