Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina redshirt sophomore quarterback Carlos Davis was today named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week presented by GEICO for all games played on Oct. 23 as the league announced its weekly awards. Davis was also an honorable mention for the Stats Perform FCS Offensive Player of the Week announced Monday afternoon.
 
The weekly award is the first for Davis in his career and the first for a Catamount this fall. He is also the first Catamount other than former tailback Donnavan Spencer to collect offensive plaudits dating back to 2018 as Spencer was honored on Nov. 4 in the 2019 season and March 15, 2021, in the spring.
 
Davis accounted for 423 yards of total offense in guiding the Catamounts to 577 total yards – the second-most by the team this season – in last Saturday's 45-31 road victory over The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. His 423 yards represented the 12th-most by a Catamount in a single-game all-time.
 
A product of Baltimore, Md., Davis completed a career-best 31-of-40 pass attempts (77.5%) for a career-high 401 passing yards and three touchdowns, each coming before halftime. His 401 yards passing output is the second, 400-yard performance by a Catamount this season – Rogan Wells threw for 427 earlier this season at Gardner-Webb – and is just the ninth passing performance to eclipse the 400-yard mark in program history. He added 22 rushing yards on five carries on the day.
 
Davis led WCU to its first opening-drive touchdown when he found Calvin Jones on a seven-yard strike early in the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, he executed a screen pass to tailback TJ Jones who rumbled 40 yards for a touchdown and threaded the needle in double-coverage for a 10-yard strike to Raphael Williams to give WCU a 28-3 lead midway through the frame.
 
All told, Davis found nine different receivers for his 31 completions at The Citadel. He completed 10 of his first 11 pass attempts in the first quarter and had 320 passing yards on 22 completions at halftime.
 
Davis was one of several deserving candidates from WCU for the weekly award following the squad's first victory of the season – and the first under head coach Kerwin Bell. Jones amassed 205 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the winning effort, posting his second 100-yard rushing performance as a Catamount with a career-high 132 yards and two scores on the ground while catching three passes for 73 yards and a score. Also, WR Raphael Williams caught a career-best 12 passes for a career-high 147 yards and his fifth receiving score of the year in Charleston last Saturday.
 
Defensively, LB Kareem Taylor had his fourth, double-digit tackle performance of the season while defensive lineman Ricky Palao had nine tops including a sack and recovered a fumble. Richard McCollum accounted for nine points including six PATs and a 22-yard field goal, his eighth of the season.
 
In addition to Davis earning recognition, Chattanooga senior defensive back Rashun Freeman and freshman placekicker Aaron Sears were honored, collecting SoCon Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week honors. The league's weekly award winners are selected by the SoCon office from nominations submitted by the sports information or media relations personnel at each conference school.
Western Carolina returns to the Palmetto State this Saturday, Oct. 30, for a 1:30 pm kickoff against the Wofford Terriers at Gibbs Stadium. Saturday's game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio provided by the Catamount Sports Network.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).