6 Days Until Catamount Football Kickoff - Striggles & Simpson-Nealy

It's now 6 days until the kickoff of Catamount football on Saturday,  August 30, 2025, against the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs in E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC. 

To help pass those long summer days and get the Catamount faithful more excited about the upcoming season and more knowledgeable of the team members, we'll continue the football countdown each day until kickoff day. 

Today, we will highlight two players who wear #6, one on offense and one on defense: 

#6 Marcus Striggles 

Position Wide Receiver

Height 5-9
Weight 180
Class Sophomore
Hometown Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
High School Dillard HS











Prior to Western Carolina: Transfer from Concord University in Athens, W.Va., where he was regarded as the top freshman wide receiver in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) … Listed as an Honorable Mention on the postseason All-MEC team … Finished fourth in the MEC with 48 receptions for 600 yards and a touchdown over 10 games … Averaged 60 receiving yards per game, sixth-best in the league … Had one 100-yard performance against Fairmont State … Originally committed to WCU back in 2023; 

High School: As a senior, hauled in 55 passes for 730 yards and eight touchdowns … Caught 31 passes for 713 yards and five touchdowns in 2022 at Dillard High … Also ran track & field as a prep where he was a member of his school’s 4x100 meter relay team that placed fourth at the Florida 3A meet as a junior … He also qualified for regionals in the long jump event that same season.

#6 Bo Simpson-Nealy 

Position Safety
Height 5-10
Weight 185
Class Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown Altamonte Springs, Fla.
High School Seminole HS












2024 (Redshirt Freshman): Played in 10 of the team’s 12 games with seven starts in the defensive secondary … Credited with 37 total tackles, tied for sixth on the squad … Tallied 22 solo stops, including four for loss with a quarterback sack … Had tackles in all 10 games he played, with multiple tackles recorded eight times … Posted a pair of takeaways with an interception and a fumble recovery … Made his first collegiate start in the season-opener at NC State (Aug. 29), finishing with five total tackles with one for loss … Including six solo stops, finished with seven tackles in the road win at Elon (Sept. 14), recovering a fumble in the winning effort … Credited with a career-high eight tackles with five solo stops and half a TFL at nationally-ranked Montana (Sept. 21) … Booked four tackles both at Mercer (Oct. 26), adding his first career interception, and four stops at ETSU (Nov. 9) … Named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team defense by the league’s head coaches.

2023 (Freshman): Played in four games as a defensive reserve and on special teams, remaining eligible for a redshirt … Recorded nine total tackles including a pair of solo stops and half a tackle for loss … Made his collegiate debut and recorded his first career tackle in the home win over Charleston Southern (Sept. 23) … Tallied a solo tackle at The Citadel (Sept. 30) … Had three stops against Furman (Oct. 21) while recording a career-best four tackles in the home win over ETSU (Nov. 11)… Credited with four tackles in WCU’s annual Spring Game ... Named to the 2023-24 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: Over his final three seasons, recorded 112 total tackles including 65 solo stops and four tackles for loss with two sacks, according to MaxPreps … Had three career interceptions, two as a senior to go along with 34 tackles to earn first-team all-conference honors … Added 91 punt return yards in his final season … Had a 58 tackles junior season … Three-sport prep athlete, also playing basketball and baseball as a prep.

Personal: Is the son of Ebony and Nakoma Simpson … First name is Antonio, but goes by “Bo”.