{
  "id": 2263363,
  "title": "UND football names captains for 2026 season",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/und-football-names-captains-for-2026-season",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-21T00:32:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/und-football-names-captains-2026-003200490.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "August 20—In advance of UND football's 2026 season opener, the Fighting Hawks have revealed the team captains. The five players selected by their teammates following fall camp include offensive tackle Trace Thaden, wide receiver Sam Strandell, quarterback Jerry Kaminski, linebacker Michael Devereaux, and edge Lance Rucker. Thaden, a fifth-year transfer from Omaha, led the team with 14 starts at left tackle last season while helping UND limit sacks among the Missouri Valley Football Conference's offensive lines to the second fewest. Strandell, a product of Grand Forks Central, contributed significantly to the special teams effort last season after recovering from an injury that sidelined him for much of the campaign. He recorded three tackles and blocked a punt in UND's opening-round FCS playoff victory against Tennessee Tech. Devereaux took over as the starting linebacker in the final nine games of the season, tallying 65 total tackles, including 33 that were solo stops. Rucker, a senior from Omaha, earned a spot on the Stats Perform FCS All-America Second Team and shattered the school's single-season sack record with 11.5. As a preseason All-American, he led the team in tackles for loss with 15. Kaminski, a junior from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, will serve as the starting quarterback for the 2026 season, setting a program record with 25 touchdown passes in his first season. Devereaux will wear No. 7, Rucker will don No. 0, and Kaminski has moved from No. 11 to No. 1. The numbers 7, 0, and 1 hold special significance for the program under head coach Eric Schmidt, as they collectively represent North Dakota's 701 area code. The Fighting Hawks, currently ranked No. 10 in the first Stats Perform FCS Top 25, host Long Island University at the Alerus Center for their season opener at 7 p.m. Thursday.",
  "summary": "Aug. 20—GRAND FORKS — With a week to go to UND football's 2026 season opener, the Fighting Hawks have announced team captains. UND's captains this season will be offensive tackle Trace Thaden, wide receiver Sam Strandell, quarterback Jerry Kaminski, linebacker Michael Devereaux and edge Lance Rucker, the school announced Thursday. Those five were selected by their teammates following the ...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}