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Unique senior class prepares for home finale BY EVAN HEICHELBECH
HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU
Last year, fans and coaches had to say goodbye to a senior class that led the most successful season in WKU football history since becoming a Division 1 program. Today’s home finale against North Texas will allow fans to watch another accomplished senior class play for the last time. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt came into the WKU program at the same time as most of the 24 seniors that will be honored before today’s game. He’s seen their production rise alongside the rapid growth of the program. “A lot of these guys—especially some of those offensive linemen that have been here for four or five years—have done just a great job,” Holt said. “They’ve won a lot of games and they know how to win. They’ve been battle-tested and the kids we have on defense have been through the grind too. We have very experienced seniors with great leadership. Those guys are great kids and great leaders and we need to get a win for them.” One more win for the class of 2016 would boost their win total to 36 games— just three shy of claiming the most wins by a senior class since the class of 2004 won 38 games. With a chance to win four more games this season, including a conference championship and a bowl game, this senior class would accomplish 39 wins across two different eras of WKU football. After a quick, one-year stint under Bobby Petrino in 2013, Jeff Brohm took over the program and helped mold the current seniors into some of WKU’s most decorated players. Perhaps the most consistent unit over the past two seasons for the Hilltoppers has been the offensive line, which is led by three seniors. Starters Max Halpin, Forrest Lamp and Darrell Williams are all redshirt seniors who began with the program before Petrino arrived. All three experienced the transition from finishing in the middle of the pack to expecting to
be at the top. Louisville transfer and redshirt senior offensive lineman Joe Manley has been watching the program grow ever since he can remember. Manley, a Bowling Green native, has roots in the program. His father played at WKU in the 80’s. “Back when I was growing up, I watched the 1AA National Championship game in a hotel out in Western Kentucky,” Manley said. “I’ve watched everything that this program has done and I feel like there’s nothing but more success coming for the program in the future.” Part of the future will depend on how the Hilltoppers can replace some of WKU’s all-time offensive leaders. Senior wide receivers Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris rank one and two, respectively, in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. “They’re not only two outstanding players, but outstanding competitors,” Brohm said. “Both of them want the ball, they’re very productive when they’re in there and they make big plays…They set a great example for the younger receivers as far as when it comes game time, they’re ready to go. They’re two guys that will be very severely missed, but I hope they’ve set the tone and the example for the younger guys.” Taylor said that all of the memories he’s made in his four years at WKU are too numerous to count. “It’s so much,” Taylor said. “All of the accomplishments, like winning the first conference title ever, winning the first bowl game and being a part of that. It’s been some special accomplishments that I’ll never forget and it’s gonna be with me for a lifetime. I’m so proud and I’m glad I made the decision to come here. I want to see that continue to grow.” The red shirt other top-ten player on offense is senior running back Anthony “Ace” Wales. Wales is eighth all-time in WKU history in rushing yards with 2,657 and sixth in rushing touchdowns with 33. “Ace has always been a competitor,”
Brohm said. “For a while we had Leon Allen and he pretty much carried the load and Ace probably didn’t get as many opportunities as he would’ve liked. But because of it he kind of hung back in the wings, worked hard, went through the hard times and the struggles and became better because of it… He’s a guy that we have to have.” Having three of the most productive players in school history makes a senior class stand out, but having two graduate transfers leading the defense makes it even more unique. Louisville transfers Keith Brown and Nick Dawson-Brents have stepped into starting roles for Holt’s defense and have combined for 117 tackles on the year. Brown leads the team with 98 at the linebacker position. Brown said that last year’s senior class
had an influence on his decision to transfer to WKU. “I talked to George Fant and I talked to Nick Holt,” Brown said. “Nick Holt was a big influence on me coming here. He told me how his dad coached and he kind of taught me the defense as well. He just brought me in like I was a brother.” Despite his short time on the Hill, Brown said that this senior class is especially close and he feels like his time here has been longer. “I feel like we bonded pretty fast,” he said. “I’m close with the guys. We all go out to eat and play cards and stuff together. Those are my brothers, man. We’re in it together.”
Reporter Evan Heichelbech can be reached at 270-745-6291 and evan. heichelbech059@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @evanheich.
