To help pass those long summer days, and hopefully get the Catamount faithful a little 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 a Punter
#95 Stephen Brantley
Height 6-2
Weight 230
Class Sophomore
Hometown Pilot Mountain, N.C.
High School East Surry HS
2023 (Freshman): Played in all 11 games handling the punting and placekick holding duties on special teams … Punted 31 times for a combined 1,248 yards with four touchbacks … Ranked sixth in the SoCon with a 40.3 yard per punt average … Posted a single-game career-high of five punts three times … Recorded seven punts of 50+ yards with nine kicks downed inside the opponent 20-yard line on the season … Also kicked off eight times for 430 total yards with a touchback, recording a career-high seven kickoffs against ETSU (Nov. 11) … Averaged 53.8 yards per kickoff … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener at SEC-foe Arkansas (Sept. 2) in Little Rock, punting a career-high five times … Matched his career-best with five punts at Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 16) and at Chattanooga (Oct. 7) ... Named to the Coaches 2023 SoCon All-Freshman team … Punted seven times in WCU’s annual Spring Game, averaging 42 yards per boot including a long of nearly 60 yards, while also handling the placekick holding duties for both squads.
Prior to Western Carolina: Joined the Catamount football team as a preferred walk-on … Played defensive end, tight end, H-back, and kicker/punter as a prep ... Was a third-team HighSchoolOT.com All-State special teams selection and a first-team 2-A All-State… As a senior, recorded 18 punts for a 41.2 yard per kick average with eight downed inside the opponent 20-yard line ... Had touchbacks on 14 of his 19 kickoffs while also hitting a 45-yard field goal … Also added 24 receptions for 299 yards and four touchdowns … As a junior, punted 17 times for a 40.1 yard per kick average with six downed inside the opponent 20-yard line … Over three seasons, recorded 50 kickoffs with a 54.5 yard per kick average and 21 touchbacks ... Credited with 6.5 tackles as a kicker/punter ... Named the Foothills 2-A Specialist of the Year and a Kohl's National Top Performer of the Week in 2022 ... Won the Kohl's Eastern Showcase Punting competition in May 2022, earning a 5-start punter rating with Kohl's kicking ... 10th-ranked punter in the nation by Kohl's in 2023, earning Kohl's Blue-Grey All-America selection in 2022-23 ... Finalist for the Under Armour All-America selection at the Kohl's National Scholarship Camp ... Named 2022 MaxPreps Small Town All-American football second-team defense as a punter.
Personal: Is the son of Deborah and Bryant Brantley ... Is one of six children ... Has a cousin and her husband who attended WCU ... Intends to major in construction management at WCU.
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