Football Names Team Captains

Nick Ellis and Eddie Gadson's father

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Following their fourth-straight season with at least five wins, the Charleston Southern football team named their tri-captains, Monday afternoon. As has become the custom under Head Coach Jay Mills, the team captains are named after the season as a way of honoring the leaders from the previous season.

Not surprisingly, the 2007 tri-captains were in their senior seasons. The first captain chosen unanimously by the team was Eddie Gadson. Gadson was an All-Conference wide receiver in 2004 before he was tragically killed in a car accident over the summer of 2005. He set the single-game receptions record with 13 against Presbyterian and, after just one season, put himself fifth all-time in CSU history in receiving. He led the team in receiving, punt returns, all-purpose yards, and touchdowns, all as a freshman. 2007 would have been Gadson’s final season as a Buccaneer.

Nick Ellis was the second captain chosen. Ellis was the 2007 football Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the Big South, and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team as a senior. He made a school record-tying 11 field goals as a senior and leaves CSU as the all-time scoring leader. He holds the school record for field goals in a game (four vs. Savannah State) and for the longest field goal (48 yards vs. Hawaii), setting both as a senior. He earned second-team All-Conference honors as a senior for his place kicking after having served as a triple-threat kicker.

The third and final captain was linebacker Jada Ross. Ross set the school record with 131 tackles this year, having broken his previous record of 128, set in 2005. He earned first-team All-Conference honors as a senior, and was the 2005 Defensive Player of the Year in the Big South. He is the all-time leader in the Big South Conference with 454 career stops. Against Gardner-Webb, he had the third-longest fumble return in Big South and school history with a 77-yard return for a touchdown. In addition to being named a tri-captain, Ross was named the team MVP for the 2007 season.

The 2007 Buccaneers tied or broke six team records and 11 individual records and had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii to face the highly-ranked Warriors.