Western Carolina junior quarterback Cole Gonzales today received his second preseason All-America honor ahead of the 2024 season as he was named to the FCS Preseason All-America third-team by Stats Perform.
Gonzales was selected to the second-team Preseason All-America by FCS Football Central earlier this month. At last week’s Southern Conference Football Media Day at the Hotel Hartness in Greenville, S.C., Gonzales was named the Preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference at quarterback.
Gonzales was one of eight players from the SoCon recognized on the three Stats Perform Preseason All-America squads. Samford senior linebacker Noah Martin was the league’s lone first-team selection. Mercer senior linebacker Ken Standley joined Chattanooga receiver Javin Whatley and defensive lineman Marlon Taylor on the second team. A trio of conference linebackers joined Gonzales on the third team including ETSU’s William McRainey, Luke Clark from Furman, and Mercer’s Isaac Dowling each receiving the preseason accolade.
Earning the SoCon’s Roy M. “Legs” Hawley Offensive Player of the Year honor from the voting media a season ago, Gonzales was a first-team All-SoCon selection from the same group in 2023 after guiding the nation’s top yardage-producing offense in the NCAA FCS. The Catamounts finished last season as the only team in the subdivision to average over 500 yards per game, leading the NCAA FCS with a 504.1-yard per game average. Gonzales finished the season 204-of-310 for 2,803 yards and tossed a school single-season record 28 touchdown passes, tied for the fourth-most in the country. He ranked third nationally with a 166.40 passer efficiency rating and was tied for 14th nationally with 254.8 passing yards per game.
Originally from Ocala, Fla., Gonzales threw for 200 or more yards in nine of the team’s 11 games last season, eclipsing the 300-yard threshold three times including a career-best 388 yards through the air against Mercer. He also completed 20 or more passes on four different occasions. Gonzales established and matched a career-high five touchdown passes on three occasions, setting the benchmark with five scores in the first half in the blowout of Charleston Southern in late September. He also tossed five TD passes against Mercer, and in the “Blue Ridge Border Battle” win over ETSU in mid-November.
Last season as a sophomore, Gonzales secured WCU’s best finish in the national voting for the Walter Payton Award, presented by Stats Perform and given annually to the nation’s top offensive player in the NCAA FCS. The fourth Catamount to advance to the final vote, he was among 30 finalists and finished 17th in the national vote. He was the highest finisher among three offensive players from the SoCon that made the final ballot.
Gonzales enters the 2024 season already ranked tied for fourth in program history with Don Dalton (1966-69) with 39 career touchdown passes, just four shy of third place and 25 away from the school record of 64 by Tyrie Adams (2016-19). He ranks 11th in WCU history with 4,139 career passing yards, ranking ninth in career total offense with 4,489 yards, just 854 yards short of the Top Five in the record ledgers.
All 13 FCS conferences and 60 schools are represented among the 106 All-Americans. North Dakota State has the high of eight preseason All-Americans, while Montana also has six selections and Montana State five.
Opening the season on Thursday before Labor Day weekend on the road at North Carolina State, Western Carolina's football student-athletes officially report for the 2024 preseason fall camp on Monday, July 29, with the first helmet-only practice set for Tuesday, July 30.
Season tickets for Western Carolina's 2024 five-game home schedule are on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office by phone at (828) 227-2401 and in person through the box office on the first floor of the Ramsey Center, or online at CatamountSports.com.
Ticket options include general admission, reserved bleacher bench, and chairback seats, with a Family Zone four-pack in Section FF. A $10 transaction fee will be charged for all season ticket orders including credit card, cash, and check.
Single-game ticket and game day parking sales for the home-opening "White Out Whitmire" game against instate foe Campbell on Sat., Sept. 7, are also on sale now through the WCU Athletics Ticket Office. Individual game ticket sales and parking for the remaining four home dates begin on Aug. 1. Parking for the 2024 season is $15 in advance and $20 on game day.
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