SMU Football head coach Phil Bennett named this year’s team captains at the Football Kickoff luncheon yesterday.

All eight of the senior captains have proved to be assets to the SMU program in past years and are expected to lead the Mustangs to their best season yet.

Reynaldo Pellerin, Ryan Kennedy and Bobby Chase will be the offensive captains for the 2006 season.

The defensive captains are Justin Rogers, Joe Sturdivant and Brandon Bonds. Running back John Fitzgerald and wide receiver Blake Warren are the new special teams captains.

Two of the defensive captains are getting recognition outside of the SMU community. Sturdivant has been named as a preseason All-American selection for 2006.

His accomplishments in the 2005 season included sharing the defensive MVP award with Rogers and Rolando Humphrey, as well as leading the Mustangs in tackles and pass breakups.

Rogers, a starter for the past two seasons, is a member of the Rotary Lombardi Award’s watch list and is being touted as a preseason All-Conference player.

Special teams captain Blake Warren and offensive captain Bobby Chase each have a chance to get into the SMU record books this season. Warren is only 200 yards away from tying Doak Walker’s record for career punt returns. Chase has the opportunity to be the fourth SMU player in history to have two 600-yard seasons.

On the offensive side, Kennedy is a preseason All-C-USA performer based on his productive 2005 season.

He had 14 completions and a total of 167 yards last year, 50 of which were against UAB. The other offensive captain, Reynaldo Pellerin, recorded his best game in the SMU season closer last year against UTEP. Pellerin is expected to top his 30 grabs for 346 yards in the 2006 season.