WKU Football: Top Questions Heading into 2021 Offseason
By: Ross Shircliffe
Tags: Football, College Football, Wku Football, Recruiting, Wku Hilltoppers

Who’s coming back? Who’s leaving?

The weird covid season and the NCAA’s decision to grant an extra year of eligibility leaves the Hilltoppers senior-laden roster (27 total seniors entering 2020) in flux as they await decisions from that large group that will either come back, try the NFL, play their last year elsewhere, or retire from the sport. Heading into the season they were all assumed gone but that has changed due to the rule and now the staff has to figure out who they want to and can convince to come back for a 5th or 6th season. Here’s where each senior stands at the moment (starters in bold):

Departed seniors transfer (8)

WR- Jacquez Sloan (Southern Illinois), WR- Jahcour Pearson, OL- Tyler Witt (Purdue), CB- Roger Cray, LB- Damon Lowe, DE- Devon Wharton, RB/LB- Malik Staples, LB- Kyle Bailey

Departed Seniors Retiring (2)

LB- Eli Brown, OL- Seth Joest

Seniors that have a potential extra year left (15, starters in bold)

DL/LB- Deangelo Malone, QB- Tyrrell Pigrome, S- Devon Key, RB- Gaej Walker, DB- Trae Meadows, WR- Xavier Lane, DB- Dionte Ruffin, DB- Omari Alexander, DE- Demetrius Cain, LB- Clay Davis, DB- Antwon Kincade, P- John Haggerty, TE- Steven Witchoskey, OL- Jordan Meredith, DT- Jalen Madden

Confirmed Coming Back (1)

DT- Jeremy Darvin

However many come back will determine how Helton and staff will approach recruiting moving forward. There has been a large number of underclassmen leaving the program as 12 have entered the transfer portal since the season ended. There definitely is evidence of dissatisfaction from the upperclassmen in the program.

I used to think that was mainly backups looking for more playing time but this definitely is a concern. There seems to be a cultural problem with a lot of the players and it’s resulted in a lot of attrition. Hopefully, the staff can convince at least half of the senior starters to come back and the Hilltoppers can bring back a solid core (15+) of starters to mix the new transfers with. Here are the current returning starters:

Starters Returning

Offensive: Cole Spencer (OT), Mason Brooks (OT), Mitchell Tinsley (WR), Craig Burt (WR), Malachi Corley (WR), Josh Simon (TE)

Defensive: Juwaun Jones (DE), Ricky Barber (DT), Jeremy Darvin (DT), Nick Days (LB)

Special Teams: Brayden Narveson (K), Matt Baldeck (LS), Noah Whittington (KR), Mitchell Tinsley (PR)

That definitely is a solid starting point that could be good enough to compete for a conference title if the offense improves to potential in 2021. We’ll have to wait until the dust settles to accurately set expectations for 2021.

Coaching Staff shake-up?

Tyson Helton was able to keep a lot of continuity in the coaching staff from 2019 to 2020 with only two members leaving elsewhere (Jimmy Lindsey & Garret Chachere). That number has already been surpassed this offseason as three members of the staff are already not with the program anymore:

Out: Ryan Aplin (Co-OC/RB Coach), Chris Chestnut (WR Coach), Mike Goff (OL Coach)

In: Zach Kittley (Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach

Reassigned: Bryan Ellis (TBA)

While some change is inevitable especially at the G5 level, keeping continuity within a coaching staff is crucial for year-to-year success.

Zach Kittley is an obvious upgrade on offense moving forward. The former Houston Baptist offensive coordinator should instantly upgrade WKU’s meager offense and expectations should be 400+ yards per game easily and hopefully can get back to consistently topping 30 points each week. Losing the offensive line & wide receiver coaches aren’t great but some new blood probably is needed with an offense that struggled to consistently top 300 yards of total offense and 30+ points per game.

Keeping defensive coordinator Clayton White for his fifth straight season will be a monumental task for Helton. While the defense took a step back in 2020, it still was a top 40 unit according to SP+. White has been in charge of the defense for the past four seasons and losing him would be a great huge loss for a team entering a pivotal season. If they do lose him look for co-defensive coordinator Maurice Crum to get promoted within. White’s status will cause a ripple effect on the defensive staff should he leave. Only time will tell how many coaches Helton will have to replace in 2021.

More New Additions?

With so much of the roster in flux, it’s up to the coaching staff to find new talent to replace the departed starters and depth from all the transfers. Look for the coaching staff to work the transfer portal very hard. Thus far they’ve added 7 transfers with a mix of P5, FCS & Juco experience. Here’s who they’ve added thus far

Transfers (7): Bailey Zappe (QB), Jerreth Sterns (WR), Josh Sterns (WR), Adam Cofield (RB), Miguel Edwards (CB), Matthew Flint (LB), Tre Shaw (CB)

All should be expected to compete for starting positions or at the very least add depth to replace all the departures. According to our sources, we should expect more announcements to trickle in over the coming weeks and months and were told to wait until June to completely judge the roster.

On top of the emphasis on transfers, they’ll also bring in a limited number of high school seniors. Thus far they only have two players in the 2021 class from high school:

HS Seniors (2): River Helms (TE), Chance McDonald (QB)

With the 2020 class retaining their freshman eligibility, the staff has chosen to be selective with the high school players they’re bringing in. They still need to leave no stone unturned even if they’ve only had limited action looks at the senior class. I’d expect a handful of solid high school players that may have had P5 offers (like River Helms did) but fall through the cracks.

Overall look for the staff to take months to fill the 20+ scholarships that have left the roster since the start of the season. How they mix these new players with the returnees will determine the success of the 2021 squad. With the attrition that has already occurred the pressure is on the staff to make it all work despite the chaos of rebooting the roster.

How will Spring Practice Go?

Once the staff navigates the transfer portal the next thing we’ll eagerly await is the new-look team that we’ll see in spring practice. Due to Covid, last year’s spring practice was canceled and it definitely had a negative impact on the 2020 season. The spring will be used to install new offensive coordinator Zach Kittley’s high-powered offense and get the new players acclimated to playing together. Helton will have to get new quarterback Bailey Zappe acclimated with his new teammates and start to develop the timing with his receivers.

The Hilltoppers will also have to break in a new offensive line and defensive rotation that is talented but probably not used to playing together. While spring practice is the beginning of the 2021 preparation process, it will be an important preview of things to come.

Regaining Momentum

No way to spin it but 2020 was a big step back for the program. Expectations were high and Helton and staff didn’t come close to matching the standards they established during their 9–4 debut season (and the Brohm years Helton was an integral part of). Whether it was covid, ineffective quarterback play, or internal locker room drama, the program has lost momentum and it’s up to the staff to overcome the negativity that has started to surround the team.

Helton had already started to rewrite the narrative by bringing in Kittley and his Houston Baptist weapons but the job isn’t done yet. The stink from the bowl performance and continued player attrition has stalled that momentum for now. Winning the offseason is huge for Helton to continue to keep support from WKU’s fickle football fanbase. The whole work of who he gets to come back, his additions, and staff continuity will go along way towards getting the program back on track.

The 2021 season is set up to be a big one on the Hill. Like 2019, the program is in need of a big season. There is a solid base of talent returning but a new attitude and ideas need to be injected into the program in order to move it forward. The schedule includes challenging but winnable nonconference games against Army, Indiana & Michigan State. Should the Hilltoppers win 2/3 of those then we could return to the high standards that have been established over the past decade of success. We should know their complete schedule in late January and then we can start to project the expectations for the team.