New London — Derek Victory was elected co-captain of the Coast Guard Academy football program by his returning teammates.

Victory, Coast Guard's record-setting senior quarterback, already holds the Bears' all-time marks in completions (508), attempts (915), passing yards (4,866) and total offense (5,067). He missed the final four games last season with a broken thumb on his throwing hand, as the team finished 5-5 overall, 4-3 in the New England Football Conference.

Coast Guard coach Bill George said the fact that even the defense missed having Victory around during his injury is a testament to his leadership capability.

“It took something out of them, as well, when he was injured,” George said. “The defense realized the magnitude of the position. … Derek has worked extremely hard. I'm going in expecting Derek to pick right up and be above even where he left off.”

The Bears, who open the season at Anna Maria on Thursday, Sept. 1, began practice Saturday and were at it again Sunday.

A healthy Victory is one of five starters back on offense. There are four starters returning to defense.

George, starting his 18th season, calls the Bears' configuration somewhat “odd.”

“We have a good group coming back and a lot of new faces that have to step up,” George said. “At linebacker and defensive back, we have new guys not only in starters, but in depth. At certain positions we have everyone back and at certain positions we have no one back.

“… Last year's fourth class (freshmen), all these guys tend to reappear as sophomores. I'm expecting contributions from some third class that probably no one knows about.”

The Bears graduated first team all-conference picks in defensive back Joe Rizzardi and punter/kicker Tyler Henning.

Returning on offense are three offensive lineman in right tackle Cory Tomasetti, center J.D. Dunaway and left tackle Jordan Hart and wide receiver Kyle Jackson (25 catches, 255 yards, 3 TDs), in addition to Victory.

Returning starters on defense are linemen James Walsh and Brendan McNeil, linebacker Jacob Brown and cornerback Will Daniels. Senior defensive lineman Nick Lodovici is the team's other co-captain, along with Victory.

“I'm extremely confident,” Lodovici said Sunday, asked of the defense, which rebuilds after finishing third in the conference with just 23.9 points allowed per game last season. “The underclass is extremely hungry. The work ethic is unbeatable. We will gain experience … we've been looking forward to this all summer.”

Victory said he got antsy to play football about a month earlier than usual due to having his season shortened a year ago. He said he believes the respect from his teammates came from the work he put in to cut down on his interceptions last year.

As a sophomore starter, Victory threw 21 interceptions. Last year he threw only two in a week two loss to Merchant Marine. He finished his season with 149 straight attempts without a pick.

“I needed to watch film and do the little things. It was a wakeup call,” Victory said. “If I can bounce back from that, I can do anything football-wise. I have invested a lot into it. I need to keep the momentum going.

“… We're a scrappy team. We're not the biggest of teams, but we have kind of that aggressiveness.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com