99 days to WCU Football Kickoff - #99 Ricky Palao

Welcome to the eleventh annual Catamount Football "100 days to Football Kickoff Countdown". During the countdown, we'll highlight the player whose number corresponds to that day in the countdown.

Since the official 2021 Catamount Football roster has not yet been published, we'll use the 2021 Catamount Football Preseason Roster for jersey numbers, until the new roster is posted, at which point we'll switch to the official roster for the remainder of the countdown.

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It's now 99 days until the kickoff of Catamount football on Saturday, September 4th, 2021, against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, in E.J Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field, 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 football countdown each day until kickoff day.

Today, we'll highlight a defensive tackle 

#99 Ricky Palao

POSITION Defensive Tackle
HEIGHT 6-2
WEIGHT 270
CLASS Senior
HOMETOWN Hoover, Ala.
HIGH SCHOOL Hoover HS

2019 (Junior): Saw action in 10 of WCU’s 12 games on the season with a pair of starts along the defensive line … Finished the year with 17 total tackles including 10 solo stops and 3.5 tackles for loss, sixth on the team, with half a sack … Tallied a season-best four tackles including one for loss at The Citadel (Oct. 12) with three solo stops at home against North Greenville (Sept. 14) … Credited with a pass break-up at N.C. State (Sept. 7) … Aided on a sack against Gardner-Webb (Oct. 5).

2018 (Sophomore): Played in seven games along the defensive front making two starts … Missed the first four games of the season before seeing his first action at Samford (Oct. 6) … Finished with 24 tackles on the season including eight solo stops and 2.5 tackles for loss … Posted 1.5 tackles for loss including a sack against Chattanooga (Oct. 13) … Credited with a career-high 11 tackles against The Citadel (Nov. 3)

2017 (Freshman): Played in eight of the team's 12 games on the season as a substitution along the defensive line and on special teams ... Finished the year with six total tackles including four solo stops and one tackle for loss coming against FBS-foe, North Carolina (Nov. 18) ... Made his collegiate debut in the home-opener against Davidson (Sept. 9) ... Recorded his first career tackle against nationally-ranked Samford (Sept. 23) ... Named to the 2017-18 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: Was a part of the Alabama State 7-A high school football championship team as a senior, collecting one of Hoover High's nine sacks in the title game ... Selected to the "Over the Mountain Journal" All-OTM football team ... High school head coach was Josh Niblett.

Personal: Full name is Ricardo A. Palao ... Is the son of Ricardo Palao, Sr., and Neisha Glapion.