The remaking of Western Kentucky’s football program isn’t taking a break for the holiday season.

On Monday, 247Sports.com reported Hilltopper redshirt sophomore starting quarterback Caden Veltkamp has committed to play for Florida Atlantic. The Owls are coached by former WKU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, who was hired as the program’s new head coach earlier this month. Kittley was at Western Kentucky for just one season (2021) and guided Bailey Zappe’s record-shattering passing campaign that year. Later on Monday, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Easton Messer also announced he has committed to play at FAU.

Veltkamp, a South Warren High School graduate, arrived the following season but was recruited by Kittley and played under Ben Arbuckle – a Kittley protege who followed him from Houston Christian to WKU.

Also Monday, Colorado State announced the hiring of Tyson Summers as that program’s new defensive coordinator. Summers spent the past three seasons in that same role at WKU.

Later Monday, WKU redshirt sophomore kicker Lucas Carneiro – the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year and current school record holder with 18 straight made field goals, announced on his Instagram account that he has committed to Ole Miss.

Veltkamp burst onto the scene in the final game of the 2023 season against Old Dominion in the Famous Toastery Bowl. He entered that game to replace struggling starter Turner Helton – who was filling in for injured starter Austin Reed – with the Tops trailing by three touchdowns. That deficit eventually grew to 28-0 in the second quarter.

Veltkamp – who had six career completions up to that point – delivered WKU’s single-best output by a quarterback of the season by completing 40-of-52 passes for 383 yards and five touchdowns, plus another 53 yards rushing on 19 carries to lead the Tops to a 38-35 overtime victory.

After the game, Veltkamp confirmed he played while in the NCAA transfer portal but returned to the program a few days later to compete for the starting job. WKU brought in experienced quarterback TJ Finley in the spring and Finley – who has since transferred to Tulane – initially won the starting job before getting injured early in the third game of the season at Middle Tennessee.

Coming on in relief again, Veltkamp completed 27-of-30 passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another to boost the Tops to a 49-21 win against the Blue Raiders. He started and won the following week against Toledo and remained the Tops’ starter the rest of the way.

This past season, Veltkamp was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year after completing 258-of-289 passes for 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. The 6-foot-6, 236-pound Veltkamp also proved a durable and effective runner, finishing third in the team with 150 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

Veltkamp’s final appearance this season for WKU presumably came at his future new home when he started at quarterback for the Tops against James Madison in the Boca Raton Bowl held at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida. Veltkamp was 25-of-39 passing for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 27-17 loss.

Messer, a 5-9 native of Louisville, proved a capable possession receiver during his three seasons with the Hilltoppers. Originally a walk-on out of Christian Academy of Louisville, Messer had a 44-yard touchdown reception for his first career catch in 2022. He tallied 42 catches for 484 yards and four touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2023 and was a primary kick returner with 15 returns for 33 yards. He earned All-CUSA and CUSA All-Freshman honors as a kick returner and also made the All-Freshman team as a wide receiver.

This past season, Messer appeared in all 14 games and tallied 55 catches for 793 yards – both second on the team – and four TDs. Messer also had four rushes for 37 yards and reprised his role as the primary kickoff returner with 19 returns for 457 yards (24.1 yards per return).

Summers’ WKU defense led the nation in takeaways with 32 in 2022; they were CUSA’s best unit with 26 takeaways in 2023. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Hilltoppers led the nation in defensive touchdowns, scoring nine times. WKU’s defense forced 20 turnovers in 2024, 10 each for interceptions and fumbles recovered.

Summers returns to Colorado State for a second stint as the Rams’ defensive coordinator after previously serving that role in 2015.

“I’m incredibly honored and excited to be back at Colorado State,” Summers said in a news release. “I want to thank coach (Jay) Norvell for this opportunity and I’m looking forward to leading a group of talented young men. My wife Beth and family enjoyed our time in Fort Collins when we were here prior and we’re looking forward to reuniting with the Fort Collins community and Ram fans.”

Carneiro was 18-for-19 on field goals, with 17 straight makes, and went 41-for-41 on PATs. His 18 consecutive field goals made marks the longest streak in program history. He went 6-for-6 on field goals of 50-plus yards this season, including two 54-yard makes, which are career highs and are tied for the second-longest in program history. He also made a 50-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the regular-season finale against Jax State to send WKU to the CUSA Championship game. He is the only CUSA kicker to go 6-for-6 from 50-plus yards in a season since 1996, while only four others have gone at least 3-for-3.

WKU, which finished the 2024 campaign with the loss to James Madison in the Boca Raton Bowl on Wednesday, also picked up a trio of commitments over the past two days and saw three former Hilltoppers commit elsewhere out of the NCAA transfer portal. It’s the continuation of significant churn for the current roster, even by WKU standards. And with more than 20 players off the 2024 squad still in the portal with the option of others to join before it closes Dec. 28, change continues apace for the Hilltoppers.

On Monday, the Tops picked up a committment from Coahoma (Mississippi) Community College offensive lineman Branden Hollis. A Baltimore native, the 6-foot-8, 372-pound Hollis just completed his sophomore season at Coahoma. WKU also landed JUCO transfer offensive lineman Max Thurston out of Georgia Military College on Monday. Thurston, listed at 6-6, 290 pounds, played offensive tackle for the Bulldogs this past season. The Monroe, Georgia, native saw action in seven games as a freshman in 2024.

WKU landed BYU transfer wide receiver Kody Epps on Sunday. The 5-11, 187-pound Los Angeles native was a USA Today First Team All-American at Mater Dei High School. At BYU, Epps was the first freshman wide receiver to ever record consecutive 100+-yard receiving games in 2022 and was an Big 12 All-Academic Second Team pick in 2023. This past season for the Cougars, Epps tallied eight catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

In four seasons at BYU, Epps played in 28 games (14 starts) and tallied 73 catches for 819 yads and seven touchdowns.

Also Sunday, former WKU starting center Evan Wibberley announced his commitment to Kentucky. Wibberley, a redshirt sophomore who also rose to prominence as a first-time starter in the 2023 Famous Toastery Bowl, is a Kentucky native who played at Dixie Heights High School.

The Tops also saw a pair of former players sign with CUSA rival Kennesaw State – redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Marcus Patterson (21 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss in this season) and redshirt sophomore defensive back Alex Ford (15 tackles this season). Freshman wide receiver Jaylen Hampton, who did not record a catch this season, announced Sunday he has committed to Gardner-Webb.

That’s just the latest movement in what has been an eventful December for WKU. The Tops already said goodbye to standout defensive lineman Deante McCray (transferred to Florida State) and safety Darius Thomas (Louisville), along with defensive lineman Dallas Walker (Auburn), running back L.T. Sanders (North Alabama), offensive lineman Darrell Johnson Jr. (Akron) and defensive lineman Jalil Rivera-Harvey (Marshall). Defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler announced his commitment to Indiana, although the school hasn’t announced the signing yet.