Wednesday, August 25, 2021

10 days to WCU Football Kickoff - #10 Willie Hampton & Jakibe Quillen



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. 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 Saturday.

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.

It's now 10 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.

From this point forward, most of the roster numbers have both an offensive and defensive player assigned to that number, today we will highlight both a defensive end and a wide receiver:


#10 Willie Hampton





POSITION Defensive End
HEIGHT 6-1
WEIGHT 220
CLASS Redshirt Junior
HOMETOWN Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
HIGH SCHOOL American Heritage HS


2020-21 (Redshirt Junior): Started all nine seasonal games at linebacker … Finished fifth on the team with 44 tackles including 21 solo stops and 2.0 tackles for loss with a sack … Forced a pair of fumbles and was credited with a pair of pass break-ups … Made his WCU debut with a five-tackle performance at Liberty (Nov. 14), forcing a fumble … Recorded a career-best eight tackles at Furman (Feb. 20) … Credited with three tackles including a sack at Samford (Feb. 27) … Had a career-high four solo stops among six tackles against VMI (March 6) … Had three tackles and forced a fumble against The Citadel (March 13).

Prior to Western Carolina: Originally signed and attended Nebraska where he redshirted in 2017 … Transferred to Garden City CC for two seasons where he recorded 129 tackles including 15.5 tackles for loss with 7.5 sacks … Credited with four pass break-ups and forced three fumbles, each in his second season in 2019 … Finished second on the team with 99 tackles as a redshirt sophomore … Played in the Junior College National Championship game as a redshirt freshman recording three tackles for the Jayhawk Conference champions … High School: Was originally a three-star recruit out of high school … High school coach was Pat Surtain … Recorded 71 tackles and six sacks as a senior in helping lead American Heritage High to a 14-0 record and a 5A state title.

Personal: Is the son of Kim Ridley … Has a younger sister.


#10 Jakibe Quillen





POSITION Wide Receiver
HEIGHT 6-3
WEIGHT
200
CLASS Freshman
HOMETOWN Florence, S.C.
HIGH SCHOOL Wilson HS

2020-21 (Freshman): Played in nine games with a pair of starts at wide receiver … Caught four passes for 53 yards … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener at Liberty (Nov. 14) … Recorded his first career reception at North Carolina (Dec. 5) … Hauled in a 21-yard reception at Mercer (March 20) and a career-long 23-yard catch at ETSU (March 27) ... Named to the 2020-21 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: A big-bodied receiver who was a four-year starter … Listed as one of the top 25 recruits in the state of South Carolina by the Charlotte Observer … Caught 104 career passes for 1,662 career yards and 21 touchdowns including 937 receiving yards and 14 TDs on 62 catches as a senior … Tossed a 64-yard touchdown pass to give him 1,726 career yards … Collected Primetime Performer of the Week after catching 13 passes for 174 yards and two scores in a win over West Florence HS … Selected to the South team in the South Carolina 2019 North-South game … High school coach was Derek Howard.

Personal: Is the son of Lisa White and Jacob Quillen.







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