WCU’s Desmond Reid Named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week

Western Carolina sophomore running back Desmond Reid was today selected as The Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in last Saturday’s upset victory over the nationally-ranked Samford Bulldogs

The weekly league honor is the first for the reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year, as well as the first for the Catamounts this season. Reid did collect a national honorable mention for top freshman during the 2022 season. The SoCon's weekly award winners are selected by the conference office from nominations submitted by the sports information or media relations personnel at each institution.

Reid helped spearhead a Catamount ground attack that contributed 284 yards to the team’s 546 yards of total offense in last Saturday’s upset win over No. 7/8 Samford. The Miami Gardens, Fla., product eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fourth time in his career, just missing his career-high with 170 yards and a game-capping two-yard touchdown rush against Samford. Reid added a pair of receptions out of the backfield for 13 yards giving him a total of 183 for the day.

It's the second consecutive season that Reid has surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark in the home-opening game. In the 2022 home-opening victory over Presbyterian, he rushed for a career-best 175 yards and two scores, adding four yards on a pair of receptions.

Reid has scored a rushing touchdown in both games to date to give him two for the season and six for his career. Just two weeks into 2023, he already has half as many rushing TDs (2) as he had in 10 games last fall (4).

Western Carolina’s SoCon-opening upset win over Samford marked its fourth-straight league win dating back to last season – and second-straight over a nationally-ranked league foe in Cullowhee. The back-to-back victories over nationally-ranked FCS opposition are the first since the 1992 and 1993 seasons with the win marking WCU’s first over a NCAA FCS Top 10 team since upsetting then No. 2 ranked Furman back in 2005. It also halted Samford’s eight-game SoCon winning streak as the Bulldogs won the championship last fall with an unblemished 8-0 record.

Reid’s weekly honor comes the same day that WCU was dubbed the FedEx Ground FCS National Team of the Week by Stats Perform FCS, and Jayelin Davis received an honorable mention as the national honors were handed out by the same organization.

WCU's weekly football coaches show, "Catamount Football Weekly" with head coach Kerwin Bell continues on Monday (Sept. 11) night at 6 p.m. The show originates live-on-location at Innovation-Cullowhee, located on the first-floor Noble Hall in the heart of the WCU campus. The show also airs on Facebook LIVE through the Catamount Athletics Facebook page (fb.com/catamountsports).

Western Carolina (1-1) hits the road in FCS nonconference action this weekend, traveling to Richmond, Ky., to face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at Roy Kidd Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 16. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live audio from the Catamount Sports Network beginning at 5 p.m.