Western Kentucky football coach Tyson Helton watches his team practice at Houchens-Smith Stadium on Wednesday.

After a record-setting season last year, Western Kentucky’s offense seems to be off to a good start with new personnel in place.

The Hilltoppers held their first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The event was closed to the media and public, but fourth-year head coach Tyson Helton spoke with the media after.

“Offense came out hot. They were hitting on all cylinders early. A lot of big plays. They got the best of the defense for sure in the first half,” Helton said. “I liked how the defense responded in the second half. We didn’t do a lot offensively in the second half. We’ve just got to, defensively when momentum’s not going our way, we’ve got to counter back. A lot of good things out there, a lot of big plays, so that’s good to see for sure.”

WKU finished second nationally in scoring offense and total offense in last year’s 9-5 season that saw Conference USA East Division and Boca Raton Bowl titles, but several of that team’s most productive offensive players are now gone, including quarterback Bailey Zappe.

The Hilltoppers are in the midst of a quarterback competition, with West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege and West Florida transfer Austin Reed the frontrunners for the starting job. Both have played well since WKU opened fall camp July 29, according to Helton.

“Love them both. They’re both doing outstanding. It’s a very, very close competition,” Helton said. “I thought they both did a great job today. We’ve got another week. We’ve got another week and another scrimmage and it’s a close battle. I think everybody on this team loves them both. We can win with both of them, so we’ve just got to see where it goes.”

Helton said “big plays all around” are what highlighted Saturday’s session, which started around 10 a.m. and ran shortly past noon.

Daewood Davis, who caught 43 passes for 763 yards and eight touchdowns last season “had a big play, explosive play,” while Glasgow native Dalvin Smith – the team’s offensive MVP during the spring – “caught a bunch of balls and made some big plays,” Helton said. He was also impressed with plays made by Jaylen Hall, a 6-foot-4 receiver who transferred to WKU from Western Michigan in the offseason. Hall caught 46 passes for 752 yards and three scores in 2021.

While the offense shined, Helton says there are still things to clean up. He says the Hilltoppers “put the ball on the ground a lot offensively” and that there were some false starts not called. He says the defense needs to get to the quarterback more and correct some breakdowns in coverage in the secondary.

“All those little things add up, so we’ve got to correct all those little things,” Helton said.

WKU is scheduled to open the 2022 season Aug. 27 against Austin Peay. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Houchens-Smith Stadium.