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Aug. 21, 2003

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Tim Johnson AND Mike Leatherman ANNOUNCED AS 2003 TEAM CAPTAINS
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell head coach Tim Landis on Thursday announced that, by team vote, senior RB Tim Johnson (Eight Mile, Ala./John L. LeFlore) and senior LB Mike Leatherman (Colora, Md./John Carroll) will serve as team captains in 2003.

One of the most outgoing players on the Bison squad, Johnson has made a successful conversion from wide receiver to slotback as Bucknell moves to the spread option offense this fall. The 2002 winner of the C. Dale Wolfe Award as the team's most inspirational player, Johnson has 18 catches for 204 yards and two touchdowns in his career.

"Tim has an outward enthusiasm about him that rubs off on his teammates and coaches," said Landis. "When you meet him, you see that effervescence and enthusiasm right away. He seems to love every day and is able to pick others up. And not to be lost is that he is a very good football player who is going to be a big part of our offense."

Leatherman, a starter at free safety lasy year, moves to an outside linebacker position in Bucknell's new 4-4 scheme in 2003. He has never missed a varsity game in his career, playing in 32 straight, and he was named Bucknell's player of the week three times last season - once on defense and twice on special teams. Leatherman has 78 career tackles and one interception entering 2003.

"Mike is a different kind of leader than Tim Johnson, but he is equally recognized as a leader by his teammates," said Landis. "Mike exudes toughness. He is quiet, with a stern, intense look about him."

Both players are captains for the first time in their careers.

LANDIS ANNOUNCES 2003 BISON LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
Along with the announcement of Johnson and Leatherman as team captains, Landis also named his 2003 Bison Leadership Council. An initiative he developed in previous head coaching stints at Davidson and St. Mary's (Calif.), the Leadership Council meetis with Landis on a weekly basis throughout the season, giving the players a forum to provide valuable feedback on a myriad of football-related matters. One player from each of the four classes were elected to the post in a vote of their classmates.

Comprising the 2003 council will be senior WR Albert Marquardt (Girardsville, Pa./North Schuylkill), junior LB Kevin Ransome (Bear, Del./Christiana), sophomore LB James Lachman (Bryn Mawr, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep) and freshman OL Kris Cooper (Newark, Del./Christiana).

NEXT SCRIMMAGE SET FOR SATURDAY
Saturday, August 23 (3:15 p.m.) marks Bucknell's second and final formal intrasquad scrimmage of the season. While the initial scrimmage was held on the grass practice field adjacent to Christy-Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, the August 23 scrimmage will be played on the FieldTurf inside the stadium.

LANDIS HAPPY WITH TEAM'S OVERALL PROGRESS
With only two practices and a scrimmage all that remains in the 2003 preseason camp, Landis is pleased with Bucknell's overall confidence in its new schemes, as well as the amount of matierial absorbed.

"I think the whole team is more comfortable with what we are doing, particularly from a philosophical standpoint," said Landis. "We are seeing much improved fundamentals and techniques within the offensive and defensive positions.

"We have worked on every aspect of the game and all the little situations that come up during a football game," noted Landis. "The players have practiced all the bits and pieces that shape a game plan, so there won't be any surprises on our part when we get to August 30th. I want to put as much adversity as possible in front of them in practice, so when Duquesne comes to town they will have faced everything."

BISON LIVE! AND LEWISBURG TOUCHDOWN CLUB LUNCHEONS TO CONTINUE IN 2003
Once again this fall the Bison football squad will participate in the weekly lunch meetings of the Lewisburg Touchdown Club, as well as the Bison Live! radio program. The Lewisburg Touchdown Club will again meet at 11:45 a.m. the Lewisburg Hotel on Tuesday's throughout the season, beginning on August 26. Two days later - Thursday, August 28 - will be the first installment of the third season of Bison Live!, an interactive radio program broadcast live each Thursday throughout the year. The program has a new location this year - also the Lewisburg Hotel on Market Street in downtown Lewisburg - and will feature weekly reports from Landis and his student-athletes, along with players and coaches from an array of Bucknell teams. Members of the live audience may contribute questions and win prizes throughout the evening. Bison Live! runs from 7-8 p.m. each Thursday.

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