TOWSON, Md. - A trio of seniors, defensive tackle Yaky Ibia, wide receiver Hakeem Moore and defensive back Ollie Thomas have been selected as captains of the 2010 Towson University football team, it has been announced by Coach Rob Ambrose.
Last season, Coach Ambrose's first year as the Tigers' coach, the Tigers used different game captains each week.
A two-year starter at defensive tackle, Ibia was named to the Colonial Athletic Association's Pre-Season All-CAA team. A very good student who majors in Actuarial Science, the Nigeria native has a 3.51 G.P.A. Last year, he was named to the Football Championship Subdivision Athletic Directors Association (FCS ADA) Academic All-Star team and he was also a District 2 selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® team.
A starter in ten games in 2009, he was seventh on the team with 52 tackles. He led the Tigers with 11.5 tackles for lost yardage and recorded 2.5 quarterback sacks. In 33 career games, Ibia has made 94 tackles and he has 15 tackles for lost yardage.
One of the CAA leaders in all-purpose yardage the last two years, Moore accumulated 1,046 all-purpose yards in nine games last season. While averaging 116.2 all-purpose yards per game, he ranked third in CAA. He was also fourth in the CAA by averaging 22.4 yards per kickoff return.
In his career, Moore has caught 77 passes for 838 yards and two touchdowns. He should become the 19th player in Towson history with 100 career receptions at some point this season.
Moore has also returned 53 kickoffs in his career for 1,187 yards. His 22.4 career average is the fourth-highest average in the history of the program.
A three-year starter at cornerback, Thomas served as one of the Tiger game captains as a junior. He has played in all 34 games of his college career and he has made 27 starts. Thomas has started in 23 consecutive games, dating back to his freshman year.
Last season, Thomas made 47 tackles and broke up three passes. In his career, he has made 135 tackles, including eight for lost yardage. He has also broken up 13 passes in his career and has one interception. The lone interception of his career enabled the Tigers to hold on and edge Columbia, 31-24, in the 2008 season.
Ibia, Moore and Thomas will lead the Tigers into their season opener on Thursday night at Indiana University at 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
The game, which will be televised on the Big Ten Network, will be broadcast back to the Baltimore area on FOX-Sports (1370-AM), the new radio home of Tiger football. Starting his 20th season as the voice of Tiger football, Spiro Morekas, '83 will call the play-by-play action while Tom Judd, '96 handles the color commentary.
