Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina and Catamount football prepare for the opening of the three-day National Early Signing Period for NCAA football that spans Wednesday, Dec. 18 through Friday, Dec. 20. Catamount Nation can follow all the excitement of the beginning of the 2020 National Signing Day by visiting CatamountSports.com, the official website of WCU Athletics. As the National Letters of Intent (NLI) are signed and approved, updated player information and student-athlete bios will be made available online.
 
WCU's National Signing Day Central page will be updated to include roster and bio information on each prospect once they officially become Catamounts. This week's early period precedes the traditional National Signing Day slated for the first Wednesday of February – Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020.
 
Western Carolina's 2019 incoming class was dubbed the 10th best in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) – and tops in the Southern Conference – a season ago by HERO Sports.
 
The Catamount Club's annual Football Signing Day Reception – presented by Ingles, the Chef's Kitchen – is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8 prior to the Catamount men's basketball home game against chromatic conference rival, Furman (2 pm). Head football coach Mark Speir and his staff will talk about the upcoming 2020 Catamount Football season and provide an analysis of this year's recruiting class, providing an overview of each signee.
 
Catamount Club members at the Top Cat level and above are eligible to attend the exclusive event which begins with a social catered by Ingles, the Chef's Kitchen with the recruiting program to follow ahead of the basketball tip-off in the Ramsey Center. More detailed information surrounding the event will be released by the Catamount Club in the coming weeks.
 
National Signing Day Roster:
CatamountSports.com will be the home for Western Carolina's coverage of the early National Signing Day beginning Wednesday, Dec. 18. The site will unveil the names of each signee as soon as the NLI is received, reviewed, and approved by WCU's compliance office with a complete wrap-up once the last anticipated NLI is returned to Cullowhee.
 
Full Player Bios:
CatamountSports.com will also include full player bios of each signee with a summation of the early signees once each NLI is received.
 
Twitter Coverage:
Follow @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB on Twitter for as close to real-time updates throughout the day. Use the #CatamountNSD to join in on the conversation.
 

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Last Updated: Wednesday, Dec. 18 – 3:30 pm
 
 

Updated	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Hometown (Previous School / High School)
10:35 am	Calvin Jones	RB	5-10	170	Fr.	Charlotte, N.C. (East Rutherford HS)
10:41 am	Caleb Carter	OL	6-3	275	Fr.	Jacksonville, N.C. (Southwest Onslow HS)
10:46 am	Quintin Talley	DB	6-0	175	Fr.	Spartanburg, S.C. (Byrnes HS)
10:51 am	Luke Sutton	WR	5-8	180	Fr.	Concord, N.C. (Cox Mill HS)
10:53 am	Willie Hampton	LB	6-1	210	R-Jr.	Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Garden City CC / American Heritage HS)
11:15 am	Mark Wright	QB	5-11	190	R-Jr.	Douglasville, Ga. (Hutchinson CC / Carrollton HS)
3:25 pm	Demorian Smith	LB	6-0	220	Fr.	Robersonville, N.C. (South Creek HS)

Calvin Jones
RB, 5-10, 170 lbs., Fr.
Charlotte, N.C. (East Rutherford HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Four-year varsity letter winner who rushed for 2,437 career yards and 30 touchdowns while also hauling in 71 passes for 1,428 career receiving yards … Finished his prep career with 5,320 all-purpose yards … Listed as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com … Amassed 542 all-purpose yards – 346 rushing, 111 receiving, 60 punt return and 25-yard passing – and scored eight touchdowns – rushing, receiving, passing, and on a punt return – in his final high school game … Earned both News 13 WLOS Player of the Week and Player of the Week honors from The Daily Courier … As a junior in 2018, rushed for 683 yards and 10 TDs while catching 16 passes for 308 yards and two TDs as a part of 1,259 all-purpose yards … Defensively, had 77 tackles including 11 for loss and eight interceptions, scoring a pair of defensive touchdowns … High school coach was Clint Bland … Also ran track and wrestled as a prep.
Personal: Full name is Calvin Malin Jones, prefers to go by Cal.

