2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
New Orleans Bowl champion
New Orleans Bowl, W 44–23 vs. South Alabama
Conference	Conference USA
Record	9–5 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Tyson Helton (4th season);
Co-offensive coordinator	Ben Arbuckle (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Josh Crawford (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Tyson Summers (1st season)
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
	Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

The 2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University as a member of Conference USA (C-USA) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by head coach Tyson Helton, who was coaching his fourth season with the team. The Hilltoppers played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

2022 Conference USA football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
UTSA y$	8	–	0	11	–	3
North Texas y	6	–	2	7	–	7
Western Kentucky	6	–	2	9	–	5
Middle Tennessee	4	–	4	8	–	5
UAB	4	–	4	7	–	6
Florida Atlantic	4	–	4	5	–	7
Rice	3	–	5	5	–	8
UTEP	3	–	5	5	–	7
FIU	2	–	6	4	–	8
Charlotte	2	–	6	3	–	9
Louisiana Tech	2	–	6	3	–	9
Championship: UTSA 48, North Texas 27
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led on offense by quarterback Austin Reed who joined the team in 2022 via the NCAA transfer portal.^[1] Through the first two games, Reed had 550 passing yards, ranking third in the nation.^[2]

Preseason

C-USA media day

The Conference USA media day was held on July 27 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Hilltoppers were represented by head coach Tyson Helton, tight end Joey Beljan, and defensive end Juwuan Jones.^[3] The Hilltoppers were predicted to finish third in the conference's preseason poll.^[4]

Predicted finish	Team
Media poll
1	UTSA
2	UAB
3	WKU
4	Florida Atlantic
5	North Texas
6	UTEP
7	Charlotte
8	Middle Tennessee
9	Louisiana Tech
10	Rice
11	FIU

Roster

2022 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`0`	Jaylen Hall	GS
WR	`1`	Craig Burt Jr.	Sr
RB	`3`	Jakairi Moses	Jr
WR	`4`	Michael Mathison	Jr
WR	`5`	Dakota Thomas	So
TE	`6`	Joshua Simon	So
WR	`7`	Daewood Davis	Sr
RB	`8`	Kye Robichaux	So
WR	`9`	Josh Sterns	So
QB	`10`	Caden Veltkamp	Fr
WR	`11`	Malachi Corley	So
QB	`12`	Turner Helton	Fr
QB	`13`	Darius Ocean	Fr
WR	`15`	K. D. Hutchinson	Fr
QB	`16`	Austin Reed	GS
WR	`17`	Dalvin Smith	So
WR	`18`	Denzil Aleeyne	So
RB	`19`	Javy Bunton	Fr
RB	`21`	L. T. Sanders	Fr
RB	`22`	Davion Ervin-Poindexter	Jr
WR	`23`	Kendall Abdur-Rahman	So
RB	`37`	Zavione Wood	Fr
OL	`50`	Wesley Horton	Fr
OL	`51`	Luke Slusher	Fr
OL	`52`	Marshall Jackson	Fr
OL	`53`	Rusty Staata	Jr
OL	`58`	Evan Wibberley	Fr
OL	`64`	Vincent Murphy	So
OL	`67`	Hayden Todd	Fr
OL	`68`	Colt Jackson	So
OL	`71`	Wyatt Anderson	Fr
OL	`72`	Colten Cable	Jr
OL	`73`	Wes Dorsey	So
OL	`74`	Michael Ondelacy	So
OL	`75`	Gunner Britton	Jr
OL	`76`	Mark Goode	So
OL	`77`	David Ndukwe	So
OL	`78`	Quantavious Lesue	So
OL	`79`	Cameron Stage	Jr
WR	`80`	Easton Messer	Fr
TE	`81`	Dane Saltarelli	Jr
WR	`82`	Jax Cooper	Fr
TE	`83`	Alex Williams	Fr
WR	`85`	Tomi Mustapha	Fr
WR	`86`	TeeJay Taylor	So
TE	`87`	River Helms	Fr
TE	`89`	Joey Beljam	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`0`	Lorenzo Hernandez	GS
LB	`1`	Jaden Hunter	Sr
DB	`2`	A. J. Brathwaite Jr.	Jr
LB	`3`	Jaques Evans	So
LB	`4`	Niko Cooper	Jr
DB	`5`	Rome Weber	Jr
DB	`6`	T. J. Springer	So
DB	`7`	Tre Shaw	Sr
LB	`8`	Matthew Flint	Jr
DB	`9`	Dominique Bradshaw	Sr
LB	`10`	Desmyn Baker	Jr
DB	`11`	Talique Allen	Fr
DB	`12`	Kahlef Hailassie	Jr
DT	`13`	Terrion Thompson	So
DB	`14`	Davion Williams	Jr
LB	`15`	Aaron Key	Fr
DB	`16`	Kendrick Simpkins	So
DB	`17`	Travis Collier	Fr
DB	`18`	C. J. Jones	Sr
DB	`19`	Virgil Marshall	Fr
DB	`20`	Kaleb Oliver	Sr
DB	`21`	Upton Stout	Fr
DB	`22`	Darius Thomas	Fr
LB	`23`	Will Ignont	Sr
LB	`24`	Derrick Smith	Sr
LB	`25`	Bryson Washington	Jr
DB	`26`	Amaari Smith	Fr
DB	`27`	Kiwon Harris	Jr
LB	`28`	Ely George	So
LB	`29`	Dezmion Roberson	Fr
DB	`30`	Xavier Shaw	Fr
DB	`31`	Anthony Brackenridge	Fr
LB	`32`	Kylan Guidry	So
LB	`33`	Eli Jones	Fr
DE	`34`	Juwuan Jones	Sr
DT	`35`	Mike Allen	Sr
DB	`37`	Maximus Pulley	Fr
LB	`38`	A. J. Yasilli	Fr
DB	`40`	B. J. Wagner	Fr
DB	`41`	Alex Ford	Fr
LB	`42`	Trent Zappe	Fr
DB	`43`	Manny Moss	Fr
DT	`44`	Dareon Goodrum	Jr
LB	`45`	Nathan Griffin	So
LB	`50`	Luke Burton	Fr
DE	`55`	Dante Walker	So
DE	`88`	Jake Jackson	Fr
DT	`90`	Keaton Law	Fr
DT	`91`	Chase Jones	Fr
DE	`92`	Marcus Patterson	Fr
DE	`93`	Reid Jamerson	Fr
DE	`95`	Deante McCray	Fr
DT	`97`	Darius Shipp	Sr
DT	`98`	Hosea Wheeler	So
DT	`99`	Brodric Martin	Sr

