Mount Union’s Weston Arthur is a defensive weapon for the Purple Raider football team. Arthur recorded 57 tackles in the 2024 season and currently leads the team in tackles during the 2025 season, recording 12 tackles in just two games. Arthur looks forward to improving his defense to help lead the Raiders to more wins; “This summer I worked really hard to be able to come back and be a better player for this defense. The biggest thing is to continue staying motivated through a long season and staying healthy. It can be easy to get complacent at times, but this team does everything we can to keep things in sight,” said Arthur. A successful performance on the field cannot happen without the hard work off of the field. Arthur has put in endless hours in the weight room, film room, and on the field to improve his game both mentally and physically. “Every year I’ve gotten significantly better because of the things I do off the field. Weightlifting and running keep me in the best physical state it can but mentally I’ve always made sure to stay in the film room and keep my mind fast. This way I can stay at the top of my performance both mentally and physically,” stated Arthur. 

It is no secret Mount Union is a football powerhouse in Division Three recording 13 National Championship wins. Mount Union leads the NCAA Division Three record for football National Championship wins. Mount Union’s most recent National Championship appearance was just last season when they took on North Central in Houston, Texas. The Raiders lost to North Central 25-41. The team is fueled by last year’s loss and ready to bring home a National Championship win this 2025 season. “We have a great program with great coaches and a culture that demands results. We’ve come really close a few times in my years here so all us seniors know the feeling of getting there and what that process is like. With veteran guys to help lead our very talented younger group of players we know we have a great shot to get there again. We have a great culture, great coaches, great leaders, and great players,” expressed Arthur. Arthur talked about young talent on the team playing a major role in the team’s success so far this season. Freshman Mikey Maloney has stepped up for the Raiders, helping bring home both of the team’s wins against Wheaton and Grove City. Maloney has 40 completed passes and a total of 612 passing yards in two games. 

Weston Arthur can also be known to some as “Mount Boom.” During the 2024 season Arthur made an impressive tackle against the Wilmington Quakers, which led to national recognition on the Pat McAfee show. Arthur’s tackle was in a segment on the Pat McAfee show called the “Ram Trucked” play of the week, where the clip of his tackle went up against other college athletes’ tackles, and the winner of each week moved onto the next week. The public voted on what play was the best play each week and the play that received the most votes would move onto the following week. Arthur proceeded to win several weeks in a row and ended up winning the entire competition, resulting in him winning a brand new 2025 Ram Truck. Arthur reflected on his experience as Mount Boom and winning the Ram Trucked competition: “It was a great time. Having the community back you on something that doesn’t directly ‘help’ them is pretty great. Those people all wanted to support me just because I am a Purple Raider. To get the constant messages, votes, and posts trying to help spread the message was awesome. I’m very grateful for all those people’s constant support and they truly helped change my life.” Arthur was competing weekly against division one schools. The community support that Arthur had was incredible and helped him win the Ram Truck.

The Purple Raider football team seems to always have a recipe for success. The team has a winning culture that the staff and team have built over many years. “As a culture we have always looked at life in the order of: God, Family, Football. Your faith always comes first, your family is the most important people in your life, and then football comes after those things. It helps keep things in perspective while also showing that the sport is still very important. I remember Larry Kehres saying that our identity as a team is ‘players, formations, plays – in that order. One leads to the next, which leads to the next.’ At the end of the day the performance on the field comes down to the players, it’s the coaches job to put the players into the best performance to show what they can do. I think if I ever got into coaching this is the philosophy I would want to have as well,” expressed Arthur. The 2025 team already has two ranked wins under their belt and looks ahead to their next matchup at Baldwin Wallace on Saturday, September 27th. The Purple Raider’s next home game is Saturday, October 4th, at 1:30p.m. Be sure to come out to support Mount Union’s own Weston Arthur, otherwise known as Mount Boom, as well as the rest of the Purple Raider football team as they make strides towards another National Championship appearance!