Cullowhee, N.C. – Less than a week away from the 2025 Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show in Nashville, Tenn., where Western Carolina junior quarterback
Taron Dickens is
one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award, Dickens collected his fifth postseason All-America honor this week, landing on the Phil Steele FCS 2025 All-America third team
as the publication released its postseason national and conference awards.
Catamount freshman tight end
Josiah Thomas was also named to the Phil Steele FCS 2025 Freshman All-America third team, while rookie counterpart WR
Michael Rossin received fourth-team plaudits. Thomas caught 28 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie, while Rossin played in nine of the team's 12 games, finishing third on the squad with 462 receiving yards on 22 catches, averaging 21 yards per reception
Additionally, Dickens headlined 17 Catamounts named to the Phil Steele postseason All-Southern Conference team as the SoCon's Offensive Player of the Year, as WCU occupied 19 of the positions on the publication's all-league team.
Dickens threw for a program-record 3,508 yards in just nine games, tossing a school and SoCon single-season record 38 touchdown passes in guiding the Catamounts to a 7-5 seasonal record – the program's record, third-consecutive seven-win season.
Named first-team All-SoCon and the SoCon's Roy M. "Legs" Hawley Offensive Player of the Year by the conference's head coaches, the Miami, Fla., product collected second-team All-America honors from both
FCS Football Central and
the AFCA, was a
first-team honoree by Stats Perform FCS, and collected an
honorable mention from The Associated Press.
Joining Dickens on the Phil Steele first-team All-SoCon offense was wide receiver
James Tyre, who led the Southern Conference – and was tied for sixth nationally – with 11 receiving touchdowns. Tyre led the SoCon with 68 receptions, finishing second in the league with a career-best 832 receiving yards. He was additionally dubbed fourth team on special teams as a punt returner and all-purpose back, adding 152 return yards on 15 returns during the season.
WCU's second-team all-conference offense selections included WR
Malik Knight, freshman All-American TE
Josiah Thomas, and OL
Zach Watson. Knight was second on the high-powered Catamount offensive unit with 47 receptions for 774 yards and seven touchdowns, ranking fourth in the SoCon in yards and tied for fourth in scores. Watson started all 12 games for the Catamounts along the offensive line, helping WCU amass a school-record 5,920 yards of total offense on the year.
WCU offensive linemen
Evan Carney (3rd team) and
Aaron Sanez (4th team) were also recognized, with freshman All-America WR
Michael Rossin also earning a fourth-team All-SoCon nod from Phil Steele. Carney started 10 of the 11 games in which he played on the season, with Sanez battling through and returning from injury to start seven of his nine games played in 2025 in anchoring the offensive line at center.
Defensively, junior DB
Ken Moore Jr. garnered a first-team All-SoCon honor from Phil Steele, registering 43 total tackles, including 28 solo stops and 5.5 for loss with a sack. Moore also matched the team-high with three interceptions – tied for third in the SoCon – and was credited with seven pass breakups, tied for second on the squad.
WCU put three on the second team defense, led by linemen
Kenyon Partridge and
Caleb Fisher, and joined by linebacker
Jordan Thompson. Partridge had 24 tackles, including 10 solo stops, 2.5 for loss with a sack, while Fisher was credited with 21 total hits with 14 solos, seven tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Despite being snubbed by the league's head coaches, Thompson earned second-team All-SoCon defense from Phil Steele after registering a team-best 93 total tackles – fourth-most in the SoCon. The Charlotte, N.C., product had seven tackles for loss with two sacks, recovered a pair of fumbles, and was credited with 10 quarterback hurries.
Senior
Samaurie Dukes landed on the All-SoCon third team, with DL
Justin Wallace, LB
Hayward McQueen Jr., and DB
Hasaan Sykes each collecting fourth-team plaudits. Dukes was second on the Catamount squad with 82 total hits, half going as solo stops (41) with 5.5 tackles for loss. He added an interception to give him six for his career and was tied for second on the team with seven pass breakups.
McQueen had 58 tackles with 3.5 for loss, including a sack, while Wallace was credited with 30 total hits, 17 solo, 5.5 for loss, with four sacks, second on the squad. Sykes finished fifth on the WCU defense with 49 total tackles, 31 of which were solo stops with four tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks. Sykes also matched a team-high with three interceptions and five PBUs.
Rounding out WCU's postseason Phil Steele All-SoCon selections was wide receiver / kick returner
Dominic Dutton, named first team on special teams, and
James Tyre on fourth-team punt return and all-purpose back. Dutton led the SoCon with 618 yards on a combined 23 kickoff returns, averaging a league-best 26.9 yards per return in 2025 to rank 16th in the NCAA FCS. He had one of two kickoff returns for a touchdown during the regular season, opening the second half against Elon with a 97-yard kickoff return for a score. Dutton added 25 pass receptions for 314 yards and a pair of TDs.
Season tickets for Western Carolina's six-game 2026 home schedule will go on sale in January and feature several changes around the stadium. The Catamount football team is expected to move to the West sideline below the new Western Skybox and the Chancellor's Club Level, among other anticipated changes. Catamount Club members should renew their annual memberships to keep priority access and be part of the momentum heading into next season.
Additional key dates for Catamount football include Saturday, Jan. 3, as Dickens will attend the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Ceremony as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. The new-look transfer portal for college football includes a single, two-week window that opens on Jan. 2 and closes on Jan. 16, followed by National Signing Day and the traditional signing period that begins on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026.
WCU is scheduled to open its annual Spring Drills on Monday, March 2, 2026, and will culminate on Saturday, April 11.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/westerncarolinafootball; FB.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@CatamountsFB, @catamounts).
Catamounts on the Phil Steele 2025 All-SoCon team:
First Team Offense
QB –
Taron Dickens
WR –
James Tyre
First Team Defense
DB –
Ken Moore Jr.
First Team Special Teams
KR –
Dominic Dutton
Second Team Offense
WR –
Malik Knight
TE –
Josiah Thomas
OL –
Zach Watson
Second Team Defense
DL –
Caleb Fisher
DL –
Kenyon Partridge
LB –
Jordan Thompson
Third Team Offense
OL –
Evan Carney
Third Team Defense
DB –
Samaurie Dukes
Fourth Team Offense
WR –
Michael Rossin
OL –
Aaron Sanez
Fourth Team Defense
LB –
Hayward McQueen Jr.
DB –
Hasaan Sykes
DL –
Justin Wallace
Fourth Team Special Teams
PR –
James Tyre
AP –
James Tyre
