The Southern Highland Reader

Football

2009-12-19 – WCU coach Dennis Wagner announces mid-term transfers: defensive back Reggie America (Coffeyville, Kan., CC/Junction City, Kan., HS); defensive lineman Walt Woolwine (Garden City, Kan., CC/Ashland, Kan., HS); offensive lineman Dan Polaski (Hargrave, Va., Academy/Long Meadow, Mass.; HS); and quarterback Casey Turner (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge HS). Turner is a transfer from Connecticut.

2009-12-19 – Wagner turns down Kansas.

2009-12-15 – 2010 schedule includes NC State, early date with Appalachian. Story here.

2009-11-29 – Cats sign Tuscola fullback/linebacker John Austin Chambers.

2009-11-29 – In an interview at halftime of last week’s Duquesne game, Coach Dennis Wagner told Catamount basketball broadcaster Gary Ayers that he and his staff planned to try former North Buncombe star quarterback Randy Pressley, who redshirted this year, on the defensive side of the ball in the spring.

2009-08-20 – Veteran Charlotte Observer sportswriter Tom Sorenson has climbed the stairs at E.J. Whitmire Stadium many times during his career. Here he writes about Brad Hoover, who used to run those very stairs (A hint; it’s the Observer’s annual “remember Green Bay” piece).

2009-07-24 – Former WCU standout Darius Fudge was named the Indoor Football League rookie of the year last week. Fudge, who plays for the Wichita Wild, was also a first-team all-league running back selection in the 20-team league. Fudge ran for 936 yards and 31 touchdowns this year. Also honored was Lamont Reid, another former Catamount who was a first-team linebacker for the Wild. A quick look at the Wild roster shows five former Catamounts; in addition to Fudge and Reid, there are Carlton Bailey, Kevin McAlmont and Andre Brown.

2009-07-16 – More on Bumpus from the Muskogee (OK) Phoenix:

“I’ve talked to him and he’s excited,” Muskogee coach Matt Hennesy said. “He had some injury problems at Oklahoma and was pushed back on the depth chart. He wants to get on the field. Jonte also had an offer from Cal-Poly.”

Hennesy said Bumpus, who had 92 tackles and nine sacks in his senior year (2007) at Muskogee, has three years of eligibility left. He was signed by WCU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Andy Follett, who was at Missouri State.

“(Follett) signed Jaryd Horn and Andre Anderson to Missouri State,” Hennesy said. “He recruited (Muskogee) hard and that’s how Jonte knows him.”

2009-07-14 – The Catamounts have bolstered their defensive line by bringing in Oklahoma Sooner transfer Jonte Bumpus. Story from the Oklahoman. High school info (from OU): Recorded 92 tackles and nine sacks as a senior in Oklahoma’s 6A Class … also recorded 10 tackles for loss, nine forced passes, and three fumble recoveries … named first-team all-state by The Oklahoman and Tulsa World … defensive lineman of the year in district 6A-4 … collected 96 tackles and four sacks as a junior … also a track and field athlete … coached by Matt Hennesy.

• Three-star Rivals.com
• No. 32 defensive end in the nation (Scout.com)
• No. 30 weakside defensive end in the nation (Rivals.com)
• No. 8 in Oklahoma top 30 of 2007 (Rivals.com)

2009-07-10 – Ja’Quayvin Smalls here and here.

Notes: Among the players who won’t return in the fall are a couple of very familiar names: Quintin Phillips, a senior linebacker with a nose for the ball, and Adam Hearns, an athlete who has seen time at quarterback and wide receiver. A source close to the program says that “nobody is gone that the coaches wish was still around”. More evidence that Coach Dennis Wagner’s my-way-or-the-highway philosophy applies regardless of talent level.

SYLVA–Ja’Quayvin Smalls, a Western Carolina University football recruit who died during an off-season team workout, passed away from “acute lethal cardia dysrhythmia due to cardiomyopathy” according to autopsy results released today.

Smalls also carried the sickle cell trait, according to Dr. Wm. Lawrence Selby, who performed the autopsy at Harris Regional Hospital.

In his report, Dr. Selby noted that Smalls had “a history of sickle cell trait, past positive PPD, and irregular heartbeat with PVC’s during fever approximately 5 years earlier.”

Selby told Tyler Norris Goode and Jon Ostendorf of the Asheville Citizen-Times that he had no clear evidence that the sickle cell trait played a role in Smalls’ death. At question in the national sports media after Smalls’ July death was whether testing for the sickle cell trait — which WCU did not perform — might’ve prevented the death.

Coverage from the Asheville Citizen-Times here.

CULLOWHEE–Western Carolina University football player Ja’Quayvin Smalls, a newly-enrolled transfer from Georgia Military College, died Wednesday at Harris Regional Hospital.

Smalls, participating in his first conditioning workout with the Catamounts, stopped breathing while being treated for cramps. He was administered CPR by athletic training staff and reportedly briefly revived before medical personnel arrived, but was pronounced dead at Harris Regional at 7:30pm.

“Any loss of life is a tragedy, but it is especially tragic when someone is taken from us at such a young age,” said Chip Smith, WCU director of athletics. “Our hearts and prayers are with the family and friends of Ja’Quayvin, and with his coaches and teammates.”

Smalls, from Mt. Pleasant, SC, is survived by his parents Henry and LaSonia Smalls and two younger siblings, Jarrel and Ja’Keil.