Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina football practice in full pads for the first time this preseason, completing its sixth fall camp workout on Wednesday morning on the new turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. The team worked through 10 periods, including two for special teams, for one of its longest sessions of preseason drills, eclipsing the two-hour mark.
Following warmups and simultaneous walk-throughs for both units, business picked up with early tackle drills on the first full day of fully padded contact. In addition to position and unit drills, Wednesday's session also included two team periods, with live work through special teams.
"It's all we want to do, just keep stacking good practices," said head coach
Kerwin Bell following Wednesday's workout that included an early-morning visit from WLOS-TV Sports (
wlos.com). "I love the competition. It's been a long time since we've had very competitive practices the way we have (this preseason).
Bell added, "Our defense is playing at a high level, pushing our offense; our offense is doing the same. 'Iron sharpens iron,' that can only make us better as we go through camp."
Gallery: (8-5-2026) Catamount Football: Fall Practice No. 6
WCU continued to rotate a lot of players at a variety of positions across the field, with the coaching staff anticipating narrowing that down the closer it gets to the regular-season opener on Aug. 29.
Working with the short field, Wednesday's first team period included work inside the red zone where the offense seemingly has the upper hand. Among the highlights from the first team period were receiving touchdowns by wide receivers
AJ Colombo (0) and
Matthew Keener (18), with WR
Richard Hollis (13) also finding the endzone. The offense also got touchdown rushes from QB
Isaac Lee (11) on a play fake RPO, with tailback
Joshua Balloon (21) scoring twice and running back
Jadarius Dobie (20) also crossing the goal line.
Marlin Cochran (8) also added strong runs in the early period, splitting reps in the backfield.
Defensively, transfer
Ja'Torian Mack (17) came up with the lone takeaway on a fumbled exchange in the backfield, with
Nassor Ashenafi (21) also posting a tackle for loss on a fumbled play. Converted defensive end
Jordan Martin-Durham (34) found himself in a familiar location multiple times through the two team scrimmage periods, hurrying the WCU QBs, a position he held before converting in the spring.
During 7-on-7 skelly drills, sophomore transfer safety
Braylon Jones (5) had a pass break-up, with
Andre Jackson Jr. (4) nearly coming up with a goal line interception on a PBU. Cornerback
Christian Robbins (29) did record a pick for the defensive unit.
In the second team period, which focused on short yardage near midfield, Lee found
Jai Boyd (1) on a long touchdown pass for the offense. Transfer linebacker
Eldrick Robinson II (9) had a pass break-up with Martin-Durham and
Aiden Black (98) both recording tackles for loss.
Western Carolina has an off-day scheduled Thursday before returning to the practice field for a helmet-only session on Friday ahead of Saturday's first of two scheduled preseason scrimmages. The first scrimmage is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and is 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.
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.
Western Carolina looks to 'Blackout Whitmire' as the Catamounts open the 2026 season under the new lights against Eastern Kentucky, with a 7 p.m. kickoff. In addition to the first 3,500 fans receiving FREE black WCU T-shirts, Catamount Athletics marketing will pass out 4,000 Blackout thunder sticks,
courtesy of The Everson. Before the game, one of the best FCS football traditions returns as we celebrate the 15th Annual Freshmen Run, as WCU's Class of 2030 runs through the pregame tunnel to lead out the Catamount football team.
Also highlighting the jam-packed home opener, Catamount Athletics and
Vannoy Construction present a special drone light show,
produced by SkyElements, that will light up the western North Carolina sky as part of the festivities.
The home-opener is presented by Ingles and media partners Kiss Country and Star 104.3. Catamount Nation is encouraged to wear black to the game, and the team will wear its new all-black Nike 'Night Cat' uniform. Fans are encouraged to wear their black WCU gear to the game.
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:
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
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Practice times are subject to change.
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)
