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WCU football standouts fill up SoCon preseason all-conference team

WCU voted fifth in the ultra-competitive conference

Published

July 27, 2023

Western Carolina preseason all-conference picks

Western Carolina had eight players voted to the all-Southern Conference team. The Catamounts were picked fifth in the competitive league. (Photo/graphic courtesy CatamountSports.com).

(From CatamountSports.com & staff reports) – Western Carolina put eight players on the preseason All-Southern Conference honors list, released Thursday at the league’s Media Day in Greenville, SC. Five Catamounts earned first-team status, while three made second team as selected by the conference’s coaches.

Fifth-year senior offensive lineman Tyler Smith was joined on the preseason first-team offense by senior tight end Ajay Belanger. Juniors in defensive lineman Micah Nelson and defensive back Andreas Keaton were both first-team defensive selections. Redshirt senior Richard McCollum collected the special teams first-team tag at placekicker.

WCU’s trio of second-team honorees include reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year, running back Desmond Reid, who was joined on the offensive unit by senior lineman Christian Coulter. Redshirt junior transfer linebacker Antoine Williams rounded out the preseason honorees with a second-team defense nod after collecting All-ASUN Conference honors at Austin Peay last fall.

Three of WCU’s selections – Smith, Keaton, and McCollum – each earned preseason all-conference accolades a season ago with Smith collecting honors for the third consecutive year. Four of WCU’s 2023 preseason honorees garnered second-team plaudits in the 2022 postseason including Smith, Keaton, and Reid recognized by the coaches and McCollum earning honors from the media.

Catamounts Picked To Finish 5th

Western Carolina held the No, 5 spot out of nine teams in both official preseason polls unveiled Thursday – from the league’s coaches and the voting members of the SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA). The four teams ahead of WCU have been ranked in the preseason FCS top-25 by various outlets.

The two SoCon preseason polls were nearly mirror images of one another with Furman picked as the preseason favorite, sharing the honor with defending champion Samford in the coaches poll with the Bulldogs second by the media.

Mercer was picked third followed by Chattanooga, WCU, and ETSU. Wofford and The Citadel swapped seventh and eighth – the Terriers picked seventh by the coaches and the Bulldogs leapfrogging in the media poll. VMI was selected ninth by both groups.

Eight of the nine conference schools were represented on the preseason All-SoCon team with The Citadel’s first-year head coach Maurice Drayton choosing not to nominate any of his cadet-athletes.

Furman led the league with 15 preseason all-conference selections including seven on the first team and eight on the second. Mercer was second with 12 honorees followed by WCU and Chattanooga with eight apiece, just ahead of Samford with seven.

The reigning SoCon Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year from 2022 returned to form as the preseason selections in 2023. Samford quarterback Michael Hiers was tabbed as the league’s top offensive player with Chattanooga defensive lineman Jay Person as the top defender.

Season Starts Sept. 2 In SEC Country

Western Carolina (6-5 a year ago) will open the season on the road Sept. 2 against Arkansas.

Single-game tickets for WCU’s 2023 home opener the following Saturday against defending SoCon champion Samford are on sale now, with single-game sales for the remaining four home dates available on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

The opener against the Bulldogs, which finished seventh in the final FCS national polls last fall, has been designated as the “White Out Whitmire” game, presented by Ingles, 99.9 FM Kiss Country, and Star 104.3. The first 5,000 fans through the gates will receive a free “White Out Whitmire” T-shirt.

Season tickets and season-long Catamount Club parking for WCU’s five-game 2023 home schedule remain on sale through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office and online at CatamountSports.com/BuyTickets.