Elvin Fofanah wasn’t going down without a fight.

The Western Kentucky redshirt senior tight end had been waiting five years to make his first NCAA Division I catch. In the closing minute of WKU’s 41-28 road win against New Mexico State, Fofanah’s time had come.

With the Hilltoppers looking for one more first down before going into victory formation to close out the Conference USA victory, redshirt sophomore quarterback Caden Veltkamp sent a pass to Fofanah.

“As soon as I passed the corner off of Noah’s hip, I saw grass,” Fofanah said of teammate and fellow tight end Noah Meyers. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, this ball’s coming to me. It’s coming to me. You’re about to make your moment right here. You’ve got to catch it. You have to catch it.’ So that’s what I did. They told me to catch it, get the first and get down. But you know, I took a hit.”

That catch for eight yards was the first, and Fofanah got another in last week’s 12-7 loss to Louisiana Tech – a modest 1-yard reception as Fofanah couldn’t shake a determined tackle.

“I was trying to get him off of me so bad,” Fofanah said. “It would’ve been a highlight – that’s what I wanted, a highlight. But it will come, though.”

That strong belief is what has carried Fofanah this far, so why not further?

The hometown kid, a 2020 Bowling Green High School graduate, ultimately decided to bet on himself and return home two years ago after starting his college career at NAIA-level Lindsey Wilson.

At Bowling Green, Fofanah had been a three-year varsity player – the last two as a big-play wide receiver with 42 catches for 525 yards and eight touchdowns over his final two high school seasons.

At Lindsey Wilson, Fofanah was listed for two years as a wideout before making the switch to tight end before the 2022 season. Fofanah saw plenty of game action with the Blue Raiders with the promise of much more to come – he totaled seven receptions for 85 yards and four touchdowns at Lindsey Wilson.

But the 6-foot-3, 235-pound redshirt senior believed his place on the football field was at the D1 level.

That’s … a jump.

“Yeah, it’s huge,” Fofanah said with a laugh. “I know, it’s huge. I took the risk of coming here and betting on myself. Ultimately, I’m in the position that I am now off of hard work.”

Having played with and against some current Hilltoppers gave Fofanah the boost of extra confidence he needed to try.

“There are people here that I played against in high school and I’ve seen them do it,” Fofanah said. “So I’m like, I need to bet on myself. I know I can do this. If they can do it, I can do it for sure. So it’s having that mental toughness of knowing yourself and knowing your abilities.”

Fofanah placed that bet on himself, reaching out to WKU as a potential walk-on. He picked a good time – the Hilltoppers lost some depth at tight end after the 2022 season and were actively seeking players to fill that room. Fofanah got the invitation and walked on to the program heading into the 2023 season.

“I feel like my film helped out,” Fofanah said. “They needed some tight ends – I think some left from here, so they were trying to recruit some tight ends. I feel like I still had to prove myself, so during the winter program we have here I was just trying to take first in everything I can – which I was doing, lifting and running stuff. I make sure that I take full advantage of that so I can try to separate myself as best as I can.”

Fofanah saw action in four games last season – Houston Christian, Ohio State, Troy and Middle Tennessee – but didn’t have a catch.

An injury slowed Fofanah at the start of the season, but injuries to WKU’s top tight ends River Helms and Trevor Borland opened the door for Meyers and Fofanah at New Mexico State. That’s likely to be the case again Saturday when the Hilltoppers visit Liberty for a noon matchup in Lynchburg, Virginia. Helms is still out, Borland may be back but the opportunities for Fofanah are as great as they’ve ever been.

“Elvin’s doing some things and getting more into a role,” WKU offensive coordinator Will Friend said. “He was hurt earlier, so he’s able to kind of help some. We’ve got to continue to bring that room along. It did get thinned out some, but hey, next man up. It’s time to go.”

The first catch – and the second – is in the books. Fofanah is eager to keep adding to that total this season and next.

“Obviously I’m hungry for more,” Fofanah said. “To me, it’s not enough. I feel like I could do way better and I’m going to continue to do better until I can’t no more.”

“It means a lot – it means everything. I feel like I worked hard to get to the position where I am. It’s just taking advantage of every opportunity I get.”