40 Days 'till WCU Football Kickoff - #40 Will Horton

It's now 40 days until the kickoff of Catamount football on Saturday, August 31, 2019, against the Mercer Bears, in E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC 

To help pass those long summer days, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season, and knowledgeable of the team members, we'll continue the 100-day football countdown each day until kickoff day.

Today we'll highlight a kicker


#40 Will Horton

Class: Junior
Hometown: Ackworth, GA
High School:  North Cobb HS 
Height / Weight: 6-0 / 185
Position:  Kicker

Career: Has connected on 73-percent of his field-goal attempts (19-of-26) … He has seven career field goals of 40+ yards … Has connected on 67 of his 68 career PAT attempts.

2018 (Sophomore): Saw action in all 11 of the team’s games handling the placekicking and kickoff duties … Led the Catamounts with 87 total points scored … Finished 5-of-6 between 20-to-29 yards and 6-of-7 between 30-to-39 yards on field goals … Six of his 17 made field goals came from 40+ yards (6-of-8) … Added 36 points on 36-of-37 PATs, missing his first PAT in the season-opener against Newberry (Sept. 1) … Kicked off 45 times, averaging 61.1 yards per kick with 13 touchbacks … Connected on a career-best four field goals in a perfect 4-for-4 outing at North Carolina (Nov. 17), earning Southern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors and an honorable mention from STATS FCS … Credited with a tackle assist at Samford (Oct. 6).

2017 (Freshman): Played in six of the team's 12 games on the year ... Finished a perfect 31-for-31 on point after touchdowns on the season, adding a pair of field goals in 2-for-4 effort on the season ... Scored 37 points on the season ... Recorded a tackle in the home-opener against Davidson, finishing a career-best 9-for-9 on PATs for a career-best nine points ... Hit a career-long 40-yard field goal against Samford (Sept. 23) ... Kicked off 24 times for 1,445 yards, averaging 60.2 per kick with six touchbacks ... Hit a 32-yard field goal in WCU's annual Spring Game. 

Prior to Western Carolina: Named first team placekicker on the Georgia 3-AAAAAAA All-Region team ... According to ProKicker.com rankings, was the No. 3 kicker overall and No. 9 kickoff specialist in the country ... Earned a four and a half star rating from Chris Sai Kicking ... Rated as the nation's top kicker by Ray Guy ProKicker.com Camps ... As a junior was an honorable mention on the Georgia Class AAAAAA All-State team as a kicker ... High school head coach was Shane Queen.

Personal: Full name is William Archer Horton ... Is the son of Bucky and Kara Horton ... His father is the principal at North Cobb HS.

Career Highs:

Field Goals in a Game: 4, at North Carolina (11/17/18)

Long Field Goal: 47 yards, CHATTANOOGA (10/13/18)

PATs in a Game: 9, DAVIDSON (9/9/17)

Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations