5 days to WCU Football Kickoff - Carlos Davis & Mateo Sudipo

Welcome to the twelfth annual Catamount Football  "100 days to WCU Football Kickoff Countdown".

It's now 5 days until the kickoff of Catamount football on Saturday, September 3rd, 2022, against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, on Buccaneer Field in Charleston, SC

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 will highlight two players assigned to #5, one offense, one defense, a quarterback and a defensive safety:

#5 Carlos Davis

POSITION Quarterback
HEIGHT 6-3
WEIGHT 225
CLASS Junior
HOMETOWN Baltimore, Md.
HIGH SCHOOL Mergenthaler Vo-Tech HS









2022 (Redshirt Junior): Was named to the fourth-team preseason All-Southern Conference by Phil Steele.

2021 (Redshirt Sophomore): Saw action in five games on the season with a pair of starts at quarterback ... Threw for 902 yards on 75-of-115 passing with six touchdowns and five interceptions ... Rushed 28 times for a total of 85 yards ... Made his season debut in reserve at Oklahoma, completing 5-of-7 passes for 37 yards ... Was credited with a tackle after a fumble against the Sooners ... Threw for 225 yards on 16 completions with two TDs in a reserve role at Chattanooga (Oct. 2) ... Made his first start against Mercer (Oct. 9), completing 18-of-32 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown ... Rushed a career-high 11 times against Mercer ... Passed for a career-high 401 yards and three touchdowns on 31-of-40 passing as the starter in a road win at The Citadel (Oct. 23), earning Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week plaudits on Oct. 25.

2020-21 (Redshirt Sophomore): Played in two games in the spring semester, both as a reserve at quarterback … Rushed once for three yards at Samford (Feb. 27) in his WCU debut … Completed his first pass as a Catamount, tossing a 44-yard touchdown pass to tight end Clayton Bardall at ETSU (March 27) after lining up as a wide receiver.

Prior to Western Carolina: Joined the Catamount football team as a mid-semester transfer in January 2020 from East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss., where he earned an associate’s degree … Also played at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas … In nine games, completed 60-percent of his passes for 833 yards and seven touchdowns, adding 256 rushing yards and three scores … Garnered a two-star ranking from Gridiron RR among the nation’s junior college quarterbacks.

Personal: His twin sister plays women’s basketball at Temple where she was a USBWA All-American honorable mention in 2020.


#5 Mateo Sudipo

POSITION Safety
HEIGHT 6-1
WEIGHT 205
CLASS Redshirt Sophomore
HOMETOWN Wake Forest, N.C.
COLLEGE Coastal Carolina
HIGH SCHOOL Wake Forest HS





Prior to Western Carolina: Transferred to WCU from Coastal Carolina during the summer of 2022 ...

Redshirted in 2019 as a true freshman, playing in two games on special teams but did not record statistics ... Played in 22 total games between 2019 and 2021, mostly on special teams and as a defensive substitution ... Recorded 27 total tackles with 21 solo stops and six assists with 0.5 TFL on a sack in 2021 ... Credited with two passes defended ... Made his first career start in 2021 at Arkansas State (Oct. 7) ... Recorded the game-winning tackle against No. 8 BYU in 2020, dropping Cougar WR Dax Milne at the one-yard line as time expired to help secure the program's first-ever FBS Top 10 win for the Chanticleers.

High School: Two-year letterwinner for Wake Forest High and head coach Reggie Lucas ... Was a North Carolina Shrine Bowl selection ... Started his senior season at cornerback and wide receiver before transitioning to quarterback midway through the year ... Helped lead his team to its third-straight state title and fifth title game appearance in 2018, going 14-0 with a No. 1 ranking in North Carolina ... Was a part of a 45-game team winning streak ... Named the state championship MVP with an interception on defense ... Also lettered in basketball, earning team MVP honors in 2019.

Personal: Full name is Mateo Christian Sudipo ... Is the son of Christa Hardman and Ketut Sudipo ... Has a younger sibling, Kimora Sudipo ... Was born in Boca Raton, Fla.