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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Brantley a Leader for Falcons
September 05, 2006 | Football
Sept. 1, 2006
By JACK CARLE, Sentinel Sports Editor - There are many attributes a good team captain needs, including experience, a positive attitude and the respect of his teammates. Kenneth Brantley II has all those qualities and was selected by his peers as one of four captains for the Bowling Green Falcons this season.
However, Brantley is a stranger to the casual Bowling Green fan as he doesn't have statistics which jump off the page.
Still, his selection as captain didn't surprise BG head coach Gregg Brandon.
"He's a great person, who the team really respects," Brandon said. "He's really what you would call a student-athlete. He's a well-rounded person. Football is very important to him, but it's not life or death. I think he has a good perspective on what he wants to do."
A fifth-year senior wide receiver from Shreveport, La., Brantley relishes the opportunity to help lead the Falcons. He joins junior center Kory Lichtensteiger, senior defensive end Devon Parks and senior defensive tackle Brad Williams as captains.
"If you look at the other guys, those are guys who have been on the field. They are guys who have been around and have a lot of game experience, playing experience," Brantley said. "Just to see that the guys respect me and that they still see me as a leader is very humbling."
And he's ready for the challenge to serve as a team leader for the Falcons.
"I know I can get it done. I know I have been given the abilities that I can do whatever I set my mind to," Brantley said. "Leading this team is something that I really look forward to doing and I dream about almost every night.
"I've seen a lot of great things happen here that some of these younger guys don't know about," he added. "I can tell these young guys how this program has been on top; how we went to Purdue and got it done; how we came out here with GameDay and got it done on national TV against Northern Illinois.
"I've seen what good leaders have done on this team."
Brantley has made only three receptions for 41 yards in his career as injuries have limited his opportunities to contribute on offense.
A bout of mononucleosis cut short his first season (2002) and he received a medical redshirt. He had a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2003 and 2005, both times having the injury surgically repaired.
"He wore a brace and played without an ACL (last season) which is hard to do playing receiver," Brandon said.
While Brantley has seen limited playing time on offense, he has made his mark on special teams.
"He's been a good special teams player through the years," Brandon said.
"My role on special teams will be just like it's been in the past. I'll definitely be out there contributing," he said. "The special teams, those are where the best players play, that's why they call it special teams. I find it a privilege to be on special teams." Now healthy, Brantley is looking forward to Bowling Green's season opener Saturday against Wisconsin. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
"I feel better than ever. Camp was definitely a grind. I knew that would be a real test to see how my knee was. My knee held up just fine. I didn't have any problems," Brantley said. "I am very confident in my knee. I don't favor my knee at all. Going through camp was really good, banging, banging, banging on it every day." He played well enough in camp to earn a starting spot at wide receiver against the Badgers.
"I have already envisioned what it's going to look like walking out of the locker room, walking down to the field. I've gone on the Internet and looked at pictures of the stadium. I've actually tried to find pictures of the stadium at night with the lights on," he said.
"I've envisioned making plays out there; envisioned making blocks or catches or whatever they call on me to do. I can't wait until this dream becomes a reality on Saturday."
