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Football Captains Named for 2003 Season

BLOOMSBURG—The Bloomsburg University football coaching staff has announced that seniors Shawn Butler (Newtown/Council Rock), Eric Steffen (Catawissa/Southern Columbia) and Chris Mullin (Plymouth Meeting/Wissahickon) have been named captains for the 2003 season. The trio helped the Huskies to a record of 8-2, 5-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East, and a share of the PSAC East Championship.

Butler, an outside linebacker, won the starting job before the start of last season and ended up leading the team in tackles with 94, including a team-high 52 solo stops. Butler was tied for second on the team in tackles for a loss with 15, while also contributing with 3.5 sacks, two pass break-ups and one interception. He was named second team All-PSAC for his efforts.

Butler had one of his best games this season against Slippery Rock when he recorded 13 total tackles, six of them solo, with two sacks and four tackles for loss. For his efforts he was named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week. Butler had a career-high 15 tackles in a win over Mansfield and also made 14 stops against Shippensburg.

For his career, Butler has made 128 tackles, 67 of them solo, and 16 tackles for a loss of yardage.

Steffen, an outside linebacker, was second on the team with 91 tackles, including 44 solo stops. Steffen led the team with 18 tackles for a loss and was second on the squad with five sacks. He also intercepted two passes, while breaking up three other passes. He was also named to the All-PSAC second team for his play.

Steffen was the PSAC East and national D2football.com Defensive Player of the Week for his game against West Chester. Against the Golden Rams he recorded 14 tackles, including nine solo, two tackles for loss, a sack for minus 11 yards and a game-clinching interception.

For his career, Steffen, has made 115 tackles, 60 of them, and 20 tackles for a loss of yardage. He also has 5.5 sacks for his career.

Mullin, a three-year starter at offensive guard, was named All-PSAC second team for anchoring a line that helped the offense score 38 touchdowns last year, including 20 rushing scores. Mullin garnered All-PSAC first team honors in 2001 and All-PSAC second team honors in 2000. He was also named to the first team All-ECAC South Division in 2001.

For his career, Mullin, has been a part of Bloomsburg teams that have totaled a 29-7 record, including a 17-1 mark in PSAC East play, and have clinched at least a share of the PSAC East title all three years, including the 2000 NCAA Division II National Runners-Up. Over the last three years, Mullin has helped the Huskies offense tally an average of 4,986 total offensive yards per season and score an average of 52 touchdowns per year, including 25.3 rushing scores a year.

Mullin has also helped to provide the blocking over the years for All-PSAC quarterbacks Andrew Herrmann, Chris Thompson and Eric Miller, as well as two-time All-PSAC first team running back Marques Glaze.

Bloomsburg will tentatively open the 2003 season at home versus New Haven on Saturday, August 30 at

1 p.m.