Cullowhee, N.C. – Business picked up on Tuesday morning for Western Carolina as the Catamount football team practiced in full pads for the first time in this fall's preseason camp. The team worked through 26 periods including at least nine that featured going live in a practice that lasted right at two hours on the turf of Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
"Today was a good day. I told the team, we don't get many of these full practice days where we can go live a few times. This was one of those where we were able to do that," said WCU head coach Kerwin Bell on Tuesday's practice. "We need to continue to improve in those areas that it's going to take to be successful. We've got to be a much better tackling team. Today, we missed some tackles early, but we got better as the practice went along."
After going through pre-practice walkthroughs, special team field goal drills, and individual position work, the Catamounts worked offense-vs.-defense with the linemen at one end of the field while the remainder of the team worked through inside run drills. Following a second special teams segment that featured kickoff return drills, the team lined up for the first live segment this preseason in a team period focused on first-down plays.
Five quarterbacks split reps for the Catamount offense with the team employing a variety of lineups ranging from first to fourth team units. Early in the team segment, QB Cole Gonzales connected with receiver AJ Colombo for a couple of completions with Desmond Reid rattling off nice runs to the outside. As the period continued, QB Charlie Dean found De'Andre Tamarez for a pass completion before RB Camury Reid showed his strength and speed with a couple of nice runs. Dean ultimately delivered the big play of the opening segment, hitting WR Terrence Horne on an out route that the veteran receiver shed his defender and raced over 40 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.
Defensive highlights from the early scenarios included safety Samaurie Dukes being very active in the secondary, recording multiple hits, and tallying a pass breakup. Skylin Thomas slipped through for a sack on the otherwise protected, red-clad quarterback with end Justin Wallace, linebackers Jayelin Davis and Va Lealaimatafao, and lineman Tahjae Mullix also recording sacks.
In the second team segment, the defensive unit stepped up with CB CJ Williams posting a pass breakup and transfer linebacker Anthony Williams making his presence felt on a couple of nice tackles. Offensively, Camury Reid continued to impress with freshman tailback Markel Townsend and sophomore Branson Adams delivering shifty, quick-hitting rushes.
Tuesday's final team period focused on the red zone with Gonzales tossing a touchdown pass and moving the offense inside the five for a first-and-goal to go on the opening two drives. Camury Reid capped a Dean-led scoring drive with a tough, short-yardage rush, RB Jalynn Williams scored on a completion over the middle, and RB Marlin Cochran scored on a run up the middle before the defense flexed its muscle. Marlon Alexander provided good pressure up the middle to thwart a drive with freshman Trevaughn Martinez posting a tackle for loss that stopped an offensive drive.
Both Nick Louis and Antoine Williams both nearly came up with interceptions on deflections with the defense backed up against the goal line. Skylin Thomas forced the lone turnover of the practice, jarring the football loose before Caleb Bradford pounced on it from his defensive line position. Defensive lineman Chris Morgan provided pressure up the middle that allowed Anthony Joseph to swing through for a sack before QB Taron Dickens hit a wide-open Jake Young for a touchdown.
Preseason practice continues Wednesday morning in uppers ahead of a scheduled off-day on Thursday and another practice in uppers on Friday morning. The team will hold its first of two preseason scrimmages on Saturday (Aug. 12) scheduled for 9 a.m.
On Saturday's scheduled scrimmage, Bell said, "We're still trying to get a lot of guys reps. We want to see them in live situations, even some of our young freshmen – we've got to see if they're capable of playing this year and helping us. So, it's all about the evaluation in this first scrimmage. We're going to try and run a lot of plays and get a lot of guys reps, different guys we want to see in live situations, and hopefully start making some determinations on who can help us this year win a championship."
Bell and the WCU football team invite all WCU Faculty and Staff to the stadium for Saturday's first scrimmage. The west side (opposite the press box) will be open for spectators. For questions please contact the Catamount Ticket Office at 828-227-2401. Each of WCU's preseason football practices is open to the public. It is respectfully requested that spectators observe from the stadium seating area and avoid being either on the field or the sidelines for safety. Practice times are subject to change.
Season tickets and season-long game day parking for Western Carolina's 2023 five-game home schedule are on sale now through the Catamount Athletics ticket office, located on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, or online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets. Single-game ticket sales for each of the five home dates including the home-opening "White Out Whitmire" scheduled for Sept. 9 are available now through each of those same outlets.
2023 Catamount Football Preseason Practice Schedule:
Wed., Aug. 9 – Practice #7 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Thurs., Aug. 10 – No Practice (Off Day)
Fri., Aug. 11 – Practice #8 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Sat., Aug. 12 – Scrimmage #1 (Practice #9) – 9:00 am – 11:15 am (full pads)
Sun., Aug. 13 – Team Photo Day, 2 pm; Practice #10 – 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm (helmets)
Mon., Aug. 14 – Practice #11 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Tues., Aug. 15 – Practice #12 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Wed., Aug. 16 – Practice #13 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Thurs., Aug. 17 – No Practice (Off Day)
Fri., Aug. 18 – Practice #14 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (helmets)
Sat., Aug. 19 – Scrimmage #2 (Practice #15) – 2:30 pm (full pads)
Sun., Aug. 20 – No Practice – Team Building
Mon., Aug. 21 – First Day of Fall Classes at WCU
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports, FB.com/WesternCarolinaFootball), Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsfb).
Important Dates in Catamount Athletics & Catamount Football:
Friday, Aug. 18 – WCU New Student Convocation (Ramsey Center)
Saturday, Aug. 19 – Catamount Volleyball Exhibition – vs. USC Upstate (Ramsey Center, 6 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 20 – Catamount Women's Soccer Home-Opener – vs. Queens (CAC, 1 p.m.)
Monday, Aug. 21 – First day of classes for the fall semester – Cullowhee
Saturday, Sept. 2 – 2023 Catamount Football season opener at Arkansas (4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT)
Tuesday, Sept. 5 – Catamount Volleyball Home-Opener – vs. UNC Asheville (Ramsey Center, 6 p.m.)
Friday, Sept. 8 – The Bob Waters Memorial – Sequoyah National Golf Club – Cherokee, N.C. (9 a.m.)
Saturday, Sept. 9 – 2023 Catamount Football Home-Opener, vs. Samford (2:30 pm)
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