- BEST IN STATE -

WCU football kicker aiming for school scoring mark this season

Richard McCollum has been named Best In State top FCS specialist

Eric Lusk

Published

August 23, 2023

Kicker Richard McCollum once had a streak of 85 consecutive made PATs. (Photo courtesy Western Carolina University Athletics).

A placekicker with his eyes on Western Carolina football’s all-time scoring record has been named the NC Football News “Best In State” preseason FCS special teams MVP.

Richard McCollum, a redshirt senior from Sanford, needs just 95 more points to tie the Catamounts’ scoring mark, held for nearly four decades by Kirk Roach (who played from 1984-87).

McCollum currently has 207 career points, sixth-best in WCU football history. He finished with 91 points a year ago, booting 17 field goals (in 19 attempts) and making 40-of-41 extra points. McCollum does hold the school record for most consecutive made PATs at 85.

The Southern Conference has voted McCollum to its first-team preseason all-conference list. He also has been nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which will be awarded by the National Football Foundation to the college player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance.

McCollum had a big 2022 campaign, helping Western Carolina to a 6-5 overall record and 4-4 mark in the competitive SoCon. The league awarded McCollum its Special Teams Player of the Week award three times a year ago – after the Charleston Southern game (42-yard field goal, 7 PATs), after a road game at Samford (4-for-4 field goals) and after a win over East Tennessee State (two field goals, including the 33-yard game-winner, and two PATs).

He finished the year as a second-team All-SoCon performer.

McCollum played his high school football at Southern Lee. He once made a 60-yard field in practice, and the resulting video went viral on social media.

McCollum and the Western Carolina football team will start the season on the road at Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 2. The home opener will be Sept. 9 against Samford, one of the top teams in the SoCon.