Special teams They

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`20`	Lucas Carneiro	Fr
LS	`40`	Zach Lassiter	Sr
K	`44`	Brayden Narveson	Jr
K	`46`	Cory Munson	Jr
P	`47`	Tom Ellard	Fr
K	`49`	Nolan McCord	Fr
LS	`52`	Trey Naughton	Fr
LS	`59`	Jake Bowman	So
P	`94`	Wes Pahl	Fr

Head coach

Tyson Helton

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Ben Arbuckle (Co-Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks)
Josh Crawford (co-offensive coordinator / Wide receivers)
Zach Lankford (co-offensive coordinator / Offensive line)
Tyson Summers (Defensive coordinator)
Andy Larussa (special teams coordinator / tight ends)
Kenny Baker (defensive line)
Enrique Davis (running backs)
Keynodo Hudson (defensive backs)
Michael Hutchings (outside linebackers)
Travis Cunningham (Middle linebackers)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 23, 2022

Schedule

Western Kentucky and Conference USA announced the 2022 football schedule on March 30, 2022.^[5]^[6]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 27	11:00 a.m.	Austin Peay*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 38–27	13,688
September 3	11:00 p.m.	at Hawaii*	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, HI	SPEC PPV	W 49–17	9,346
September 17	11:00 a.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	BTN	L 30–33 ^OT	48,952
September 24	2:30 p.m.	FIU	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 73–0	15,127
October 1	6:00 p.m.	Troy*	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	L 27–34	20,168
October 8	5:00 p.m.	at UTSA	Alamodome San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	L 28–31	22,328
October 15	2:30 p.m.	at Middle Tennessee	Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, TN (100 Miles of Hate)	ESPN+	W 35–17	14,806
October 21	7:00 p.m.	UAB	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 20–17	16,334
October 29	2:30 p.m.	North Texas	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	Stadium	L 13–40	17,194
November 5	11:00 a.m.	at Charlotte	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC	CBSSN	W 59–7	10,857
November 12	1:00 p.m.	Rice	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	ESPN+	W 45–10	10,127
November 19	3:00 p.m.	at Auburn*	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	SECN	L 17–41	81,824
November 26	11:00 a.m.	at Florida Atlantic	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL	CBSSN	W 32–31 ^OT	18,376
December 21	8:00 p.m.	vs. South Alabama*	Caesars Superdome New Orleans, LA (New Orleans Bowl)	ESPN	W 44–23	13,456
*Non-conference game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	10	7	3	7	27
Hilltoppers	7	14	0	17	38

