Notre Dame defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore was so overwhelmed when he addressed the team as a captain for the first time that coach Brian Kelly said the fifth-year senior started to tear up.

For Lewis-Moore, being named a captain along with tight end Tyler Eifert, a Bishop Dwenger graduate, left tackle Zack Martin and linebacker Manti Te'o is was a dream come true, especially when he thinks about returning from a knee injury that cost him the final six games of last season.

"That whole day was emotional for me," Lewis-Moore said Tuesday. "Just thinking about how far I've come and what I've been through. I can't explain it.

"It is an honor and a privilege. I'm just so excited that I was selected as a captain."

Kelly said one of the reasons Lewis-Moore was named a captain this year was because of how he handles himself among his fellow defensive linemen.

"You know, his room, that defensive line room, there's a lot of really interesting characters in that room. And he is the leader in that room," Kelly said. "His ability to relate with all of the players in that room, really to me, singularly, is the one trait that he has shown that has elevated him to this position of captain, because he's been able to manage all of those young personalities, veterans, he himself being a veteran; he's seen it. And I was really, really proud of the way he handled that room."