Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the WKU Hilltoppers season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– WKU Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 3-9 overall, 2-6 in Conference USA
Head Coach: Tyson Helton, 1st year
– CFN Preview 2019: All The Team Previews
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WKU OFFENSE
– The offense sputtered that sputtered and coughed throughout last season – but got hot late – gets some different ideas from head coach Tyson Helton and the new coaching staff, and it has ten starters returning to crank things back up.
Just two years ago, WKU scored 637 points. Last year, it scored 253 with no downfield passing game and way too many empty trips. But …
– Get ready for the passing game to start working. The fight for the starting quarterback job will go well into the fall camp with Arkansas transfer Ty Storey coming in to provide a push. As is, WKU has veteran passers in Steven Duncan and Davis Shanley already in place, but the job will still be open for a while. Duncan has the size and the look, but all three can throw.
– The receivers are in place to do a lot more. Lucky Jackson is an electrifying target who led the team with 51 catches, and Jacquez Sean returns after averaging close to 16 yards per catch. Add in the 6-3 Quin Jernighan, and the passing game should start doing a whole lot more. Replacing 44-catch tight end Mik’Quan Deane won’t be easy, but fullback-sized Kyle Fourtenbary will be fine after making 36 grabs.
– The O line did a nice job in pass protection but didn’t do enough for the running game. All five starters are back with 6-2, 320-pound Miles Pate the star at right tackle. The running backs are in place with leading rusher Joshua Samuel returning after taking off for 641 yards and a score, and with sophomore Gino Appleberry and the quick Garland LaFrance part of the rotation.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE WKU DEFENSE
– Six starters are back on a defense that allowed 422 yards and 28 points per game. The run defense wasn’t strong enough, and there were too many plays allowed down the field, but it was a decent year overall – there wasn’t enough support from the O.
– Three of the four starters are back up front around 270-pound Juwuan Jones at one end and 285-pound Jaylon George on the inside. 6-4, 230-pound top pass rusher De’Angelo Malone and his six sacks should rise up into all-star status this season with the rest of the line taking the heat off.
– Top tackler Ben Holt took off for Purdue, and second-leading tackler Masai Whyte is done. Former Kentucky Wildcat Eli Brown will play a bigger role after coming up with 25 tackles, and beefed up safety Kyle Bailey sill see more time in the linebacking corps.
– The secondary is full of veterans, starting with leading returning tackler Ta’Corian Darden at one safety spot. He’s undersized at 5-9 and 190 pounds, but he can hit. With three, he tied for the team interception lead – and in tackles with 71 – with Devon Key, a 6-1, 205-pound junior safety with nine range and pop.
The corner situation is a little more of a question mark. Roger Cray is a quick veteran who can tackle a bit, but needs to be the shutdown main man. It’ll be a fall camp battle for the other side, with 5-11, 170-pound redshirt freshman Beanie Bishop getting the first look.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP WKU PLAYERS
Best WKU Offensive Player
WR Lucky Jackson, Sr.
Several Hilltoppers could be the No. 1 guy, but Jackson is the veteran who has the best combination of explosion, production and experience with 115 career catches for 1,547 yards and nine scores. The 6-1, 185-pounder has the upside to do far more with the coaching change – he’s the go-to No. 1 guy.
2. OT Miles Pate, Sr.
3. QB Ty Storey, Sr.
4. QB Steven Duncan, Jr.
5. WR Jacquez Sloan, Jr.
Best WKU Defensive Player
DE DeAngelo Malone, Jr.
The team’s best pass rusher came up with a decent freshman season, and then grew into a playmaking sophomore with 60 tackles with six sacks and nine tackles for loss in an All-Conference USA season.
He’s a tall tweener at 6-4 and 230 pounds, he’s got the right size, and he’s got the help around him with a good line coming back. He’ll flirt with double-digit sacks.
