Football Announces 2021 Captains
8/17/2021 11:02:00 AM | Football
Five individuals will serve as captains
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer football program announced today that Lance Wise, Isaac Dowling, Michael Campbell, Carter Peevy and Jason Poe will serve as captains for the 2021 season.
The five individuals were voted captains by their teammates and will assume duties for the entire campaign.
Wise was recently selected as Preseason All-Southern Conference by Phil Steele Magazine (first team) and the league's head coaches (second team). He is set to begin his third season with the program but is only a sophomore due to the COVID-19 amended 2020-21 campaign. Last season, he made 86 stops, the most among all Bears and 12th in the conference. He had three outings where he reached double-digit tackles and made an incredible 20 stops in the Bears' fall finale against Abilene Christian. His 20 tackles are the second-most in a single game in program history and was one shy of tying the team record. He intercepted a pass against ETSU (April 20) and broke up eight passes in 2020-21.
Dowling changed his number to Wise's former jersey number, 3, for his sophomore campaign. He made his collegiate debut in the first game of the Drew Cronic era at Jacksonville State (Oct. 10) and tallied 16 tackles. One week later against Army, he made 16 stops once again for the sixth-most tackles in a single game in program history. Dowling outdid himself later in the year at Samford (April 17) with a career-high 17 tackles, the fourth-highest total for one game. Dowling was also a force to be reckoned with when it came to sacking the opposing quarterback. He led the team with 6.5 sacks and also stopped running backs and receivers behind the line of scrimmage, recording 7.5 tackles for loss. He received preseason honors from both Phil Steele Magazine and the Southern Conference.
Campbell is the final captain on the defensive side of the ball. In 2020-21, he appeared in 11 contests and had the third-most tackles on the team with 60. His 41 solo stops were second on the squad. In a convincing win over ranked foe and archrival Furman (April 2), he made a career-high nine stops. The cornerback is entering his senior season but is classified as a junior due to the amended 2020-21 season and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peevy took over the reins of the offense prior to the spring season and was the engineer behind Mercer's best season in SoCon history, leading the Bears to five league victories. Peevy and his teammates earned national attention when they knocked off ranked foes – No. 9 Chattanooga (March 27), No. 17 Furman (April 3) and No. 20 ETSU (April 10) – in three consecutive games. Following the win over the Bucs, the Bears entered both the AFCA FCS Coaches' and Stats Perform FCS polls. The Lawrenceville, Ga., product completed 89-of-164 (.543) of his passes for 1,318 yards. He threw eight touchdowns, including a career-high three against The Citadel (Feb. 27). Later in the year, when the Bears knocked off the Paladins, he became the first quarterback in program history to throw for 400 yards in a single game, doing so with 21 completions.
Poe, an offensive lineman, transferred to Mercer from Cronic's previous school, Lenoir-Rhyne. The burly 6-foot-2-inch, 295-pound lineman recently secured the 68th of 100 spots on Bruce Feldman's 2021 College Football Freaks List. The former Division II All-American won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 2018 and 2019, a trophy bestowed upon the best offensive lineman in the South Atlantic Conference. Poe was a Don Hansen Second Team All-American as a freshman and a First Team Associated Press, Second Team D2Football.com and Second Team D2CCA All-American in 2019. He did not play in 2020-21.
The Bears will start the 2021 season at Five Star Stadium on Sept. 2 when the Point Skyhawks come to beautiful Macon, Ga. Fans can purchase tickets, all of which are only $4.78, by clicking here. Spectators will want to arrive early to check out the Ford Concert Series in Toby Town, featuring headlining artists Noah Hicks and Dylan Marlowe.
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In addition to single-game tickets, fans still have an opportunity to purchase two exciting ticket packages. A limited quantity of season tickets remain and start at only $60 and are available here. Fans can also purchase a three-game mini plan for only $50. For more information on the mini plan, contact Edwin Valentin at valentin_edwin@mercer.edu or (478) 301-5217.
