William Pauling (born March 4, 2003) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. He previously played for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...

and

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

Early life and high school

Pauling was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where he attended high school at Homewood-Flossmoor. Pauling had a breakout junior season where he hauled in 50 receptions for 951 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pauling decided to commit to play

for the

College career

Cincinnati

In Pauling's first season in 2021 he hauled in just one reception for six yards versus SMU. In the 2022 season, Pauling brought in 12 receptions for 122 yards. After the conclusion of the 2022 season, Pauling entered the

NCAA transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is i ...

Wisconsin

Pauling transferred to play for the

, and his former head coach

Luke Fickell Luke Joseph Fickell (born August 18, 1973) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a position he has held since 2023. Previously he was the head coach at t ...

. In week six of the 2023 season, Pauling hauled in eight receptions for 68 yards in a win over

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

. Two weeks later, he recorded his first career touchdown reception as he helped the Badgers comeback and defeat

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. In the Badgers bowl game, he had a career performance recording eight receptions for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Pauling finished the 2023 season with 74 receptions for 837 yards and six touchdowns, while also rushing for 11 yards and completing one pass for 19 yards.

Notre Dame

On December 24, 2024, Pauling transferred to Notre Dame.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bioWisconsin Badgers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pauling, Will 2003 births Living people Players of American football from Chicago American football wide receivers Homewood-Flossmoor High School alumni Cincinnati Bearcats football players Wisconsin Badgers football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players