Stanford has selected a trio of players, one from each facet of the team, to represent the Cardinal against Duke.
Stanford football is gearing up for another game this week, and the program is revealing which players will be captains when they take the field against Duke in Durham, North Carolina. Running back Micah Ford, defensive lineman Ernest Cooper and linebacker/special teamer Zach Johnson will be this week's captains for the Cardinal.
Opting to elect weekly captains instead of permanent captains in their first season under new head coach Tavita Pritchard, the leadership committee decided on these three veterans to represent them in an early season-defining game.
Coming off a bye week after losing big to Miami, the Cardinal need a win to get their season — and bowl game dreams — back on track.
Ford, the team's leading rusher through the first two games, is coming off a tough game against Miami where he only managed 27 yards on 11 carries. But Duke does not have as strong a run defense as Miami, setting him up for a potential bounce-back game.
Stanford hasn't had a 1,000-yard rusher since Bryce Love in 2017, and Ford is hungry to break that streak and cement himself as a Cardinal legend.
Cooper has had a relatively quiet start to the season, recording only two tackles without a sack in the first two games. But his experience and knowledge of the ACC make him an ideal leader for this season, as the change happening within Stanford's program has made veteran presence vital.
Cooper is a former four-star recruit and had a lot of interest from high-level programs coming out of high school. In addition to Stanford, other schools that offered him include Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Arizona State and Oregon. While he has not quite hit his ceiling, Cooper will use his final season of eligibility to try to cement himself as a star.
Johnson, in his second season at Stanford after two seasons at Idaho, has become a pivotal special teamer while also showing his high ceiling on defense. Finishing with 28 total tackles at linebacker last season, Johnson is very physical and has a knack for the ball.
In his final season at Idaho, he had 84 tackles, which was the third-most on the team in 2024. Stanford's crowded linebacker room led by last season's breakout star Matt Rose has prevented Johnson from taking any defensive snaps, but his abilities on special teams have helped that unit flourish for the Cardinal.
The Cardinal face a tough slate of games this season, and for a rebuilding team, wins may be tough to come by. But throughout training camp and through the first two games, the program has shown just how strong their desire to win is.
After facing Duke, the Cardinal will return home for a game against Georgia Tech on Sept. 26 before returning to North Carolina to face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Oct. 3.
