Blue Hens Reveal Team Captains for Spring 2021 Season

NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware football program and head coach Danny Rocco have announced the team's captains ahead of the Spring 2021 season.

As voted on by their peers, redshirt seniors Frank Burton III and Dejoun Lee, as well as redshirt junior Nolan Henderson and junior Kedrick Whitehead will join a prestigious list of student-athletes to lead the Blue and Gold.

Three out of the four captains hail from the First State in Burton (Bear, Del. / William Penn), Henderson (Smyrna, Del. / Smyrna) and Whitehead (Middletown, Del. / Middletown).

Burton is in his third season with the Blue Hens and has 53 career stops and 3.0 sacks to his credit. His brother, Riah, is a redshirt junior defensive back on the team.

"Frank brings a lot of energy and has done a really great job with helping the younger defensive linemen," Rocco said. "He's a selfless player that has played all three positions on our defensive line that has just gotten better every cycle."

Henderson made six starts at quarterback a season ago, seeing action in nine games. He threw for 933 yards with nine touchdown passes and just one interception. He also rushed for 189 yards on 75 carries and a touchdown.

"Nolan has really earned the respect of his teammates and this is really important to Nolan," Rocco said. "He's a quiet leader who leads by example and really has done a solid job handling everything in the fall."

Lee has made a large impact since arriving to Newark, rushing for over 1,000 yards in two full seasons of action. He found the end zone twice last season and broke the century mark on Oct. 19 vs. New Hampshire.

"Dejoun is the same guy every day. He brings great energy and great purpose and cares about the team," Rocco said. "He brings us a lot of versatility and the same level of emotion and enthusiasm he brings every day is contagious."

Whitehead was a third team All-CAA performer a season ago and the team's leader in tackles with 103. He had five games of double digit tackles and has been named a second team Preseason All-American by HERO Sports ahead of the 2021 spring campaign.

"Kedrick holds himself to a high standard and played a lot of football last year," Rocco said. "He's got a really good understanding of what we're doing and will be a big factor for us in the spring."

Additionally, "fall camp" awards were named by Rocco and the coaching staff. Offensively, redshirt sophomores Stevon Brown and Braden Brose were named most improved players, while classmate Liam Trainer and redshirt freshman Akie Nance received the honor on the defensive side of the ball.

For special teams, redshirt senior Dae'Lun Darien was named most improved player for the unit.

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Blue Hens Reveal Team Captains for Spring 2021 Season

Players Mentioned

Braden Brose

Stevon Brown

Frank Burton III

Dae'Lun Darien

Nolan Henderson

Akie Nance

Liam Trainer

Kedrick Whitehead Jr.

University of Delaware Athletics