Statistics	APSU	WKU
First downs	19	19
Total yards	319	388
Rushing yards	163	108
Passing yards	156	280
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	32:39	27:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Austin Peay	Passing	Mike DiLiello	15/21, 156 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Josh Samuel	20 rushes, 77 yards
	Receiving	Drae McCray	6 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	20/34, 280 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	Davion Ervin-Poindexter	15 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Daewood Davis	6 receptions, 124 yards, TD

At Hawaii

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	21	7	21	49
Rainbow Warriors	3	7	0	7	17

Statistics	WKU	HAW
First downs	24	20
Total yards	412	360
Rushing yards	141	94
Passing yards	271	266
Turnovers	2	6
Time of possession	25:52	34:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	22/31, 271 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Kye Robichaux	7 rushes, 49 yards, TD
	Receiving	Daewood Davis	5 receptions, 78 yards
Hawaii	Passing	Brayden Schager	22/33, 230 yards, 4 INT
	Rushing	Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei	13 rushes, 64 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jalen Walthall	3 receptions, 53 yards

At Indiana

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Hilltoppers	7	10	7	6	0	30
Hoosiers	3	7	3	17	3	33

Statistics	WKU	IU
First downs	25	28
Total yards	545	484
Rushing yards	216	120
Passing yards	329	364
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	32:21	27:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	33/43, 329 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Kye Robichaux	14 rushes, 135 yards
	Receiving	Daewood Davis	5 receptions, 77 yards, TD
Indiana	Passing	Connor Bazelak	33/55, 364 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Josh Henderson	11 rushes, 65 yards, TD
	Receiving	Cam Camper	8 receptions, 93 yards, TD

FIU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Hilltoppers	14	28	17	14	73

Statistics	FIU	WKU
First downs	10	32
Total yards	180	688
Rushing yards	56	210
Passing yards	124	478
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	30:32	29:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
FIU	Passing	Grayson James	13/23, 85 yards
	Rushing	Lexington Joseph	15 rushes, 31 yards
	Receiving	Nate Jefferson	4 receptions, 27 yards
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	29/35, 381 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	4 rushes, 73 yards, TD
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	3 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD

Troy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	10	3	7	14	34
Hilltoppers	7	10	3	7	27

At UTSA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	7	0	14	28
Roadrunners	7	10	7	7	31

At Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	14	14	7	35
Blue Raiders	7	3	0	7	17

UAB

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers	7	10	0	0	17
Hilltoppers	0	10	10	0	20

Statistics	UAB	WKU
First downs	14	19
Total yards	327	352
Rushing yards	231	224
Passing yards	96	128
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	27:21	32:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing	Dylan Hopkins	2/2, 63 yards, TD
	Rushing	DeWayne McBride	24 rushes, 200 yards
	Receiving	Samario Rudolph	1 reception, 59 yards, TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	14/23, 128 yards
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	16 rushes, 120 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	5 receptions, 77 yards

North Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mean Green	17	3	0	20	40
Hilltoppers	7	6	0	0	13

Statistics	UNT	WKU
First downs	25	23
Total yards	541	466
Rushing yards	196	146
Passing yards	345	320
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	29:05	30:55

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Texas	Passing	Austin Aune	20/28, 322 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Ayo Adeyi	10 rushes, 72 yards, TD
	Receiving	Damon Ward Jr.	4 receptions, 101 yards, TD
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	29/49, 320 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	L. T. Sanders	13 rushes, 76 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	8 receptions, 97 yards

At Charlotte

Western Kentucky vs Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Hilltoppers	21	14	7	17	59
49ers	0	0	7	0	7

