It’s okay to call Western Kentucky a Group of Six powerhouse.
Tyson Helton had a 5-7 season in 2020. Other than that, his Hilltopper teams have won eight or more games in his other six seasons, they’re always in the Conference USA title mix, and they’re 5-2 in bowl games.
They’re about to do it all over again.
Tyson Helton’s Hilltoppers Will Keep Winning
© Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
There’s a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball, with transfers taking over on offense and backups ready to step up on defense, but the systems are in place, and the schedule should work just fine.
Don’t take this for granted – it’s hard to keep doing this year after year when losing coordinators and players to bigger programs.
Western Kentucky is among the top programs in the College Football Playoff era not to make the CFP, and it’s because of what Helton is doing.
Western Kentucky Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Tyson Helton (8th year, 57-36)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Win the Conference USA Championship/Win fewer than eight games for the first time since 2020
- Key Player: Rodney Tisdale, QB Soph.
- 2025 Record: 9-4
- Biggest Question: Can the production continue with so many transfers needing to be great right away?
Western Kentucky Key 2025 Stats
- Total Yards: WKU 5,287, Opponents 5,210
- Red Zone Touchdowns: WKU 35-of-51 (69%), Opponents 17-of-49 (35%)
- 4th Quarter Scoring: WKU 100, Opponents 41
Offense
Can Bodie Reeder continue to keep the Western Kentucky offense humming?
The program loses offensive coordinators on a yearly basis, and the pressure is on after coming in from a Middle Tennessee attack that struggled throughout last season.
Even harder will be the job of putting this all together with an almost all new offensive line.
What’s Working
It’s Western Kentucky – the quarterback play will be great. Maverick McIvor is gone after a nice season overall, but he didn’t run much. Rodney Tisdale has that spark, and he’s generally accurate, but he has to settle into the job.
That’s not a given with Brock Glenn a veteran from Florida State who has the ability to make the O go.
It’s Western Kentucky – the passing offense will work. It was No. 1 in passing in Conference USA in 2021. And 2022.
And 2023 and 2024 before dropping back a bit to third in 2025 thanks to newcomers Delaware and Missouri State. But it led the league in completion percentage, hitting 65.7%.
It’s Western Kentucky – the receivers will be stars. KD Hutchinson is back after coming up with a team-high 66 catches for 618 yards and three scores.
The players are coming in through the portal, with monster-producing veteran Jyzaiah Rockwell (Prairie View A&M) stepping in, along with Zion Taylor (Georgia Tech) and Qua’Vez Humphreys from the JUCO ranks.
What Needs Work
The offensive line. It wasn’t a killer last season, especially in pass protection, but it was good enough to lose a few of the key players in the portal.
Senior Karsten Upchurch will likely start at right tackle. Other than him, everyone else up front will be transfers. They’re all upperclassmen – at least the likely starters will be – but this will take some work.
The top backs are done, too. The ground attack isn’t just along for the ride in the Hilltopper attack now. It loses close to 1,400 yards of rushing and 16 touchdowns without Marvis Parrish, La’Vell Wright – he ran for ten scores – and George Hart III.
The offense needs Ajay Allen (Tulsa) and Kalib Hicks (Oklahoma State) to at least average over five yards per pop.
The turnovers. Interceptions are part of the cost of doing business in this offense, but the Hilltoppers threw 13 and lost the ball 21 times overall. They turned it over multiple times in eight games.
Player to Watch
Jyzaiah Rockwell, WR Sr.
The 6-2, 214-pound transfer from Prairie View A&M knows how to catch passes.
He was okay for a few years at Sam Houston, but last year with the Panthers he caught 74 balls for 1,161 yards and eight scores. He’ll find a place in this receiving corps.
Defense
Davis Merritt goes from handling the linebackers to taking on the defensive coordinator job – he knows the team and the personnel just fine.
Really, he does, at least compared to the coaches for the offensive side with everyone needing name tags after coming in from the portal.
This is an experienced enough defense to once again get the job done, and that means …
What’s Working
Keeping points off the board. You want the definition of bending without breaking? That’s the WKU defense that allowed over 400 yards per game, but had an incredible way of keeping most teams from scoring.
It allowed 22.8 points per game, and that’s partly because Toledo (45 points) and Jacksonville State (37 points) broke the curve.
What the Hilltopper defense was insanely good at was …
Keeping offenses out of the end zone. WKU allowed a ton of field goals because it was No. 1 in the nation in red zone touchdown defense – you’re doing something right if you’re ahead of Ohio State and Indiana.
