Weslye Saunders

Talented senior tight end who has the tools and experience to be a major threat in the Gamecock attack… provides a big target and a difficult matchup for opponents with his 6-6, 273-pound frame… has caught 60 passes for 718 yards and six touchdowns in his career… listed on the preseason Lombardi Watch List… also is a preseason second team All-SEC pick by Athlon Sports and a fourth-team selection by Phil Steele… has made 13 career starts.
2009: Junior tight end who was named to the Mackey preseason Watch List… played in 12 of 13 games making 10 starts… named fourth-team All-SEC by Phil Steele… ranked third on the squad with 32 receptions… logged 353 yards receiving, 11.0 yards per catch with three touchdowns… started quickly with 12 catches in the first two games… caught four passes for 50 yards in the season opener at NC State then had the best day of his career when he caught eight passes for 96 yards at Georgia… had just two catches over the next four contests… got hot again at the end of the season with 13 catches over the final four regular season games, including a five-catch, 62-yard performance against Florida… caught a TD pass against the Gators, then added two more scores in the regular season finale against Clemson.

2008: Appeared in all 13 games, making three starts… caught 16 passes for 214 yards, an average of 13.4 yards… caught three touchdown passes, second on the squad behind Kenny McKinley… made his first collegiate start against Wofford… also had starts against Ole Miss and Tennessee… caught a seven-yard touchdown pass for the game-winning points at Kentucky… caught a 26-yard touchdown pass against LSU… had his best game at Clemson when he caught four passes for 58 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown reception… named the Most Improved Tight End in the spring.

2007: Put together a solid freshman campaign that saw him garner Freshman All-SEC honors by the Sporting News… was a Sporting News Honorable Mention Freshman All-American and a CollegeFootballNews.com third-team Freshman All-American… played in 11-of-12 games, missing only the South Carolina State contest… caught 12 passes for 151 yards, an average of 12.6 yards per reception… had a season-high four receptions for 32 yards at LSU… caught a 48-yard pass, the longest of his career, against Kentucky and appeared to be going into the end zone for a score when the ball was dislodged from his hands… had three catches for 31 yards versus Florida.

HIGH SCHOOL: Played tight end and defensive end for Riverside High School in Durham, N.C… coached by Tommy Blalock… helped the Pirates reach the 4-AA state championship game… team finished the season 11-5 after starting the year 3-4… caught 58 passes for 718 yards with seven touchdowns… also had 242 yards rushing with 10 scores on just 32 carries… logged 86 tackles and eight sacks as a defensive end… was a Shrine Bowl participant… was all-region and all-conference as a junior after recording 20 catches for 308 yards and six touchdowns at tight end, and 52 tackles, four sacks, 14 TFLs and two forced fumbles at defensive end… given a four-star ranking by both Scout.com and Rivals.com… Scout.com considered him the 18th-best tight end prospect in the nation… was the eighth-best player in the state of North Carolina according to Rivals.com.

PERSONAL: Weslye Saunders was born January 16, 1989… is the son of The News & Observer columnist Barry Saunders… is working on a degree in journalism… selected South Carolina over North Carolina, Louisville, Clemson and Florida State, among others.