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4 TOPPER EXTRA Five keys to watch for in today’s matchup
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Quarterback play
WKU’s redshirt junior quarterback Mike White has an obvious advantage over North Texas quarterback Mason Fine when looking at the numbers. Fine has only 1,563 yards, 6 touchdowns and a 114.9 passer rating. White
2
The receivers matchup
WKU has a massive advantage in the receiver matchup that they could exploit. The Hilltoppers have the No. 2 and No. 5 ranked receivers in Conference USA in receiving yards in Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris. Taylor and Norris have combined for 2,108 receiving yards. North Texas’ top
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Pass coverage
WKU’s struggles in pass defense were documented earlier, but UNT’s pass defense is far better than WKU’s. The Mean Green have allowed just 1,875 passing yards this year, and they’re tied for 22nd in the country in interceptions with 11. That ball-hawking effort is led by UNT defensive back Kishawn McClain, who ranks second in C-USA in interceptions with three. White will get one of his toughest tests in the passing game this week when trying to connect with Taylor, Norris and the rest of his receiving options.
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Rushing defense
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two receivers, Thaddeous Thompson and Terian Goree, have 736 yards combined, which is less than both Norris and Taylor individually. UNT’s entire receiving core has just 8 touchdowns combined this season, where as Norris and Taylor each have 10 individually.
While WKU’s secondary isn’t as strong as UNT’s, their front seven certainly are. UNT has allowed 1,838 rushing yards this year, and 4.7 yards per carry, which
ranks them 30th in the nation for most rushing yards allowed. WKU, on the other hand, is ranked 24th in the nation in fewest rushing yards allowed, as they’ve averaged 1,081, and an average of just 3.2 yards per carry. This advantage will not only help the defense, but it also helps redshirt senior running back Anthony “Ace” Wales, who has been one of the best running backs in the conference.
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The run game
The rushing attack is probably the fairest battle between these two teams. Wales has been one of the best running backs in C-USA, totaling 936 yards and 17 touchdowns, which ranks first in the conference. However, UNT’s Jeffrey Wilson has done nearly as well as Wales. Wilson has the second-most rushing touchdowns in the conference with 13, and 833 rushing yards, which ranks just two spots behind Wales in the conference. WKU either holds a major advantage or is mismatched in just about every other aspect of the game, but the run game is a pretty equal battle going into the game.
Christian Brothers
WKU’s matchup against the University of North Texas is going to be one that sees WKU’s explosive offense going up against one of the better pass defenses they’ll see all year. WKU’s high-octane passing game will have to be on its game, and the front seven will have to continue to succeed against the run. Here are some keys to the game.
Firebal Fireball
HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU
on the other hand has 3,057 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and a 176.6 passer rating. However, WKU ranks seventh in the nation in most passing yards allowed, as they’ve allowed 2,731 total passing yards this year. That will give Fine the potential to have a big game, making for a good matchup between the two. But regardless of WKU’s defense problems, White has better weapons around him.
NEW AMSTERDAM
BY JEREMY CHISENHALL
Head coach Jeff Brohm enters the tunnel before the start of WKU’s game against FIU Nov. 5, 2016, at Smith Stadium. Jeff Brown/HERALD
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College Heights Herald football pick ‘em WKUHERALD.COM
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WKU 41-10
WKU 55-14
WKU 52-17
WKU 45-14
WKU 56-13
WKU 42-7
Kentucky vs. Tennessee
Tennessee 38-14
Kentucky 35-31
Tennessee 28-17
Tennessee 28-17
Tennessee 34-20
Tennessee 24-21
Louisville vs. Wake Forest
Louisville 48-10
Louisville 52-10
Louisville 49-10
Louisville 55-14
Louisville 58-10
Louisville 52-14
MTSU vs. Marshall
Marshall 28-17
MTSU 28-24
MTSU 31-24
Marshall 35-28
MTSU 28-20
Marshall 28-21
Louisiana Tech vs. UTSA
LA Tech 42-21
UTSA 34-28
LA Tech 38-28
LA Tech 45-28
LA Tech 45-27
LA Tech 42-38
Washington 42-21
Washington 42-28
Washington 42-28
Washington 35-14
USC 41-40
Washington 45-27
WKU vs. North Texas
Washington vs.
USC* *College GameDay game of the week
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WKU Depth Chart
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