Sunday, August 22, 2021

13 days to WCU Football Kickoff - #13 Ronald Kent & Keenan Hambrick







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 13 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 an offensive and defensive player:

#13 Ronald Kent


POSITION Cornerback
HEIGHT 5-10
WEIGHT 175
CLASS Junior
HOMETOWN Harrisburg, Pa
HIGH SCHOOL Harrisburg HS

2020-21 (Junior): Started all nine games in the defensive secondary … Finished fourth on the team with 47 total tackles in the season including 29 solo stops … Recorded four-or-more tackles in eight of the team’s nine games including a season-best seven at Furman (Feb. 20) … Defended three passes with a pair of pass break-ups and an interception … Forced a fumble at Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 21) … Tallied his first career interception at North Carolina (Dec. 5), returning it for a touchdown that was called back due to a penalty but was credited with a 24-yard return … Earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors at defensive back from the league’s head coaches.

2019 (Sophomore): Started 11 of the team’s 12 seasonal games, missing the season-finale at Alabama (Nov. 23) … Finished the year with 32 total tackles including 20 solo stops and half a tackle for loss … Led the team with seven pass break-ups, twice posting two in a game against North Greenville (Sept. 14) and ETSU (Nov. 9) … Posted a season-high five tackles including half a tackle for loss at home against Furman (Oct. 26) … Recovered a fumble at VMI (Nov. 2) … Selected preseason first-team All-Southern Conference at DB at the annual SoCon Football Media Day … Named preseason first-team All-SoCon by Phil Steele.

2018 (Freshman): Played in all 11 of the team’s games, making seven starts in the defensive secondary … Finished sixth on the team with 45 total tackles including 31 solo stops and five tackles for loss while also being credited with forcing a fumble … Ranked second in the Southern Conference with a team-best 12 pass break-ups – a mark that ranked the rookie tied for sixth in WCU’s single-season record books ... It was the first time a Catamount defender hit double-digit passes defended since Trey Morgan recorded 10 back in 2016 … Kent’s 12 PBUs are the most by a Catamount since Ahmed Green had 12 back in 2002 … Tallied three pass break-ups in three different games … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener against Newberry (Sept. 1), recording four tackles … Made his first career start against VMI (Sept. 22), posting six total stops with three PBUs … Posted a career-high nine tackles in the triple-overtime thriller against nationally-ranked ETSU (Oct. 27) … Graced the watch list as a semifinalist for the Jerry Rice Award which is given annually by STATS FCS to the top freshman player … Named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team defense by the league’s head coaches … Tagged a Freshman All-America selection by both Phil Steele and HERO Sports.

Prior to Western Carolina: Was a two-way athlete at Harrisburg High … Was a first-team defensive back on the All-State postseason team … Selected first-team PennLive defensive all-star, finishing with 27 tackles and five interceptions in the secondary … Listed as the No. 9 cornerback in Pennsylvania’s 2018 recruiting class by Penn Preps through 247Sports … Caught 21 passes for 385 yards and a touchdown on offense as a senior and had 22 receptions for 287 yards and three scores as a junior … Also wrestled as a prep.

Personal: Full name is Ronald Lewis Kent Jr. … Is the son of Ronald Kent Sr. ... Younger brother, Donte, accepted a football scholarship to Central Michigan.


#13 Keenan Hambrick


POSITION
Wide Receiver
HEIGHT 6-3
WEIGHT 205
CLASS Freshman
HOMETOWN Athens, Ala.
HIGH SCHOOL Athens HS


2020-21 (Freshman)
: Saw action in eight of the team’s nine games on the season with one start at wide receiver … Caught nine passes for 74 yards and added one tackle … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener at Liberty (Nov. 14) … Made his first career reception at Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 21), a four-yard grab from QB Will Jones … Caught a career-best four passes for a career-high 42 yards at Samford (Feb. 27) that included a career-long grab of 14 yards … Also caught two passes against The Citadel (March 13) … Made his first career start at Mercer (March 20).


Prior to Western Carolina: As a junior, caught 24 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns … Listed as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and a two-star recruit by Rivals.com … Verbally committed to Kansas as a junior … Played for Austin HS in the Hoover City Elite 7-on-7 Championship in Hoover … Also, plays basketball and participates in jumping events in track & field as a prep.

Personal: Is the son of Larinda Donnell.








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