2. DE Juwuan Jones, Jr.
3. S Ta’Corian Darden, Sr.
4. S Devon Key, Jr.
5. S Antwon Kincaide, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The WKU Offense
Score whenever there’s a chance. The Hilltoppers need more of a running game, and they have to start pushing the deep ball a bit more under the new coaching staff. But to start the shift, the O needs to score again.
There were way too many power outages, scoring 17 points or fewer seven times and losing all seven games. By comparison, going back a few years to the great 2016 season, the offense was held to under 30 points just once, and that was against Alabama.
It starts by converting in the red zone and taking advantage of every opportunity. The Hilltoppers failed on ten trips inside the 20, and scored touchdowns a mere 59% of the time to close off good drives.
The mistakes proved costly in three point losses to Marshall, Old Dominion and Louisville. Ifs and buts … if WKU scored every time it was in the red zone in those three games, it would’ve been 6-6.
Biggest Key To The WKU Defense
Keep teams from running the ball down the front six’s throat. Overall the run defense wasn’t next-level miserable, just sort of miserable.
It allowed just 4.6 yards per carry with 19 touchdowns, but with the way the offense sputtered, controlling the run turned out to be the difference when it came to staying in games.
The Hilltopper D allowed 120 rushing yards or fewer four times, and went 3-1 with the lone loss coming in the 20-17 fight against Marshall. The program is 11-1 in its last 12 games when giving up 120 yards or fewer.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Ty Storey, Sr.
Or Steven Duncan, or Davis Shanley. The quarterback play wasn’t awful last season, but it didn’t elevate the offense and there wasn’t any consistency with three guys in the rotation – Drew Eckels started the season. Duncan and Shanley are still deep in the hunt for the starting job, but there’s a reason Storey transferred over from Arkansas.
Granted, it was partly because SMU’s Ben Hicks came aboard and Texas A&M’s Nick Starkel transferred in, too, but it was also to get a shot at the Tyson Helton offense. The 6-2, 215-pound Storey was a great get for the Hogs, and he’s got the pro passing skills to start stretching the field more. No matter who gets the gig, WKU has to start being the WKU offense again.
Key Game To The WKU Season
at FIU, Sept. 7
If FIU isn’t the best team in Conference USA’s East division, it’s a going to be right up there with Florida Atlantic and Marshall. For WKU, after opening the season up with a likely win over Central Arkansas, beating the Golden Panthers for the first time since 2016 would be a huge deal, especially on the road.
If there are any dreams whatsoever of being a player in the conference race, this might be a must win with a whole slew of tough games ahead. Win, and that means WKU is good enough to beat anyone in the league. Lose, and with road games at Marshall and Southern Miss ahead – there’s a problem.
– WKU Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 WKU Fun Stats
– 3rd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 81 – WKU 20
– Field Goals: Opponents 23-of-29 – WKU 10-of-17
– Red Zone TDs: WKU 25-of-42 (60%) – Opponents 23-of-49 (47%)
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. WKU WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
2018 was just a hiccup, right?
Before last season, WKU went to four straight bowl games and went 8-4 the season before the run. Now, with a new head coach in Tyson Helton, ten starters back on offense, a good new quarterback option in Ty Storey from Arkansas, and with enough talent back on defense, there’s a chance to flip the script in a big hurry, but …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 6
The Hilltoppers are missing UTEP, Rice and UTSA from the West, and there just aren’t enough sure-thing wins to easily get to six wins and bowl eligibility.
No, they won’t lose the FCS game against Central Arkansas like they did against Maine last season, but that’s about it for the absolute Ws. Charlotte will be good enough to win in Bowling Green on the right day. How does WKU get to a winning season?
Army? Uhhhh. Florida Atlantic? It’s better. Louisville, UAB, Middle Tennessee? Maybe there’s a win or two in there. And then there are the true road games against FIU, Marshall, Arkansas and Southern Miss.
With the improved offense and better passing game, Helton will lead the way to six wins, but it’ll take a win over Middle Tennessee in the regular season finale to get there.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
