WCU held its first scrimmage of 2021 preseason camp

Western Carolina held its first scrimmage of the 2021 preseason fall camp on Saturday morning on the turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. Early morning fog gave way to summertime temperatures as the team worked out for two and a half hours.

The Catamounts worked through 15 different drives, each starting at the 25-yard line looking to work the length of the field. Saturday’s practice also included skill drills to open and a couple of special teams periods for field goal, punt, and kickoff return.

Of WCU’s 15 possessions, the Catamount defense compiled 10 total drive stops including one turnover on a Jacob Harris interception, one turnover on downs on a fourth-down stop, and one three-and-out. With the quarterbacks wearing the protected red jerseys, the defense was credited with 11 sacks and a combined 17 tackles for loss with eight quarterback hurries.

Among the five scores by the WCU offense was a trio of touchdown passes, one scoring rush, and a 34-yard field goal by Richard McCollum.

“I’ve always taken the first scrimmage to get in a lot of reps, see who can play, and see who knows our stuff. Now, this week going forward beginning this Monday, we’ll be very detailed execution-wise and really up our performance,” said WCU head coach Kerwin Bell following Saturday’s scrimmage. “I told our team, I want to see from this Saturday to next a big jump in execution, the detail in what we’re doing and being more efficient in what we’re doing and how we run things. And we need to have a great week of practice to get that done.”

Five different quarterbacks took reps on Saturday with Rogan Wells seeing a bulk of the action, finishing 16-of-31 for 194 yards with an 11-yard touchdown pass to RB TJ Jones and an interception. Carlos Davis completed 13-of-20 passes for a team-best 222 yards and two touchdown passes coming to transfer WR Shammond Hicks and a 30-yard strike to fifth-year senior WR Daquan Patten. Kason Lincke completed 7-of-11 passes for 112 yards while freshman Meziah Scott was 3-for-5 for 52 yards adding a 10-yard touchdown rush with classmate Brody Palhegyi also seeing time in the backfield.

Second-year freshman WR Dylan Abernethy led the WCU receivers with six catches for 83 yards including three receptions of over 20 yards. Patten finished with four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown with Hicks hauling in three for 80 yards and the score. Both South Florida transfer Terrence Horne and tight end Raekwon Heath had three receptions apiece, Horne for 63 yards including a long of 46 yards and Heath finishing with 61 yards.

On the ground, seven different backs recorded reps with TJ Jones ripping off one of the best rushes of the day on a 64-yard touchdown run that was called back due to a penalty. Jones finished with six carries for 23 total yards, adding his 11-yard TD catch. Valdosta State transfer Kenny Benjamin posted a team-high eight carries for 28 yards with a long of 12 yards

Among the defensive highlights were defensive back Rod Gattison who was credited with a team-best seven tackles and a pass break-up, Jacob Harris with six stops with both a pass deflection and the interception. Defensive lineman Jaquarius Guinn tallied six tackles with a sack while nickelback LA Rogers-Anderson led eight different defenders with four total tackles, two going for losses. Darris Bell had two sacks and a pass break-up from his defensive line position while Skylin Thomas tallied a pair of sacks as a nickel. Florida transfer Nick Oelrich recorded a strip-sack, knocking the football loose on a blitz to coincide with five tackles.

All told, 12 different Catamounts finished with four or more tackles in Saturday’s scrimmage. They were also credited with a combined 10 pass break-ups including the interception. WCU’s defensive line batted three passes including Bell, Marlon Alexander, and Ricky Palao.

McCollum connected on the only field goal attempt of the scrimmage while also splitting the uprights on his lone PAT attempt. In addition to kicking off during the special teams drill just after halftime, Paxton Robertson hit his PAT attempt. In the early special teams punt drills, Brandon Dickerson punted three times for a 38.6 yard per kick average including a long of 51 yards while downing two inside the 20-yard line with one touchback. Freshman Brady Elms averaged 33.6 yards on three punts with three downed inside the 20.

During post-scrimmage comments, Bell again stressed that he’s pleased with the progress the team continues to make each practice session during the preseason.

“I’m pleased with the effort that the players are giving us. Guys are improving, they’re taking our coaching and trying to do the best with it. But we’ve got to go perform,” Bell added. “I was a little disappointed today with a few dropped balls, some negative yardage, so there are a lot of things to clean up. But, I’m really proud of the way we’re trying, the way we’re hustling, and the way we’re playing hard. This week is going to be a big week to make that jump from where we’re at right now to where we want to be next Saturday to show those improvements.”

Following Saturday’s scrimmage, Western Carolina is set to pause on Sunday for an off-day from practice, though the team will gather for the 2021 team photo with meetings and workouts in the David & Marie Brinkley Athletics Weightlifting Facility. On-field practice resumes on Monday morning with a session in helmets and shoulder pads. The next scrimmage is slated for next Saturday (Aug. 21) at 6 pm.

Each of WCU's preseason football practices is open to the public. It is respectfully requested, though, that spectators observe from the stadium seating area and avoid being either on the field or the sidelines for safety, and maintain physical distance from the team at all times. Practice times are subject to change.