September 23, 2017
Topper Extra
2 TOPPER EXTRA
How Deon Yelder became the go-to guy at tight end BY SAM PORTER HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU During WKU’s journey to the Conference USA Championship game last season, an unlikely hero made arguably the most important play of the season. The Hilltoppers were sitting at 3-3 after a few unexpected losses and were on the road against Middle Tennessee State in a critical C-USA East division game. The conference rivals found themselves tied 37-37 entering double overtime. The Blue Raiders got the ball first in the second overtime period and scored a touchdown to take a 43-37 lead, setting up the biggest play of the season at an unexpected time. On the ensuing extra point, junior tight end Deon Yelder leapt in the air and got his hands on MTSU kicker Canon Rooker’s extra point attempt, deflecting the football and causing it to fall short of the goalpost. “I just remember getting coached real hard during that week,” Yelder said. “The coaches kept telling me I was going to get one. The line gave me a great push and me and Iggy [Joel Iyiegbuniwe] jumped, and it happened.” Former WKU running back Anthony Wales punched it in from 1-yard out on the following possession, and former WKU kicker Skyler Simcox hit the extra point to give WKU the 44-43 victory. Following the victory, the Hilltoppers never looked back, winning their next seven games en route to their second straight C-USA title and later, a Boca Raton Bowl win. Had Yelder not blocked the extra point and Rooker’s kick sailed through the uprights, MTSU would’ve represented the East in the C-USA
WKU redshirt senrior Deon Yelder (19) is chased by University of Illinois freshman Tony Adams (6) after catching a pass during WKU’s game vs Illinois on Saturday. SILAS WALKER/ HERALD
championship instead of WKU. Now, in his final season of eligibility, Yelder is making an impact on more than just special teams. A walk-on for four years including an initial redshirt year, Yelder earned a scholarship this offseason. In Mike Sanford’s new offense, the Louisville native has more of a role as a tight end than he did in former head coach Jeff Brohm’s spread offense. On top of the scholarship, Yelder also earned the starting job before WKU’s opener against Eastern Kentucky. “Deon’s earned every opportunity that he has,” tight ends coach Ryan Mahaffey said. “He shows up each and
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every day, he works hard, he’s extremely consistent, he has a high care factor, and he proved to I think the staff and to his teammates that he’s a guy that can be relied upon to go out there and do his job day in and day out.” Through three games, Yelder has become one of redshirt senior quarterback Mike White’s favorite targets. The former special teams hero is currently third on WKU’s roster in catches and receiving yards with 11 grabs for 111 total yards through three games. Last week against Louisiana Tech Yelder led WKU with six catches for 54 yards. A handful of Yelder’s 11 catches have come on
third down. “He’s been lights out, he’s been our security blanket,” White said. “When all else fails, I’ve gotta go find Deon because he’s going to get it for you. He’s a big body in there, and if he’s not catching it, nobody is.” At 6-4, 255 lbs, Yelder’s frame makes him a tough matchup for most defensive backs. His athleticism, which he displayed during his special teams heroics last year, makes him a tough matchup for linebackers. “He has great size and great athleticism,” Mahaffey continued. “But what I think separates Deon from other tight ends is his mindset. He attacks, he wants to get downhill, he doesn’t back away from a challenge. He’s extremely coachable, but what I think separates Deon from other players is his heart, his tenacity and his competitive nature.” Earlier this week, Yelder was named a John Mackey Tight End of the Week honorable mention for his efforts that earned him career highs in catches and yards against LA Tech. Yelder went from having literally zero offensive statistics in his first three years to being recognized as one of the top performers at his position across the entire country in just the third week of the season. “It was a dream come true, that was my only dream when I got here,” Yelder said about earning a scholarship. “Coming out of high school, and where I come from it’s a huge accomplishment. Not a lot of people in my family go to college so it’s a big thing for me.”
Reporter Sam Porter can be reached at 270-799-8247 and sam.porter270@ gmail.com Follow him on Twitter at @ SammyP14.
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6 TOPPER EXTRA Examining Ball State by the numbers BY MATTHEW STAHL HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU
6.5 Anthony Winbush, Ball State’s senior pass rusher, leads all FBS players with 6.5 sacks on the young season. He’s also forced three fumbles. The Hilltoppers’ offensive line has struggled at points this season and will have its work cut out for itself in stopping Winbush and the rest of the Cardinals’ defensive front.