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Football, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerFootball (Twitter), /MercerFootball (Facebook) and @MercerFootball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
The five individuals were voted captains by their teammates and will assume duties for the entire campaign.
Wise was recently selected as Preseason All-Southern Conference by Phil Steele Magazine (first team) and the league's head coaches (second team). He is set to begin his third season with the program but is only a sophomore due to the COVID-19 amended 2020-21 campaign. Last season, he made 86 stops, the most among all Bears and 12th in the conference. He had three outings where he reached double-digit tackles and made an incredible 20 stops in the Bears' fall finale against Abilene Christian. His 20 tackles are the second-most in a single game in program history and was one shy of tying the team record. He intercepted a pass against ETSU (April 20) and broke up eight passes in 2020-21.
Dowling changed his number to Wise's former jersey number, 3, for his sophomore campaign. He made his collegiate debut in the first game of the Drew Cronic era at Jacksonville State (Oct. 10) and tallied 16 tackles. One week later against Army, he made 16 stops once again for the sixth-most tackles in a single game in program history. Dowling outdid himself later in the year at Samford (April 17) with a career-high 17 tackles, the fourth-highest total for one game. Dowling was also a force to be reckoned with when it came to sacking the opposing quarterback. He led the team with 6.5 sacks and also stopped running backs and receivers behind the line of scrimmage, recording 7.5 tackles for loss. He received preseason honors from both Phil Steele Magazine and the Southern Conference.
Campbell is the final captain on the defensive side of the ball. In 2020-21, he appeared in 11 contests and had the third-most tackles on the team with 60. His 41 solo stops were second on the squad. In a convincing win over ranked foe and archrival Furman (April 2), he made a career-high nine stops. The cornerback is entering his senior season but is classified as a junior due to the amended 2020-21 season and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peevy took over the reins of the offense prior to the spring season and was the engineer behind Mercer's best season in SoCon history, leading the Bears to five league victories. Peevy and his teammates earned national attention when they knocked off ranked foes – No. 9 Chattanooga (March 27), No. 17 Furman (April 3) and No. 20 ETSU (April 10) – in three consecutive games. Following the win over the Bucs, the Bears entered both the AFCA FCS Coaches' and Stats Perform FCS polls. The Lawrenceville, Ga., product completed 89-of-164 (.543) of his passes for 1,318 yards. He threw eight touchdowns, including a career-high three against The Citadel (Feb. 27). Later in the year, when the Bears knocked off the Paladins, he became the first quarterback in program history to throw for 400 yards in a single game, doing so with 21 completions.
Poe, an offensive lineman, transferred to Mercer from Cronic's previous school, Lenoir-Rhyne. The burly 6-foot-2-inch, 295-pound lineman recently secured the 68th of 100 spots on Bruce Feldman's 2021 College Football Freaks List. The former Division II All-American won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 2018 and 2019, a trophy bestowed upon the best offensive lineman in the South Atlantic Conference. Poe was a Don Hansen Second Team All-American as a freshman and a First Team Associated Press, Second Team D2Football.com and Second Team D2CCA All-American in 2019. He did not play in 2020-21.
The Bears will start the 2021 season at Five Star Stadium on Sept. 2 when the Point Skyhawks come to beautiful Macon, Ga. Fans can purchase tickets, all of which are only $4.78, by clicking here. Spectators will want to arrive early to check out the Ford Concert Series in Toby Town, featuring headlining artists Noah Hicks and Dylan Marlowe.
Â
In addition to single-game tickets, fans still have an opportunity to purchase two exciting ticket packages. A limited quantity of season tickets remain and start at only $60 and are available here. Fans can also purchase a three-game mini plan for only $50. For more information on the mini plan, contact Edwin Valentin at valentin_edwin@mercer.edu or (478) 301-5217.
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Football, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerFootball (Twitter), /MercerFootball (Facebook) and @MercerFootball (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.
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