Date: November 5
Location: Jerry Richardson Stadium
Charlotte, NC
Game start: 12:02 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:17
Game attendance: 10,857
Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Cloudy• Wind: S 9 MPH
Referee: Rodney Burnett
TV announcers (CBSSN): Carter Blackburn, Robert Turbin

Sources:^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

Statistics	WKU	CHAR
First downs	25	22
Total yards	592	384
Rushing yards	131	161
Passing yards	461	223
Turnovers	0	3
Time of possession	20:26	39:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	23–38, 409 yards, 6 TD
	Rushing	Davion Ervin-Poindexter	3 rushes, 49 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	6 receptions, 162 yards, 1 TD
Charlotte	Passing	Chris Reynolds	17–27, 196 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	James Martin III	16 rushes, 85 yards
	Receiving	Grant DuBose	7 receptions, 88 yards

Rice

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	7	17	7	14	45
Owls	0	7	3	0	10

At Auburn

Game Twelve – Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (7−4) at Auburn Tigers (4−6)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	17	0	0	17
Tigers	10	7	10	14	41

at Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama

Date: Saturday, November 19, 2022
Game time: 3:01 p.m. CST
Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind: 6 mph NW
Game attendance: 81,824
Referee: Scott Walker
TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst), Andraya Carter (sideline reporter)

Statistics	WKU	AUB
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Austin Reed	26/55, 289 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Markese Stepp	7 carries, 33 yards
	Receiving	Malachi Corley	12 receptions, 99 yards
Auburn	Passing	Jarquez Hunter	1/1, 20 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Tank Bigsby	18 carries, 110 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Koy Moore	2 receptions, 31 yards, 1 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	Western Kentucky	Auburn

"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.

At Florida Atlantic

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Owls	0	7	10	7	7	31
Hilltoppers	0	7	10	7	8	32

South Alabama (New Orleans Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	14	17	10	3	44
Jaguars	0	3	14	6	23

References

^ "Reed throws four TD passes, Western Kentucky rolls in opener". My San Antonio. August 27, 2022.
^ "Football Player Passing Stats 2022". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
^ "2022 Ryan C-USA Kickoff Set for July 27 in Arlington". Conference USA. June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
^ "C-USA Announces Media's Predicted Order of Finish for 2022". Conference USA. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
^ Nick Bromberg (March 30, 2022). "Conference USA releases revised 2022 football schedule without teams leaving for Sun Belt". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
^ "Hilltoppers announce revised 2022 football schedule". Bowling Green Daily News. March 30, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
^ "GAME NOTES: Charlotte vs. WKU". Charlotte49ers.com. November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
^ "Watts Breaks Sacks Record; Niners Suffer Home Loss". Retrieved November 23, 2022.
^ "Scoring Summary Report 2022 Charlotte Football, Western Kentucky vs Charlotte (Nov 5, 2022 at Charlotte NC)". November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
^ "Western Kentucky vs Charlotte– Game Summary". ESPN. November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
^ Bailey, Hunter (November 5, 2022). "Charlotte 49ers football loses to Western Kentucky at home". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

[1] "Reed throws four TD passes, Western Kentucky rolls in opener". My San Antonio. August 27, 2022.

[2] "Football Player Passing Stats 2022". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.

[3] "2022 Ryan C-USA Kickoff Set for July 27 in Arlington". Conference USA. June 30, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.

[4] "C-USA Announces Media's Predicted Order of Finish for 2022". Conference USA. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.

[22cusa-5] Nick Bromberg (March 30, 2022). "Conference USA releases revised 2022 football schedule without teams leaving for Sun Belt". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[6] "Hilltoppers announce revised 2022 football schedule". Bowling Green Daily News. March 30, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.

[7] "GAME NOTES: Charlotte vs. WKU". Charlotte49ers.com. November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

[8] "Watts Breaks Sacks Record; Niners Suffer Home Loss". Retrieved November 23, 2022.

[9] "Scoring Summary Report 2022 Charlotte Football, Western Kentucky vs Charlotte (Nov 5, 2022 at Charlotte NC)". November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

[10] "Western Kentucky vs Charlotte– Game Summary". ESPN. November 5, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

[11] Bailey, Hunter (November 5, 2022). "Charlotte 49ers football loses to Western Kentucky at home". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved November 23, 2022.

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