3 Last week, in the Cardinals’ 28-13 win over Tennessee Tech, the Ball State offense turned the ball over three times. WKU’s defense has been a strong point this season, forcing six fumbles despite not recovering any of them. WKU has
intercepted the opposing quarterback for a Hilltopper offense looking to put a in each of its last two games, and if Ball lot more points on the board. State has any chance to beat the Hilltoppers, it will have to avoid costly turn- 466 overs. The Ball State offense is averaging 466 116 yards per game this season. The WKU defense, which has given up an average In last week’s game against Tennessee of 357.7 yards per game, will have to find Tech, the Cardinals allowed the Gold- a way to stop the Cardinals. The Cardien Eagle offense to rush for 116 yards. nals are led by their quarterback, Riley WKU head coach Mike Sanford said he Neal, who has 659 yards and six touchnoticed a step forward in the ground downs through three games. game last week against Louisiana Tech. Usual starter D’Andre Ferby did not play 358.3 against LA Tech and Quinton Baker is nursing a rib injury, but has not been The Ball State defense has held teams ruled out against Ball State. With the to an average of 358.3 yards per game this Hilltoppers’ increased focus on running season. WKU’s average for total offense the football, a weak BSU run defense through three games comes in at 325 could be a potential problem for the yards per game. That’s a huge drop from Cardinals, as well as a huge opportunity the 2016 average of 532.1 yards per game.
74.2
Against Tennessee Tech last week, Neal completed 74.2 percent of his passes. Defensively, the Hilltoppers will look to bring that number down closer to Neal’s season average of 67.7 percent. WKU has allowed completion percentages of 60.4, 56.0 and 56.4 for an average of 57.6 percent on the season.
7.5
WKU is favored to beat the Cardinals by 7.5 points. Those betting on the Hilltoppers have lost every game this season as WKU lost to Illinois and Louisiana Tech as the favorites, while Eastern Kentucky beat the 39.9 point spread as an underdog in Week 1.
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TOPPER EXTRA 0 The BSU turnover differential this season is zero. While the Cardinals turned the ball over three times last week and twice more against their previous opponents, their defense has come up big with five takeaways this season. Through three games, WKU has turned the ball over three times, including Mike White’s interception that was returned for a touchdown against Illinois.
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Hilltoppers last week. WKU will need to keep Gilbert in check this week to stop the Cardinals’ offense.
2-1
Ball State is 2-1 in the all time series against the Hilltoppers. The last time the two teams played was in 2008, when WKU was coached by David Elson and finished 2-10 as an FBS independent before the Hilltoppers made the move to the Sun Belt Conference in 2009. Ball State, who was ranked 25th in the nation 8.4 took the victory by a final score of 24-7. Elson is now the Cardinals’ defensive Last week, BSU junior running back, coordinator. James Gilbert rushed for 92 yards on 11 attempts, averaging a whopping 8.4 Reporter Matthew Stahl can be reached yards per carry. Louisiana Tech run- at 615-681-7372 and matthew.stahl551@ WKU linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe (4) celebrates after sacking the Louisiana Tech ning back, Jarred Craft, averaged a re- topper.wku.edu Follow him on Twitter quarterback during the Hilltoppers’ 22-23 loss to Louisiana Tech University last Saturday at L.T. Smith Stadium. SHABAN ATHUMAN/HERALD spectable 5.8 yards per carry against the at @mattstahl97
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10 TOPPER EXTRA Q&A with special teams coach Mike Sanford Sr. BY CAMERON BROWN
average of 40.3 kickoff return yards per game. He’s had his struggles so far this year, but do you expect a big turnaround from him soon?”
HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU When first-year WKU head coach Mike Sanford Jr. was hired to replace Jeff Brohm in December, he made sure to hire a certain individual to his staff, creating a unique storyline in the process. Mike Sanford Sr. has been coaching college football since 1977, and has served as head coach at Utah (20052009) and Indiana State (2013-2016). Now, he coaches under his son as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach for the Hilltoppers.
“What is it like coaching with your son? Have you learned anything from this experience?” Sanford Sr.: “It’s been a great experience. I’ve been coaching 40 years, and this is my 41st year coaching. I left a head coaching position at Indiana State and I loved the opportunity to come work here. Mike called me up and said, ‘Dad, will you come help me?’ and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ In football you learn something every day, and yes, I am learning. We have a new system, and I’m challenged in a lot of ways because even though I’ve been a running backs coach I’ve never been a special teams coordinator. So I’m learning a lot, growing a lot and I feel that you can always grow and you can always learn no matter how long you’ve been coaching.”
“You said you’re new to being a special teams coach. What are some new things you’ve learned and new things you’ve been doing as a special teams coach?”
Redshirt senior Kylen Towner (8) gets tackled after catching the ball in WKU’s game against EKU on Saturday Sept. 2. REMI MAYS/HERALD Sanford Sr.: “There’s just so much you have to think about. When you’re a head coach you have to think about a lot of things generally but on special teams you have 11 guys on a minimum of six different teams and you have to know what all of them are doing and make sure the right people are doing the right things at the right time. You have to be thinking about all these different things, and fortunately I have a really good quality control assistant Brock Willis who is really helpful and we work very well together.”
“You’ve talked about that transition of going from a head coach to an assistant coach, and you have done
Sanford Sr.: “Well, I hope so. I wouldn’t say he’s struggled but I’d say that they [opponents] haven’t kicked him the ball very much. They’ve squib kicked, they’ve kicked touchbacks out of the end zone and they’ve skykicked. The first game we got three surprise onside kicks and one sky kick. So when you’re getting that many weird kicks it makes it very difficult to return kicks. My expectation is that we’ll get him more return yards coming up but it’s a little out of our control because it depends on the kinds of kicks that they’re kicking.”
