Saluki Football selects its five team captains for the 2026 season

CARBONDALE, Ill. — It’s a time-honored tradition with Saluki Football. The week of the first game, players vote on who they want to represent them as team captains.

This year’s captains were announced on Sunday and include three previous captains from 2025 — linebacker Andrew Behm, guard Derek Harden Jr. and quarterback DJ Williams. All three players are entering their final season of college football. Joining that trio with the title of captain are a pair of seniors — defensive tackle Amir Dwight and linebacker Chris Presto. Both have two seasons remaining.

“It's an honor to be selected as captain, because it's a player vote,” said head coach Nick Hill, who traditionally takes the captains out to dinner, along with his wife, Alicia. “These five guys are great examples of representing our program on and off the field, and I’m proud of them. We talk about how everyone has to have the willingness to lead and be led. It's the same with me.”

The Salukis open the 2026 season on Thursday night at West Florida. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPN+.

Player reactions

Andrew Behm

"It’s an honor and it's also motivating because they look to me as someone to help lead this team to reach its highest potential. It starts with being consistent yourself, because if I'm not doing everything I need to consistently, then people aren't gonna listen. I’m just going to try to pour a ton of energy into everybody around me, making sure everyone's staying to the same standard."

Amir Dwight

“I’m honored. I honestly don't know what I did to get picked. I just try to come in the facility every day with a positive attitude, just spreading optimistic vibes around, trying to encourage people and continue to hold everybody to a standard. Everybody knows the standard, but people slip up, sometimes. I just need to continue to hold myself to the standard and uplift everybody.”

Derek Harden Jr.

“I’m honored and grateful to God for another opportunity to come out here as captain for these 12 games. Being captain is basically putting other guys first before before yourself, and if they're doing something they're not supposed to be doing, you got to be the leader to them and get them on the right path. Basically, we got to just be here for the guys.”

Chris Presto

"It means everything that the guys look up to me and look to me in times of trouble. I just gotta deliver in those times, and it's a big responsibility. I'm grateful for the guys. Coach always tells us, you gotta be led at times, and you gotta lead at times. So while the captain title is a very important thing, there's going to be times when those guys are going to have to lead me, too."

DJ Williams

“It means a lot that my teammates, the people who see me every day, trust and respect me. You can't have a bad day being a team captain. You got to come with it every day. You got to be the same person every day. You got to be able to lead the team when things aren't going right. That’s probably when you're needed the most.”