The American skipper relinquished his hold on the Light Blues armband after just seven competitive games last night when he moved on loan to Racing Santander.
Now it remains to be seen who manager Ally McCoist will appoint as a replacement, although McCulloch is the clear favourite and an obvious choice for many.
Bocanegra certainly feels his old colleague has all the attributes required to step up and do what’s required to lead Gers in their Third Division campaign this season.
He said: “It’s not my call on who the next captain is and this team has quite a few good leaders in it but the first one who comes to mind is Jig.
“A captain is only as good as all the other leaders on his team and it can’t just be one person who is pulling the team along. You need a group of leaders.
“Whether that’s the senior players, the younger players or whatever, you need to get them all to work hard for the team.
“Jig and speak quite a bit and we bounce ideas off each other but it’s really a group effort so whoever is captain will need others around him to help too.
“I would assume Jig will be wearing the armband and he will be a fantastic captain. I think he has been our player of the season so far.
“He has been an animal up top scoring goals and playing a bit deeper at times too. He has been on fire.
“Hopefully his form continues. Jig is someone who leads by example on the field which is really good, especially in the forward role.
“He works hard, gets bangs and keeps getting hit but he scores goals and he has been making things happen for us.
“For me to have been playing with a guy like that who batters about and gets goals made me feel good and his efforts rub off on the team.”
Bocanegra had not even left Rangers yet when he spoke of his desire to return at the end of his loan spell in Spain last night.
And he will retain a close interest in how the team performs during his secondment to his new side in the Segunda Division.
The former Fulham, Rennes and St Etienne star has high hopes for Gers in his absence and feels McCoist has made the sort of signings who can help the club prosper again.
He added: “Yeah, definitely. I was saying to Jig the other day when we were out on the training ground that we have a good team.
“We look sharp when we work together and the training levels have been very high, including from the guys who have come in.
“Dean Shiels is someone who is going to have the X factor for the team this year. He has great movement, he runs with the ball and makes things happen.
“He is someone who will bring the levels up while Fran (Sandaza) is a big, athletic kid up top who works hard. (Ian) Blackie is good too and the signings are eager to do well.
“I don’t think they care what division it is they’re in – they know they are playing for Rangers and that’s what it’s about.”
