California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

After becoming the second of only three running backs in school history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single-season, Wes Cates becomes the 39th Vulcan football player inducted into the Cal U Hall of Fame.

As a backup tailback in 1998, Cates gained 424 rushing yards with five touchdowns and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

The following year, Cates’ sophomore year became one for the school and conference record books as he rushed for 1,935 yards on 298 attempts with 23 touchdowns. Cates became Cal’s first running back to gain more than 1,000 rushing yards since 1995 Hall of Fame inductee Elmo Natali ran for 1,035 yards in 1951. His rushing attempts and yardage from that season are still single-season school records and the rushing yards total is third best in PSAC history.

“When I came in as a freshman we kind of had a two-back rotating system and never really kept one back on the field the whole game,” said Cates. “It was told to me that’s how it was going to be but when the starter (Rich Nartey) did not come back we were kind of short in the backfield and it fell on my shoulders. I took advantage of the situation early and it kinds of panned out for me the next three seasons.”

Cates concluded his brilliant career by gaining 1,615 yards with 14 scores in 2000 and 1,673 yards with 23 touchdowns (1 receiving) in 2001. His explosive running helped the 2001 Vulcans record the school’s best overall record (5-5) in 14 years.

Five years later, Cates still owns the PSAC career records for rushing yards (5,647), touchdowns (63) and is second in career attempts (937). Nine times he rushed for more than 200 yards in a game and he owns four of the school’s top five rushing games. In his last collegiate game, a 68-12 Cal road win at Cheyney, Cates broke his own single-game school record by rushing for 307 yards with five touchdowns. That total is still the fifth best in PSAC history. He initially set the school record for single-game rushing with a 286-yard performance in Cal’s 1999 Homecoming win over Edinboro that snapped an 11-game losing skid with the Fighting Scots.

A three-time, first-team all-conference selection, he was named the 2001 PSAC-West Player of the Year and was a 1999 and 2001 All-American. Cates is understandably proud to add the university’s highest athletic honor to his many awards.

“It’s definitely a privilege and being from out of state I wasn’t really sure what I was gong to do coming out of high school,” Cates said. “To have the opportunity to play at Cal was really special for me and to be inducted into the hall of fame in my first year of eligibility shows how much people thought of my performance while I was there so I am honored. It’s definitely a blessing and privilege to be inducted this soon. Then again they were feeding me the ball a lot while I was there and I tried to make the best of it. I guess the hall of fame induction and a good professional opportunity came out of it. I am grateful.”

Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Cates played scholastic football at Westerville North High School. After playing at several offensive skill and defensive positions for three seasons, Cates moved primarily to running back his senior year and gained over 1,400 rushing yards while receiving second-team, All-State honors.

His record-breaking 1999 season has him forever intertwined with Natali, Cal’s Original All-American who went on to be a longtime teacher, coach, and administrator at the university.

“We got to talk a couple times and he is a real down-to-earth guy who seemed real proud of me and breaking his record,” Cates said of Natali. “It’s always an honor to meet people who basically paved the way and you have to give respect and credit where it is due. You can tell he is a leader by the way he speaks and presents himself.”

He earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from Cal U in May 2002 and began a career in professional football.

This season, Cates is enjoying a most productive season with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). As of early October, he was among the league’s leader in special teams tackles with 15 and had more than 400 rushing and receiving yards with three touchdowns.

In 2004, Cates played for the Tri-City Diesel of the National Indoor Football League and was the league’s second-leading rusher and scorer with 1,050 yards and 36 touchdowns respectively.

While Cates has gone on to establish himself in the pro ranks, Cal U football has continued its upward trend and the former Vulcan star is well aware of his old team’s PSAC-West championship season of 2005. One of the current Cal players is Rashad Griffin, who is also from Westerville North High School and the two families have known each other for years.

“Rashad text-messaged me a picture of the championship ring so I got a chance to see that and I was little jealous,” said Cates. “But I take a lot of pride that I helped turn things around. When I got there we were a 2-9 team. By my senior year, the participation picked up and we had 20 guys graduate who were all dedicated to the program. It feels good to be part of a program that now looks like it is going to be successful for years to come.”

Though he is unable to attend the Hall of Fame Banquet due to his team still being in season, Cates will always have pleasant memories of his college days and plans on using his education following his professional football career.

“I have a lot of guys that I went to school with that I still talk with and Cal was a real good experience for me. It was a smaller town atmosphere that I was used to, which tool some time to adjust but I definitely enjoyed myself. I would like to play for a while and the CFL is a great league. But it is all relative because pro football is very rough on your body and I don’t want to be crutching around when I am 40 to 50 years old. I don’t want to hang out longer than I should and I want to use my education.”

Cates is single and resides in Columbus, Ohio, during the off-season.