It's now 1 day until the kickoff of Catamount football on Saturday, August 29, 2026, against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 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 highlight two (2) Catamount players currently assigned to #1 (one offense, one defense) on the WCU Preseason Roster:
#1 Jai Boyd
Position: Wide Receiver
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6-2
Weight: 180
Class: Senior
Hometown: Ridgeway, S.C.
High School: Fairfield Central HS
Weight: 180
Class: Senior
Hometown: Ridgeway, S.C.
High School: Fairfield Central HS
2025 (Redshirt Sophomore): Battled back from injury twice to see action in three games, making his season debut at Furman (Oct. 11) … Recorded two receptions against nationally-ranked Mercer (Nov. 8), finishing the year with 21 receiving yards and a 10-yard receiving score against the Bears for his first collegiate touchdown.
2024 (Redshirt Freshman): Played in nine of the team’s 12 games with one start … Finished with 19 receptions for 307 total yards … Twice had a career-long reception of 56 yards … Recorded at least two receptions in eight of the nine games he played … Made his first collegiate reception as part of two catches against Wofford (Oct. 5) for a combined 16 yards, duplicating that effort a week later against The Citadel (Oct. 12) … Caught a career-high three passes for a career-best 102 receiving yards in the road win at Furman (Oct. 19) … Closed the year with consecutive three-catch games against VMI (Nov. 16) for 77 yards and at Samford (Nov. 23) … Caught three passes for a scrimmage-best 107 receiving yards in WCU’s annual Spring Game.
2023 (Freshman): Played in two games, remaining eligible for a redshirt … Did not record an official statistics … Made his collegiate debut in the season opener at Arkansas (Sept. 2) while also playing in the home win over Charleston Southern (Sept. 23).
Prior to Western Carolina: Two-way player as a prep playing wide receiver and free safety … Caught 48 passes for 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior, adding a punt return for a score.
Personal: Is the son of PerKenya Boyd and Dontae Boyd
2024 (Redshirt Freshman): Played in nine of the team’s 12 games with one start … Finished with 19 receptions for 307 total yards … Twice had a career-long reception of 56 yards … Recorded at least two receptions in eight of the nine games he played … Made his first collegiate reception as part of two catches against Wofford (Oct. 5) for a combined 16 yards, duplicating that effort a week later against The Citadel (Oct. 12) … Caught a career-high three passes for a career-best 102 receiving yards in the road win at Furman (Oct. 19) … Closed the year with consecutive three-catch games against VMI (Nov. 16) for 77 yards and at Samford (Nov. 23) … Caught three passes for a scrimmage-best 107 receiving yards in WCU’s annual Spring Game.
2023 (Freshman): Played in two games, remaining eligible for a redshirt … Did not record an official statistics … Made his collegiate debut in the season opener at Arkansas (Sept. 2) while also playing in the home win over Charleston Southern (Sept. 23).
Prior to Western Carolina: Two-way player as a prep playing wide receiver and free safety … Caught 48 passes for 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior, adding a punt return for a score.
Personal: Is the son of PerKenya Boyd and Dontae Boyd
#1 Ken Moore Jr.
Position: SPUR
Height: 5-10
Weight: 165
Class: Fifth Year
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: Christopher Columbus HS
Height: 5-10
Weight: 165
Class: Fifth Year
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
High School: Christopher Columbus HS
2026 (Redshirt Senior): Was a first-team Preseason All-Southern Conference selection by the league's head coaches ... Named first-team Preseason All-America by FCS Football Central ... Named second-team Preseason All-America by both Stats Perform FCS and Phil Steele as a defensive back ... Listed on the preseason watch list for the 2026 Buck Buchanan Award.
2025 (Redshirt Junior): Started all 12 of the team’s games in the defensive secondary … Finished sixth on the Catamount squad with 43 total tackles, with 28 solo stops and 5.5 for loss with a sack ... Tied for the WCU lead with three interceptions, tied for third in the Southern Conference … Was tied for the team-lead with seven pass breakups, tied for sixth in the conference ... Recorded tackles in all 12 games, including a career-high 10 tackles with seven solo stops in the road win at The Citadel (Oct. 18) … Finished with eight tackles against Elon (Sept. 13) with half a TFL and tallied a sack as part of a three-stop effort in the road win at Wofford (Oct. 4) ... Intercepted a pair of passes in the win over Furman (Oct. 11), returning a second-quarter pick 64 yards for a touchdown, his second career defensive score ... Named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 13) after the Furman victory … Named a first-team All-Southern Conference selection at defensive back by the league's head coaches ... Selected to the first-team All-SoCon by Phil Steele … Was a preseason first-team All-SoCon selection.
2024 (Redshirt Sophomore): Played in all 12 of the team’s games on the season with 10 starts in the defensive secondary … Recorded 36 total tackles, including 23 solo stops and four tackles for loss … Posted tackles in all 12 games with multiple stops nine times … Finished second on the team with a career-best four interceptions coming in four separate games … Made his first collegiate start in the season-opener at NC State (Aug. 29), finishing with five total tackles and an interception he returned 51 yards … Two of his three stops against The Citadel (Oct. 12) went for loss … Credited with five solo stops against Chattanooga (Nov. 2), recording his second interception with a 38-yard return … Returned a second-quarter interception 34 yards for his first career touchdown as part of WCU’s 41-7 first-half lead against VMI (Nov. 16) … Posted a career-high six tackles, including five solo stops in the season finale at Samford (Nov. 23) … Credited with five stops and a pass breakup in WCU’s annual Spring Game.
2023 (Redshirt Freshman): Played in all 11 of the team’s games as a defensive reserve and on special teams … Recorded 17 total tackles with 11 solo stops with one tackle for loss … Credited with two pass breakups and had an interception … Made his collegiate debut in the season-opener at Arkansas (Sept. 2), making his first career tackle as part of a two solo stop effort … Posted a career-high six tackles with four solo stops against Charleston Southern (Sept. 23) … Had a tackle for loss at The Citadel (Sept. 30) … Made his first career interception at Chattanooga (Oct. 7), adding a pair of pass breakups in the road win … Credited with four tackles in the home win over Mercer (Oct. 28) and three in the road win at Wofford (Nov. 4) … Named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team.
2022 (Freshman): Did not see game action ... Recorded a pass breakup in WCU's annual Spring Game.
Prior to Western Carolina: Credited with 64 total tackles including 44 solo stops according to MaxPreps … Posted three interceptions as a prep … Caught 10 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns as a part of 547 all-purpose yards … Listed as a three-star recruit by 247Sports.com and a two-star recruit by Rivals.com.ma Simpson … Is the brother of former Catamount, Bo Simpson-Nealy, who transferred to Florida Atlantic.
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