(Clockwise from left) Mike Rivera (40), Todd Reesing (5), Ryan Cantrell (50), and Joe Mortensen are the captains for the Kansas football team this season.

The word captain carries with it many different meanings.

From the commander of a ship on the high seas or leader of a military outfit all the way down to the guys who pick the teams on the playground, captains have held a variety of responsibilities throughout history.

You know what they are, you understand what they do. But what do they mean to a football program that plays its games at the highest level of the collegiate ranks?

“I refer to the Spider-Man quote,” two-time KU captain Derek Fine said. “With great power comes great responsibility. It’s kind of like that.”

Although KU’s captains are the unquestioned leaders of the team, this year’s squad has more than a few guys with superpowers.

“Everybody on this team is a leader in their own regard,” senior captain Ryan Cantrell said. “We have so many guys who have been through so much here that they all can contribute in a lot of different ways.”

That’s part of the beauty of the Mark Mangino program. If you can play, you can play, and last year’s consensus national coach of the year is going to find a spot for you on the field.

It has not always been that way at KU. In years past, Kansas teams took the field overmatched and undermanned at nearly every position. But since Mangino arrived in 2002, so, too, did the kind of attitude that has taken KU from Big 12 doormat to powerhouse program.

A big reason for that has been the team’s captains. Year after year, KU’s chosen leaders have led the way, bringing Kansas into the national spotlight through extraordinary willpower and all-out effort.

This year’s quartet is no different. Senior linebackers Mike Rivera and Joe Mortensen join Cantrell and junior quarterback Todd Reesing as the elected leaders of the program. All four landed on some kind of preseason watch list, and all four share the belief that earning the title of team captain is far greater than any individual award they could win.

“We do a team vote for captains, and it means a lot if the team votes you to be a captain,” Mortensen said. “I always consider myself a leader out here, but it just feels nice that my senior year they want me to lead the team. It’s a big honor.”

This year’s captains are going through the process for the first time. Neither has been a captain before, but each has a clear understanding of what’s expected and what it takes to fill the role. That, they say, comes from watching the guys who came before them; guys like Fine, James McClinton and Brandon McAnderson a season ago, or Nick Reid, Harrison Hill, Charles Gordon and Bill Whittemore from years past.

True to their team-first, no-nonsense personalities, Mortensen and Cantrell chose not to carry on when asked what their specific responsibilities included.

“I think it’s just natural that we always have to be out front,” Mortensen said. “We have to be vocal, we have to lead by example, off the field and on the field.”

A few former captains chose to elaborate about what it meant to hold down the title at KU.

“It’s something that’s truly special and something I’ll cherish for a long time,” said 2005 captain Reid. “When you’re a captain, sure you have to take care of things on the field, but it’s more than that. You have to look out for your teammates after wins and make sure they do the right things. You have to help people out who are having personal problems. You just basically have to be there for the team in every way possible.”

And never stop.

“There were a lot of days where I was tired or I didn’t feel good but I still had to go hard because all eyes are on you,” said Fine, now a tight end with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. “A lot of people are counting on you. And I think the coaches always appreciated that that was the way we did it.”

Fine said being a team leader was about more than taking credit for wins and accepting blame for losses. He said being a captain on the 2006 squad that finished 6-6 was just as rewarding as being a captain on the 2007 team that went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl. That’s largely because of the trust he felt from his teammates and the coaching staff.

As for this year’s group, their time as team captains is only a few months – and just a single game – old. But Fine, who played with each of them, said they had what it took to handle the role and that the rich tradition of quality leadership at KU would continue.

“All four of those guys carry a high standard for themselves,” he said. “And they’re never satisfied with an average performance. They all want to give their best every game and they want to bring the best out of their teammates.”