The Hilltoppers allowed teams to score six just 34.7% of the time when getting inside the 20. The Buckeyes, Hoosiers, and East Carolina were the only other teams to keep that percentage under 40.
There’s real bulk up front. Tackle Jakeem Fletcher goes 312, Akron transfer Kiawan Murphy hits 320, Sekou Peters is a sandwich and chips away from 300, and Javin Griffin is a 305-pounder from Gardner Webb.
There will be a good rotation that should be tough to push through.
What Needs Work
Plenty of Hilltoppers are returning, but several of the key players are gone, starting with the linebacking corps.
The 1-2 tackling punch of Jaylen Wester and Anthony Brackenridge is done after combining for 180 tackles with 12 tackles for loss. No. 3 linebacker Miller Malone is also done.
Zack Smith and Jordan Donald each came up with 14 stops – they go from key backups to main men.
The defensive front has to be replaced, too. Again, key parts of last year are back – Venson Sneed and Elin Jones on the outside, Jakeem Fletcher on the inside – and they have enough experience to take on bigger roles.
However, it does matter to lose Harper Holloman (West Virginia), Dominic Oliver, Jaden Gray, and Mackavelli Malotumau. However, even when those guys were around, WKU needed to do more with …
The pass rush. It needs to be better. The Hilltoppers only came up with 19 sacks on the season, continuing the steady decline in production.
In 2021, WKU came up with 36 sacks, then 32 in 2022, then 24, 22, and then last year. There was an early six-game stretch last season with just two sacks.
Player to Watch
Jaylen Lewis, S Sr.
Lewis spent two years at Arkansas and a season at Temple before coming over to the Hilltoppers, and then it all came together.
The veteran safety made 74 tackles with three picks and five broken-up passes, and now he’s one of the team’s leaders in all ways for the rebuilt defense.
Keys to the Season
- Stop turning the ball over so much.
- The monster load of transfers has to take over on offense and bring the depth on defense.
- Be stronger against the run.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Rodney Tisdale, QB Soph.
He has enough experience to be ready, and if he’s not able to handle the full-time gig, Brock Glenn is right there ready to go.
No matter what, in this offense, and for this team, nothing works unless the quarterback is one of Conference USA’s biggest stars. That can be Tisdale, but he has to chill out on the picks after throwing seven last season.
Biggest Concern
Really, how fast can this offensive line come together?
A dominant offensive line that needs to pass protect at a high level doesn’t just get thrown together fast.
The Hilltoppers will need every practice to figure out who out of the 11 new offensive linemen coming in from the portal can create a strong starting five.
Biggest Game
at Liberty, November 21
The Hilltoppers get both Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State at home, and most of the Conference USA road schedule could be a relative breeze.
Late in the season, if Liberty is good, this should matter for the conference championship race one way or another.
Transfer Portal
The Hilltoppers suffered a slew of top talent losses, but after the Power Four programs had their moment, everything settled in.
Again, they went big to rebuild the offensive front, and locked in reserves for the defensive front six, but the incoming skill parts will make the most noise.
Best Signing
Roq Montgomery, C (Alabama)
It’s not a lock that Roq will get the gig, but Western Kentucky got a 6-3, 330-pound center from the Alabama Crimson Tide. He’ll find a spot somewhere.
Biggest Loss
Laurence Seymore, OG (Texas)
He’s not that tall, but the 6-2, 320-pound guard can block. He was a big key to the 2025 Hilltopper line, and now he’s expected to step right into the Texas front five.
Other Names to Know
- Brock Glenn, QB (Florida State)
- Rhett Larson, OG (Sam Houston)
- Jyzaiah Rockwell, WR (Prairie View A&M)
CFN Season Prediction
The progression of the season should move almost perfectly.
WKU needs time to get all the new pieces in place and get everyone in sync, and the beginning of the campaign just so happens to be the most brutal part.
Just get it out of the way, and be ready when Conference USA play kicks in.
At Nevada is doable, but it’s a long early road trip. And then come the paycheck losses at Georgia and Indiana. At that point, the Hilltoppers get their reset win over Mercyhurst, and then it’s Game On.
CFN Prediction: 8-4
The team should be fully tuned up for the Conference USA opener at New Mexico State, and then comes the winning run.
There will be a conference loss somewhere – like at Liberty – but it’ll be fine. The Hilltoppers will make it back to the Conference USA Championship for the second time in three years.
Related: Conference USA Football 2026 Win Totals: Spring Predictions for All 10 Teams
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