It's now 57 days until the kickoff of Catamount football on Thursday, September 3th, 2020 at 7 pm, against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, in Roy Kid Stadium, Richmond, KY.
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 football countdown each day until kickoff day.
There is no one currently assigned to #57 on the preseason roster, so we'll highlight assistant football coach Jay Guillermo.
Jay Guillermo
A former national champion as a team captain at Clemson, Jay Guillermo has been tabbed by Western Carolina head football coach Mark Speir to join the Catamount staff as the tight ends coach, it was announced today. Guillermo captained the Tiger football team his final two years as a collegian and he was a part of the 2016 national championship squad.
Guillermo joins the WCU coaching staff after a year as the offensive graduate assistant at NCAA FBS-member, Georgia State, working under former Catamount offensive coordinator Brad Glenn last season.
"I'm extremely excited about the addition of Jay Guillermo to our staff," said Speir. "He is a high-energy and passionate coach who has been a winner both as a player and a coach. After excelling as a player at Clemson, playing at the highest level, he made an excellent impression on the staff and players at Georgia State in a short period of time. He will be a great fit in the 'Whee."
As a part of the Panthers' coaching staff, Guillermo helped Georgia State to a program-record seven victories in 2019, garnering the program's first-ever bowl appearance at the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl in Tucson against Wyoming. Working primarily with the offensive line, he assisted with Georgia State's best offense in school history, averaging over 245 rushing yards per game.
During his year on staff, Guillermo mentored three All-Sun Belt Conference selections including first-team honoree Hunter Atkinson, third-team all-conference selection Quion Gilmore, and honorable mention, Malik Sumter.
As a player at Clemson from 2013-16, Guillermo was a four-time ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week and twice received All-ACC accolades at center along the Tigers' offensive line. He twice played in the College Football Playoff national title games. In 2016, Guillermo graced the watch list for the 2016 Dave Rimington Award which is presented each year to the top center in college football.
Following his graduation from Clemson, Guillermo was invited to the prestigious NFLPA Collegiate Bowl before working out for both the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans in the NFL rookie minicamps. He then signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in late-May of 2017. He retired from playing in the summer of 2017.
Having graduated from Maryville High in Maryville, Tenn., where he was a two-time Tennessee state champion, Guillermo played for the Rebels for two seasons after transferring from Burns High in Lawndale, N.C. At Maryville, He earned the 2011 Tennessee Lineman "Mr. Football" award before taking his talents to Death Valley and Clemson. He returned to Burns High to begin his coaching career in 2017, serving as the varsity offensive line coach parlaying that into the graduate assistantship at Georgia State.
Guillermo is married to the former Ava Bell, who is from Radford, Va., and was a member of the Clemson Track & Field team.
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