Saturday, August 22, 2015

14 Days 'till Kickoff - #14 Karnorris Benson & Garrett Young


It's now 14 days until kickoff of Catamount football against the Mars Hill University Lions in E.J.Whitmire Stadium on September 5th in Cullowhee.

To help pass those long summer days until football season officially starts, and to hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, we'll continue the 100 day football countdown each day until kickoff day arrives.

Utilizing the 2015 Preseason Football Roster, #14 is assigned to two players:  Karnorris Benson & Garrett Young

#14  Karnorris Benson


Class: RS Senior
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
High School: Therrell HS
Height / Weight: 6-1 / 205
Position: WR




2014 (Redshirt Junior): Played in 10 of the team's 12 seasonal games, making nine appearances among the starting lineup ... Missed the first two games of the year stemming from a suspension from the NCAA ... Finished third on the team with 40 catches for 519 yards, averaging 51.9 receiving yards per game ... Tallied three-or-more catches seven times including nine at Alabama (Nov. 22) ... Was second on the squad with five receiving touchdowns including a career-high four in a home win over VMI (Nov. 15) ... Scored 32 points on the year ... Tallied a pair of 100-yard receiving games with a season-high 127 yards vs. VMI and 118 at Alabama ... Just missed the century mark with 91 receiving years on seven catches at Samford (Nov. 8) ... Returned three kickoffs for 63 yards with a long return of 26 yards ... Added three tackles on special teams and also recovered a fumble against Presbyterian (Oct. 4) ... Named to the College Football Performance (CFPA) Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Wide Receiver Award Watch List for 2014 ... Playing for the Purple squad, caught two passes for 19 yards in WCU's annual Spring Game.

2013 (Redshirt Sophomore): Started all 12 games at wide receiver ... Hauled in a team-leading 51 receptions for a career-high 834 yards ... Matched WCU's 30-year old school single-season record for receiving touchdowns in a season set by Eric Rasheed back in 1983 with 12... Named second team All-Southern Conference by both the league's head coaches and voting media ... Earned first team All-SoCon accolades as selected by College Sports Madness ... Finished the season ranked second in the league with a 69.5 yards per game average and fifth with 4.2 receptions per game ... the top scoring wide receiver in the SoCon, ranked fourth in the SoCon in scoring (touchdowns) averaging 6.0 points per game ... His 72 points scored were tied for the fourth-most by an individual in the SoCon in the fall, and were the most by a Catamount individual since 2001 when Fred Boateng finished with 74 points, adding a two-point conversion to his 12 rushing TDs. ... Recorded 100-or-more yards in four games on the year including 113 at Middle Tennessee State; 116 against nationally-ranked Wofford; 129 in the home win over Elon; and the top receiving performance of any wide out in the SoCon this season with his career-high 212 yards in WCU's home win over Mars Hill ... Was a two-time College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) honorable mention - career-high 212 receiving yards on nine catches including three TDs in the home win over Mars Hill on Sept. 23 and in the home win over Elon after two scoring receptions of 80 and six yards ... Became just the fifth WCU receiver to eclipse the 200-yard receiving plateau with the 212 yards ranking third on the school's all-time single-game receiving records.

2012 (Redshirt Freshman): Started four of the nine games in which he saw action ... Finished fourth on the team with 19 receptions while his 349 receiving yards were the third-most on the squad ... Tallied receptions in eight of the nine games he appeared ... Recorded a career-high 83 yards receiving at nationally-ranked Wofford ... Pulled down a career-best four catches at Furman, finishing with 75 yards ... Hauled in his first career touchdown pass against Chattanooga on a 42-yard score that gave WCU a 24-16 halftime lead over the Mocs ... Tallied a team-high seven receptions for 90 yards and three touchdowns in WCU's annual Spring Game.

2011 (Freshman): Originally signed with Western Carolina in the 2010 incoming class but did not qualify, sitting out his freshman season ... Later granted a redshirt.

Prior to Western Carolina: As a two-way player, amassed over 1,400 yards receiving with 16 touchdowns on offense and recorded 142 career tackles in two varsity seasons at Therrell HS ... Set a city record with nine interceptions his senior season, finishing with 16 career INTs ... Tabbed All-Area by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC) ... Named Defensive Player of the Year as a junior... Also rushed 17 times for 200 yards and a pair of scores along with completing four passes for 30 yards and a score ... Earned first team All-State as a wide receiver during his final prep season.

Personal: Full name is Karnorris Bernard Benson... Is the son of Lula Kemp.

Career Notes: Including his record-tying dozen receiving TDs in 2013 and five in 2014, enters his final year with 18 career touchdown receptions, tied for fifth with Jerry Gaines (18, 1970-74) in the school's all-time record books ... Benson is just eight receiving TDs shy of Gerald Harp's school-record of 26 set between 1977-80.

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#16 Garrett Young


Class: RS Sophomore
Hometown: Denver, N.C.
High School: East Lincoln HS
Last College: Mars Hill
Height / Weight: 6-1 / 195
Position: QB





Prior to Western Carolina: Originally signed with Mars Hill out of high school ... Transferred to WCU prior to spring drills, 2015 ...

High School: Led East Lincoln to the first undefeated season in school history and a 2A state championship ... Threw for 3,751 yards and 47 touchdowns on 226 completions with only seven interceptions during the 2012 campaign despite missing several weeks of the season with a knee injury ... Threw a 79-yard TD game-winning TD pass as a part of 146 yards through the air in the North Carolina East-West All-Star game.



Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations

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