Cullowhee, N.C. – Under cloudy skies and unseasonably cooler air temperatures, practice tempo heated up a little on Saturday as Western Carolina football put on shoulder pads for the first time this preseason, signaling more contact on the new turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

Dodging sporadic sprinkles, the Catamounts worked out for nearly two hours over nine periods, including individual position and unit drills and a couple of competitive offense-vs.-defense team sessions. The team also carved out a couple of segments for special teams work, as it does each practice through the preseason.
 
"Our team understands our main concepts on offense, defense, and special teams. The OTAs (organized team activities) in the summer, June and July, have really got our young guys and transfers caught up, so that feels good, so that you know everybody knows our base stuff. But we've got to come out here with some urgency," said a cautiously optimistic head coach Kerwin Bell after Saturday's workout. "There's been a couple of times over these last two practices that we haven't had that."
 
"But I love our defense," Bell continued. "They're playing with some relentless aggression and offensively, we've got to catch up to that. I've told them, just because we have been good on offense doesn't give you a guarantee that you're going to be great (this year), you've got to go earn that. And now, with this defense playing very physical and flying around, that's only going to help our offense get ready to go play."
 
Bell remained adamant that no starting positions and no seasonal roles had been locked in this early in camp and with the number of newcomers and players with limited playing time on this year's roster.
 
"Us coaches, we've got some big decisions to make over the next two to three weeks," Bell continued. "We think that we've got some very talented players, but we haven't seen it on (game) film. So, they've all got a lot to prove, and urgency is a big word around here."


Among the highlights during Saturday's first team session included a big pitch-and-catch on a screen pass to tailback Noah Best (25), who scampered down the far sideline for six after the reception out of the backfield. Among the big defensive plays in the earlier team session was true freshman defensive lineman Malachi Hill (94) with a big run stuff off-tackle.
 
The Catamount defense came up with a pair of interceptions during the 7-on-7 skelly drills, with both defensive end Caleb Turner-Allen (13) and true freshman defensive back Jermiyah Douglas (27) both coming away with picks. Freshman WR Santana Carlos also caught a long touchdown pass against the secondary, with the ball spread around and another true freshman Emanuel Parker (81) making a nice grab over the middle.
 
In the final team segment, transfer defensive lineman Trystan Anderson batted down a pass amidst QB pressure, later adding a would-be tag-off sack in the backfield. Cain Jefferson pounced on a fumbled bad snap for a takeaway for the defense, with Turner-Allen again providing pass rush pressure with a tag-off sack. Safety AJ Mintze hawked an interception after pressure up front flushed the WCU QB from the pocket and threw on the run.
 
Offensively, running back Josh Perry (3) hit a big gainer out of the backfield early in the period, with QB Isaac Lee (11) scrambling for a long TD rush and also using his legs to escape harm, where he hit WR Marcus Striggles (6) for a big gain up the sideline. Transfer running back Derrick Davis Jr. (22) also had some strong runs as the offense platooned the skill positions readily throughout the period.
 
In addition to Lee, transfer QB Lex Thomas (2) and true freshman Patrick Harding (17) split most of the reps in the final period, though six signal callers took snaps during Saturday's practice session.
 
Western Carolina takes its first off-day of the preseason on Sunday before returning to the practice field again in shoulder pads on Monday morning in Cullowhee. WCU's preseason football practices are open to the public. It is respectfully requested, though, that all spectators observe from the stadium seating area and avoid being either on the field or the sidelines for safety.  Practice times are subject to change.
 
Also, please note that construction on the Western Skybox and surrounding areas, as well as preparatory activities at the stadium for the season, are ongoing and scheduled to continue through early August. Some areas, such as the parking lots and entrances remain closed to the public.
 
Both season and single-game tickets and gameday parking for all six home dates in #CatamountCountry are on sale now through the Catamount Athletics ticket office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, by phone at (828) 227-2401, and online at CatamountSports.com.

2026 Catamount Football Preseason Practice Schedule:
Sun., Aug. 2 – No Practice (Off Day – Film)
Mon., Aug. 3 – Practice #4 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Tues., Aug. 4 – Practice #5 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Wed., Aug. 5 – Practice #6 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Thurs., Aug. 6 – No Practice (Off Day – Film)
Fri., Aug. 7 – Practice #7 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Sat., Aug. 8 – Practice #8 – 9:00 am – 11:00 am (scrimmage, full pads)
Sun., Aug. 9 – Team Photo Day – 2 pm; Practice #9 – 3 pm – 5 pm (helmets only)
Mon., Aug. 10 – Practice #10 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Tues., Aug. 11 – Practice #11 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (uppers)
Wed., Aug. 12 – Practice #12 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (full pads)
Thurs., Aug. 13 – No Practice (Off Day – Film)
Fri., Aug. 14 – Practice #13 – 8:30 am – 11:00 am (helmets only)
Fri., Aug. 14 – WCU Freshman Student Convocation
Sat., Aug. 15 – Practice #14 – 7 pm – 9 pm (scrimmage, full – student day)
Sun., Aug 16 – Athletics Welcome Back Event at Catamount Soccer – 12:30 pm
Mon., Aug. 17 – First Day of Classes at WCU – No Practice (Off-Day)
Tues., Aug. 18 – Begins in-season practice schedule – 4:30 pm
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports, FB.com/WesternCarolinaFootball), Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountsfb).
 
Important Dates in Catamount Athletics & Catamount Football:
Wednesday, Aug. 5 – Women's Soccer Exhibition – vs. Georgia State (CAC, 7 p.m.)
Saturday, Aug. 8 – Women's Soccer Exhibition – vs. Wright State (CAC, 2 p.m.)
Thursday, Aug. 13 – Women's Soccer Season-Opener – vs. Winthrop (CAC, 6 p.m.)
Friday, Aug. 14 – WCU Freshman Convocation (Ramsey Center)
Monday, Aug. 17 – First day of classes for the 2026 fall semester – Cullowhee
Friday, Aug. 21 – Volleyball Exhibition – vs. Anderson (Ramsey Center, 6 p.m.)
Friday, Aug. 21 – Catamount Shootout Golf Tournament (Marion Lake Club, Nebo, N.C.)
Saturday, Aug. 29 – Catamount Football season-opener vs. Eastern Kentucky (7 p.m.)
Tuesday, Sept. 8 – Volleyball Home Opener – vs. Gardner-Webb (Ramsey Center, 6 p.m.)
Sept. 13-15 – Men's Golf – JT Poston Invitational – (Waynesville Inn & Golf Club)
Friday, Oct. 2 – Bob Waters Memorial Golf Tournament – (Sequoyah  National, Cherokee)