At the beginning of the 2025 Weber State University football season, the Wildcats had four quarterbacks: redshirt sophomore Jackson Gilkey, a transfer from the University of Texas, San Antonio; redshirt freshman Cash McCollum, a transfer from the University of North Texas; junior Dijon Jennings, the only returning quarterback from the 2024 season; and true freshman Kingston Tisdell.
Now, heading into homecoming week against California State University, Sacramento, the Wildcats are down to two quarterbacks: Jennings and Tisdell.
During the game against the University of California, Davis on Sept. 27, Gilkey, the Wildcats’ starter for the first five games of the season, slid to avoid a tackle, but his cleat was caught in the turf and turned his ankle sideways. While his ankle was put back into place and he was able to walk off the field with some help, it was revealed that he had broken his left fibula. He received surgery to repair it on Sept. 30 and will be out for the rest of the season, according to Brett Hein of the Ogden Standard Examiner.
McCollum, who served as Gilkey’s backup, had been in street clothes during the Wildcats’ last two games, after suffering a broken hand in practice prior to the Sept. 20 game against Butler University.
Now, the Wildcats are down to their third-string quarterback, Jennings, who will make his first collegiate start on Oct. 11.
The Wildcats have dealt with a slew of injuries throughout the season. Junior offensive guard Vae Soifua injured his calf against the University of Arizona on Sept. 6 and is out indefinitely. Sophomore wide receiver Noah Kjar tore his ACL, meniscus and MCL during the Sept. 13 game against McNeese State University and is out for the season.
Junior defensive end Keahnist Thompson has been dealing with a foot injury. Despite playing against UC Davis, he is now in a boot and will be out against Sacramento State.
The Wildcats’ opponent, Sacramento State, came into the season with high expectations.
Despite having a new coach and 71 new players, the Hornets were ranked 15th in the preseason top 25 poll, but after starting the season with one win, two losses, they fell to 24th. After defeating the University of Central Arkansas 45–16 on Sept. 20, the Hornets rose to 21st, but the following week they lost to California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, falling out of the rankings for the first time this season.
This season is also the last season the Hornets will play in the Big Sky Conference, as they announced they are joining the Big West Conference starting in the 2026-27 athletic season.
The Wildcats and Hornets have played each other 28 times since 1986. The Wildcats lead the series 18–10 all-time, but have not defeated the Hornets since 2019.
When the two teams played last season, it was a shootout. The Wildcats came back from down 41–24 in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime. However, the Hornets came out on top in double overtime, as Wildcat kicker Kyle Thompson missed a 27-yard field goal to send it into a third overtime.
The Wildcats have historically struggled in homecoming games, with 28 wins compared to 32 losses. In the past five seasons, the Wildcats have gone 2–3 in homecoming games, with their last win coming in 2022.
Despite the injuries, the Wildcats look to end that streak on Saturday at 6 p.m.
