Sept. 2, 2006
A trio of seniors, quarterback Shawn Bell, cornerback C.J. Wilson and wide receiver Dominique Zeigler, have been selected as team captains for the 2006 Baylor football season by a squad vote Saturday morning.
"I think these are three guys that everyone respects," said fourth-year coach Guy Morriss. "We expect them to set the tone and be good leaders. They've got to support policies around here that we set and enforce them.
"I also expect that if someone is out of line, they grab them and get them back in line," he added. "They know what I want from them and they've been around here for a long time."
Bell, who served as a co-captain in 2005, was recently named to the 2006 Manning Award Watch List. A fifth-year senior and 2006 Academic All-America candidate, Bell is Baylor's all-time leader in completion percentage (.599), touchdown-to-interception ratio (2.71) and interception percentage (.013). He also ranks No. 7 in passing efficiency (117.86), No. 8 in career 200-yard passing games (seven), No. 9 in career completions (318), No. 10 in career pass attempts (531) and No. 11 in career passing yards (3,084). Bell needs 13 touchdown passes, 106 completions, 271 attempts and seven 200-yard performances to break the school's career marks in those categories, as well as 916 yards to become the Bears' seventh career 4,000-yard passer.
Wilson is a Thorpe Award and All-America candidate who earned 2005 first-team All-Big 12 honors from six media outlets. He recorded 45 tackles (33 solos) as a junior to rank seventh on the squad. Wilson recorded a team-high five interceptions and had five pass breakups to rank No. 3 on the team. He also shared the 2005 Big 12 lead and ranked T-No. 9 nationally with five interceptions on the season and needs just five picks in his final season as a Bear to crack the school's all-time list.
Ranked as the nation's 11th-best cornerback by Lindy's and No. 12 by The Sporting News, Wilson was also selected to the Football Writers Association of America Preseason All-America Checklist. He was rated as the Big 12's fastest defensive back by The Sporting News and the league's best coverman by Lindy's. Wilson earned preseason first-team All-Big 12 honors from Blue Ribbon and Lindy's, second-team recognition from Huskers Illustrated and The Sporting News and third-team from Athlon.
Zeigler may well threaten nearly every Baylor career receiving in his final season, as he stands No. 5 on its all-time reception list (112), T-No. 9 in touchdown grabs (10) and No. 11 in receiving yards (1,182). He needs 72 receptions and 10 touchdown grabs to surpass those school marks, but would need nearly 1,500 yards to break that record. As a junior in 2005, Zeigler posted team-leading marks of 48 receptions, 563 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions en route to second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches.
Baylor opens its 105th season of football with Sunday's nationally televised (FSN) 4:40 p.m. game against No. 22-ranked TCU at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco.
Notes: The Baylor Athletic Ticket Office will be open at 9 a.m. on Sunday for fans looking to purchase tickets to the Baylor-TCU game ... Former Baylor quarterback J.J. Joe has been selected as one of 114 panelists for the 2006 Harris Interactive College Football Poll that has been commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). For the second season the poll will be one of the components in the BCS Standings Formula used to determine the two teams that will play in the BCS National Championship game and those that qualify for at-large selection. The first poll will be released Sept. 24 ... Former Waco Tribune-Herald and current Houston Chronicle NFL writer John McClain, a Baylor graduate, will receive an Honorary "B" in an on-field presentation during Sunday's game against TCU ... McClain received the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2006 Dick McCann Memorial Award last month in Canton, Ohio.
