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 conclusion of fall camp.
Thaden, a 6-foot-7, 306-pound fifth year from Omaha, started all 14 games at left tackle last season and helped UND allow the second-fewest sacks among Missouri Valley Football Conference offensive lines.
Strandell, a Grand Forks Central product, served as a key special teams contributor last season after overcoming an injury that sidelined the wide receiver for much of the season. He made three tackles and blocked a punt in UND's road win at Tennessee Tech in the opening round of the FCS playoffs.
Devereaux started the final nine games at linebacker, finishing with 65 tackles, including 33 solo stops.
Rucker, a senior from Omaha, was named to the Stats Perform FCS All-America Second Team and broke the school's single-season record for sacks with 11.5. The all-MVFC first team selection finished with 15 tackles for loss. He enters 2026 as a preseason All-American after earning first-team honors from Stats Perform and FCS Football Central.
Kaminski, a junior out of Sun Prairie, Wis., enters his second season as UND's starting quarterback. In his first season, he set a single-season program record with 25 touchdown passes during the regular season. He finished with 2,570 passing yards and 607 rushing yards.
UND's captains in 2025 were Rucker, Strandell, Malachi McNeal and Caleb Olson.
Devereaux, a second-year transfer from Old Dominion and El Reno, Okla., native, will wear No. 7 this season, while Rucker remains in No. 0 and Kaminski has changed from No. 11 to No. 1. The numbers 7, 0 and 1 — representing North Dakota's 701 area code — hold significant meaning in the program under the direction of second-year head coach Eric Schmidt.
The Fighting Hawks, ranked No. 10 in the first Stats Perform FCS Top 25, open the season at 7 p.m. Thursday against Long Island University at the Alerus Center.
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