“You have a very good that various times through- punter in Jake Collins. out your career. Was it easy What does having a punter doing it this time as well?” like Collins on your roster add to your team?”
Sanford Sr.: “There’s different parts of it. I think the thing is that as the head coach you have a lot more control over your schedule. When you’re an assistant, you do what you’re told to do. I think one of the things about this is putting yourself in the position of the assistant coach and being under the head coach, and it makes it interesting because he’s my son. But I have a ton of respect for him, and he does a tremendous job.”
“Last season Kylen Towner set the FBS record with an
Sanford Sr.: “Well first of all Jake played extremely well in the last game. He’s very valuable, and he does make a huge difference in how he can flip the field and how he can improve our advantage in regard to field position.”
Reporter Cameron Brown can be reached at 270-577-1699 and cameronbrown647@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Cameron_Brown_3
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12 TOPPER EXTRA Underclassmen emerge as playmakers for defense BY TYLER MANSFIELD HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU For some time now, WKU has been known for its dominating play on the offensive side of the ball. However, so far into the 2017 season, the Hilltopper defense is receiving more recognition than it’s accustomed to, and it wouldn’t be where it is without the help of a handful of underclassmen. Although WKU has already suffered two losses this year – including last week’s 23-22 heartbreaker against Louisiana Tech – redshirt freshman defensive back Devon Key said the defense and the entire team would bounce back. “We had a good week of practice. We just didn’t finish late in the game,” Key said. “I just feel like we have to come out and play our game just like we have been the last three games. Even though that we’re 1-2 right now, I feel like we’ll bounce back strong.” Key is one underclassman that has emerged as a playmaker for the Hilltoppers (1-2 overall, 0-1 Conference USA). With redshirt senior safety Marcus Ward still sidelined by injury from last season, the Lexington native has stepped up to become WKU’s primary player at that position. Along with Key, redshirt sophomore linebacker Ben Holt also stepped up against LA Tech and made four tackles. Holt, who is the son of former WKU defensive coordinator Nick Holt, said he and the defense just have to keep moving in the right direction. “Our mindset is that we can’t focus on the previous weekends,” Holt said. “You’ve gotta keep the best foot forward, so now we’re gonna go and try and get this win [against Ball State] and keep going into conference play.” As WKU looks to avoid losing three consecutive games for the first time since 2012 when it hosts Ball State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, the defensive unit will look to continue to make progress. The Topper defense currently ranks 35th against the run (113.3 yards per game allowed), 44th in scoring (20 points per game allowed), 54th in passing efficiency (118.28), 58th in total yards per game allowed (357.7) and 82nd in passing (244.3 yards per game allowed).
WKU defensive back Devon Key celebrates with his teammates during the Hilltoppers’ 22-23 loss to Louisiana Tech University on Saturday, Sept. 16 at L.T. Smith Stadium. SHABAN ATHUMAN/HERALD Additionally, another pair of underclassmen in freshman defensive back Antwon Kincade (eight total tackles, four solo tackles) and freshman defensive lineman DeAngelo Malone (10 total, three solo) have played significant roles in WKU’s success this year. With the defensive players’ minds set on continuing to make improvements, Key said it’s important for the younger guys to work their hardest and be playmakers. “It’s really important for us to step up on the defensive side of the ball, just because the older guys need to trust us a little bit more,” Key said. “So we’re building trust with them since they’ve been here four years and this is our first time starting in a college game. So we’ve gotta build that trust and I think it’s there.” As for Holt, the Bowling Green High
School alum said he has bought into new WKU defensive coordinator Clayton White’s system. After playing under his father in his first season, Holt said White had done a great job of preparing the defense. “It’s been extremely easy,” Holt said of transitioning into White’s system. “He’s done a great job of teaching it to us and helping us understand it fully. Coach White sets the tempo all week. We start out in turnover circuit, and we just keep it going all week. He does a really good job of getting us ready, so we can play our butts off. “Clearly it’s worked out really well for us.” WKU hopes its defense continues to make strides, but it’ll most certainly have its hands full competing against Ball State’s stout defensive squad. The Cardinals feature senior defensive end Antho-
ny Winbush, who has 6 ½ sacks to lead the nation. Along with Winbush’s impressive sack total, he has already tallied 20 total tackles on the year, with 10 of those being solo. As a whole, BSU’s defense allows just 22.7 points per game while it ranks 41st overall in passing yards allowed per game (184), 60th in total yards allowed per game (358.3) and 96th in rushing yards allowed per game (174.3). “We’ll just have to get after them all day on defense,” Holt said. “Make them not wanna be here and just really get after them.”
Reporter Tyler Mansfield can be reached at (270) 935-0007 and tylermansfield@ yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_ TylerMansfield.