9 Days Until WCU Football Kickoff - Cole Gonzales / Darian Anderson Jr.

It's now 9 days until the kickoff of Catamount Football on Thursday, August 29, 2024, against NC State Wolfpack in Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, 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 will highlight two players that wear #9, one on offense and one of defense::

#9 Cole Gonzales 

Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-0
Weight: 195
Class: Junior
Hometown: Ocala, Fla.
High School: Trinity Catholic HS

2023 (Sophomore): Started all 11 games at quarterback before suffering an injury early in the VMI game … Finished the year 204-for-310 for 2,803 yards passing and a school-record – and NCAA regular-season leading – 28 touchdown passes against just eight interceptions … Ranked third in the NCAA FCS in passer efficiency (166.40) and was tied for 14th overall in passing yards per game at 254.8 yds/gm … Threw for 200 or more yards in nine of the team’s 11 games, eclipsing the 300-yard threshold three times including a career-best 388 passing yards against Mercer (Oct. 28) … Added 54 rushes for 203 yards … Averaged 273.3 yards of total offense per game … Established and matched a career-high with five touchdown passes on three occasions, setting the benchmark with five scores through the air in the first half against Charleston Southern (Sept. 23) while also throwing five TD passes against Mercer and against ETSU (Nov. 11) … Two-time SoCon Offensive Player of the Week and a pair of honorable mentions for the FedEx Ground National Offensive Player of the Week plaudit … … Was a first-team All-Southern Conference media selection and the league’s Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year from the SoCon Sports Media Association, the first for a Catamount since 1984 … Finalist for the Walter Payton Award, finishing a program-best 17th overall in the national vote ... Named to the 2023-24 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

2022 (Freshman): Played in eight games as a true freshman with four starts at quarterback … Completed 102-of-161 passes for 1,336 yards with 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions … Added 147 rushing yards on 43 attempts with a touchdown … Averaged 185.4 yards of total offense per game … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener at Charleston Southern (Sept. 3) without recording any statistics … Completed his first collegiate pass at Georgia Tech (Sept. 10), finishing 6-of-8 for 38 yards against the Yellow Jackets … Made his first collegiate start in the home win over Presbyterian (Sept. 17), throwing for 276 yards on 19 completions with three TD passes - his first on a five-yard pass to TE Ajay Belanger … Completed a career-best 24 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns in guiding WCU to a win over nationally-ranked Chattanooga (Nov. 19) … Named to the 2022 Southern Conference All-Freshman team on offense ... Named to the 2022-23 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: Pro-style quarterback was a four-year varsity starter at Trinity Catholic HS … Threw for 932 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior, adding 668 yards and five scores on the ground in leading Trinity Catholic to the regional finals of the FHSAA 3A playoffs … Also averaged 42.3 yards per punt … Passed for 1,008 yards while rushing for 300 as a junior, guiding his high school to the Class 3A state semifinals … Also plays baseball as a prep.

Personal: Is the son of Julie and Billy Gonzales … His father is currently an assistant football coach at the University of Florida where he coaches wide receivers … Was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.

#9 Darian Anderson Jr.

Position: Cornerback
Height: 5-10
Weight: 160
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: Dade Christian School













2023 (Redshirt Freshman): Played in all 11 of the team’s games as a reserve on defense and on special teams … Credited with 12 total tackles including nine solo stops and one tackle for two yards of loss … Recorded tackles in five of the 11 games played … Tallied a career-high four tackles twice with three solo stops and an assist in the road wins at The Citadel (Sept. 30) and at Chattanooga (Oct. 7) … Recorded his first career interception in the third quarter in the home win over ETSU (Nov. 11), snaring a ball deflected by Tahjae Mullix at the line of scrimmage … Added his first career tackle for loss against the Bucs.

2022 (Freshman): Played in three games, remaining eligible for a redshirt … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener at Charleston Southern (Sept. 3) returning a punt … Credited with one tackle against Presbyterian (Sept. 17), adding a career-long 30-yard kickoff return … On the year, returned two kickoffs officially ... Named to the 2022-23 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: Team captain as a senior, recorded five career interceptions and had eight total returns for touchdowns as a prep … Added four receptions for 199 yards and three TDs as a senior … Also played on special teams as a kickoff and punt returner … Was a second-team defense selection as an athlete in the 2020 Independent All-State football team compiled by FloridaHSFootball.com … Played for the Florida Fire 7v7 All-Star football team … Listed as a three-star recruit by 247sports and a two-star athlete by Rivals.com – was also a three-star from On3DB … Also runs track as a prep.

Personal: Full name is Darian Kerron Anderson Jr. ... Is the son of Anitra Burse and Darian Anderson Sr.