WKU Football: 2024 Preview, Best Players, Top Transfers, Season Prediction, Win Total

WKU College Football Preview 2024

Head coach Tyson Helton made one heck of a pivot.

His 2019 team was good enough to win nine games with a bowl victory, but the 2020 version had no pop—the passing game didn’t work, and the team struggled to score, to put it nicely.

One year later, WKU threw for over 6,000 yards with Bailey Zappe pitching 62 touchdown passes, and over the last two years, Austin Reed threw for over 8,000 yards and 71 scores.

Helton and his various offensive coordinators have found a groove, and now the system has to work.

There are too many lost parts on both sides of the ball—TJ Finley won't be bad, though, as the next bomber up with Reed done—but with four seasons of eight or more wins in his five years, and with four bowl victories in five tries, Helton has found ways to figure out how to make it all work.

With 11 winning seasons in 17 years at the FBS level, the WKU football program has figured out how to make it all work.

But even though the expectations are there again, the Hilltoppers had to hit refresh with …

WKU Football Preview 2024: Offense

- The high-octane passing offense of the last few years should keep on going. Will Friend moves up from handling the O line to the overall O, star passer Austin Reed is gone, and the running game is a bit of a rumor.

However, the passing game should still be amazing. Reed threw 31 touchdown passes last season, but there are plenty of options.

Famous Toastary Bowl game hero Caden Veltkamp is a big baller who knows how to wing it around, but he has to hold off transfer TJ Finley from Texas State, and Auburn, and LSU.

Finley has the edge, but no matter what, nothing stops.

- Top target Malachi Corley is gone, but Dalvin Smith is back after catching 50 passes with six scores, Michael Mathison is back after missing last year, and in comes Alabama State’s Kisean Johnson as a dangerous inside target. TE River Helms should catch 30 passes as even more of a target.

- The style of play makes the O line stats look great, but this group did its job. It was great in sacks and tackles for loss allowed, but it wasn’t used enough for the ground game.

ULM transfer Stacey Wilkins was a nice get at one tackle spot, and Marshall Jackson is back at the other. Quantavious Leslie is the star of the interior at left guard - he’s the biggest run blocker.

The backs are in place, but they need to be used more, Elijah Young led the team with 474 yards and three scores, and he caught three touchdown passes, There’s enough depth to come up with a good rotation if needed.

WKU Football Preview 2024: Defense

- There was a rough game against Ohio State, and another against Liberty - no shame there. Overall the defense wasn’t great, but it was good for what it needed to do. The run D has to be better and there have to be more key stops, but the takeaways were there.

- The defensive front didn’t do enough to get into the backfield. The sacks came from the linebackers and former safety Kendrick Simpkins, and the front three is in charge of stopping the run - and it has to be better.

The line needed nice, and that’s where 322-pound Jalil Rivera-Harvey fits in on the nose. There should be a decent rotation around all-star tackle Hosea Wheeler.

The linebackers have some new parts in starting roles, but Sebastian Benjamin is a veteran in the outside Jack position, and senior Rashion Hodge should rise up and be one of the team’s leading tacklers in the middle.

- The transfer portal is taking over the secondary, but veteran Upton Stout is back at one corner job after breaking up eight passes with 29 tackles despite missing half the season.

JUCO transfer Jaymar Mundy will start on the other side of Stout, and Demarko Williams (Ole Miss), Kent Robinson (Texas A&M), and Devonte Mathews (Nicholls State) will make a big splash in the safety spots along with Virgil Marshall likely at the Nickel spot.

Key To The WKU Football Season

Stop the run.
The Hilltopper offense will still be great, but the team doesn’t win when it doesn’t hold up against the run.

WKU survived getting run all over by USF - three takeaways helped - and Old Dominion ran well in the bowl thriller. Those were the two outliers as team went 2-5 when allowing over 155 rushing yards and 6-0 when giving up that many or fewer. That’s why …

WKU Key Player

Jalil Rivera-Harvey, NT Sr.
That run defense needs a big anchor to hold up, and the 6-2, 322-pound Rivera-Harvey is built for it.

He started out at Arizona State where he saw a little time, was strong for East Los Angeles College, and last year he made 16 tackles for Marshall. As long as he’s taking up space inside, he’ll be doing his job.

WKU Football Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: TJ Finley, QB Jr.
There are plenty of options among all the WKU transfers, but Finley is the most intriguing.

The 6-7, 249-pounder wasn’t bad in his freshman year at LSU, had a few nice moments in two years at Auburn, and last year he threw for over 3,400 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight picks in the high-powered Texas State attack. He’ll fit into the WKU mix perfectly.

Top Transfer Out: Kendrick Simpkins, S Sr.
One of the better defensive backs for he Hilltoppers over the last two seasons, he blew up into a pass rusher from his safety spot leading the team with 6.5 sacks, ten tackles for loss, and with four forced fumbles. He brought his all-around game to Baylor.

WKU Key Game

at Liberty, Nov. 23
Can the Hilltoppers push past the defending Conference USA champ? Last year it was a 42-29 Liberty win. The Flames won the other meeting in 2020, too.

This is likely the first of two meetings if all goes according to plan, but on the flip side, the winner of this is all but guaranteed a spot in the Conference USA title game.

10 Best WKU Football Players

1. Hosea Wheeler, DT Jr.
2. Upton Stout, CB Jr.
3. Dalvin Smith, WR Sr.
4. TJ Finley, QB Jr.
5. Caden Veltkamp, QB Soph.
6. Quantavious Leslie, OG Sr.
7. Kisean Johnson, WR Sr.
8. Deante McCray, DE Soph.
9. Elijah Young, RB Sr.
10. Lucas Carneiro, PK Soph.

WKU 2023 Fun Stats

- Sacks: WKU 24 for 153 yards, Opponents 13 for 99 yards

- Onside kicks: WKU 2-of-4, Opponents 1-of-2

- Penalties: Opponents 82 for 699 yards, WKU 59 for 478 yards

WKU Football 2024 Win Total Prediction: What to Expect This Season

There are a TON of key parts needing to be replaced from last year’s eight-win team, but despite starting the season with a likely loss at Alabama, there are more than enough winnable games to at least get back to a bowl game.

Missing FIU in Conference USA play stinks—the Hilltoppers won 41-28 last year—and even worse is having to go on the road to play 2023 CUSA Championship contenders, New Mexico State and Liberty.

Going to Boston College will be tough, and dealing with Toledo will be a fight, but with Eastern Kentucky, UTEP, Kennesaw State, and Louisiana Tech all home games, there should be a nice base of wins.

Set The WKU Win Total At … 7.5

Likely Wins: Eastern Kentucky, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech, UTEP

50/50 Games: Jacksonville State, at Liberty, at Middle Tennessee, at New Mexico State, at Sam Houston, Toledo,

Likely Losses: at Alabama, at Boston College

2024 WKU Football Schedule

Aug 31 at Alabama
Sept 7 Eastern Kentucky
Sept 14 at Middle Tennessee
Sept 21 Toledo
Sept 28 at Boston College
Oct 5 OPEN DATE
Oct 10 UTEP
Oct 16 at Sam Houston
Oct 26 Kennesaw State
Oct 30 OPEN DATE
Nov 9 at New Mexico State
Nov 16 Louisiana Tech
Nov 23 at Liberty
Nov 30 Jacksonville State

Missing: FIU