Caleb Carter
OL, 6-3, 275 lbs., Fr.
Jacksonville, N.C. (Southwest Onslow HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Expected to be a mid-semester enrollee at WCU … Two-year varsity letter winner along both the offensive and defensive line … Played center and offensive guard … Recorded 50 tackles including six tackles for loss and forced a fumble on defense … Collected school Freshman Athlete of the Year accolades and garnered varsity offensive lineman of the year honors as a sophomore … Also plays basketball as a prep.

Quintin Talley
DB, 6-0, 175 lbs., Fr.
Spartanburg, S.C. (Byrnes HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Two-year varsity letter winner … Posted 86 career tackles over the past two seasons with 2.5 tackles for loss including a sack … Tallied three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries … Listed as a two-star recruit by both Rivals.com and 247Sports … Also played baseball as an outfielder as a prep.

Luke Sutton
WR, 5-8, 180 lbs., Fr.
Concord, N.C. (Cox Mill HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Played slot back and wide receiver as a prep where he helped Cox Mill win the South Piedmont 3A Conference title and the Coddle Creek Cup … Dubbed a "possession receiver" because of his sure hands and precise routes … Named All-South Piedmont Conference as a senior.

Willie Hampton
LB, 6-1, 210 lbs., R-Jr.
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Garden City CC / American Heritage HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Originally signed and attended Nebraska where he redshirted in 2017 … Transferred to Garden City CC for two seasons where he recorded 129 tackles including 15.5 tackles for loss with 7.5 sacks … Credited with four pass break-ups and forced three fumbles, each in his second season in 2019 … Finished second on the team with 99 tackles as a redshirt sophomore … Played in the Junior College National Championship game as a redshirt freshman recording three tackles for the Jayhawk Conference champions … High School: Was originally a three-star recruit out of high school … High school coach was Pat Surtain … Recorded 71 tackles and six sacks as a senior in helping lead American Heritage High to a 14-0 record and a 5A state title.
Personal: Is the son of Kim Ridley … Has a younger sister.

Mark Wright
QB, 5-11, 190 lbs., R-Jr.
Douglasville, Ga. (Hutchinson CC / Carrollton HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Dual-threat quarterback began his collegiate career at Ellsworth CC before transferring to Hutchinson CC for his sophomore season … Last year, accounted for 2,461 total yards including 1,831 yards passing and 630 rushing yards with 27 combined touchdowns including 20 TD passes and seven rushing scores  … Named first-team All-KJCCC … At Ellsworth CC, competed 26-of-52 passes for 184 yards while rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman … Is rated the #5 JUCO dual-threat quarterback in the nation by JCGridiron.com … High School: Was a three-year starter as a prep, amassing 3,899 career passing yards with 42 touchdown passes while rushing for 958 yards and 15 TDs … Threw for over 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 300 as a prep senior despite missing five games during his senior year due to injury … As a junior in 2016, passed for 2,005 yards with 23 TDs on 60-percent passing, adding 600 rushing yards and 11 scores.

Demorian Smith
LB, 6-0, 220 lbs., Fr.
Robersonville, N.C. (South Creek HS)
Prior to Western Carolina: Four-year varsity letter winner … Totaled 244 career tackles including 17.0 tackles for loss with three sacks as a prep … Finished his senior season with a career-best 116 total tackles over 12 games, averaging 9.7 stops per game … Credited with 21 tackles in a first-round playoff game in 2019 … Two-way player that amassed 2,117 career all-purpose yards including 1,710 rushing, 209 receiving, 70 on special teams, and 128 return yards on seven career interceptions … Scored 28 career touchdowns – 26 rushing and one apiece on a fumble return and a punt return … Also ran track and threw the shot put, and also played basketball as a prep.