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ryan-glover
Senior Football player Ryan Glover will be trading in his Red and Blue uniform after graduation to play his last season of eligibility at Western Carolina University. Credit: Alec Druggan

Ryan Glover is not done yet. 

The former Penn football quarterback will have the opportunity to suit up again, but it won’t be for the Red and Blue this time around. After graduating in December, Glover has transferred to Western Carolina University and will be playing for the Catamounts this spring. 

On July 8, 2020, the Ivy League canceled all fall sports as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and continued the sentiment on Nov. 12 by announcing that these fall sports will not be played in the spring. Losing his final season to play for the Quakers, Glover announced on Twitter on Nov. 23 that he would enter the transfer portal for his last season of eligibility. 

Although Glover would ultimately decide to play at WCU, the graduate transfer quarterback also received scholarship offers to play at Marist College and Valpo University. 

Coming out of the Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Ga., Glover was a three-star dual-threat quarterback, earning the 2015 and 2016 Georgia AAAA Player of the Year. After receiving offers from a handful of schools, Glover committed to play at Penn. After a year of developing and learning the position, Glover was named the starting quarterback during his sophomore season in 2018. Starting in all 10 games, Glover led the team to a 6-4 record, throwing for 1482 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 300 yards on the ground.

Unfortunately for Glover, senior Nick Robinson would win the quarterback competition the following season, and Glover spent most of his junior season on the sideline. And of course, before having the chance to earn his spot back, Glover’s senior season was canceled.

During this unprecedented season, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) will be playing this spring instead of the fall, with the regular season starting on February 19. WCU, who play in the Southern Conference of the FCS, will have their first game on February 20. 

Glover will have the opportunity to have an immediate impact on a struggling WCU team. Over the past two seasons, the Catamounts have an overall record of 6-17. In the three games WCU were able to play this past fall, the Catamounts lost all three by a combined 116 points. Needless to say, Glover is hoping to provide some much-needed offensive firepower.

Glover is most likely currently competing for the starting quarterback position with redshirt junior Will Jones, who took most of the snaps under center in the fall. In 2019, Jones was elected as a team captain, starting in three of the six games he played in. He passed for 443 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 39 yards and two scores. In the three games this past fall the Catamounts played, Jones threw for 256 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. 

As the FCS season will start in a little over a week, Glover will hope to make an impact for the Catamounts. Hopefully for the former Quaker, it will be at the starting quarterback position.