Brandon Doughty and Mike White spent the last five seasons shattering all Western Kentucky passing records.

The two quarterbacks threw for a combined 21,282 yards and 174 touchdowns from 2013-17. They were the gunslingers who directed some of the best offenses in Hilltopper history.

But as much as Doughty and White accomplished with their right arms, WKU coaches want more production this fall from their quarterbacks’ feet.

The Topper offense has run plays throughout this spring that feature the QB rushing game. WKU conducted its 13th of 15 spring practices Tuesday, with the annual spring game scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The spring game will provide Hilltopper fans a preview of the 2018 season. That includes a look at the three quarterbacks currently vying for the starting job: Steven Duncan, Drew Eckels and Davis Shanley.

All three can create plays with their legs, and coach Mike Sanford and his staff want to take advantage of that.

“Not to say the past quarterbacks we had weren’t able to run, but they weren’t the most athletic,” the redshirt senior Eckels told the Daily News on Tuesday. “I feel like we have a really athletic quarterback group.”

Sanford has wanted to work more quarterback rushing opportunities into his offense, but the personnel he inherited for the 2017 season from former coach Jeff Brohm didn’t suit that style.

WKU’s best quarterback option last year was White, a pure pocket passer. He got some goal-line carries and rushed for a team-high six touchdowns, but defenses respected his arm more than his feet.

Eckels appeared in eight of the Tops’ 13 games last season as a change-of-pace QB. His impact was minimal though, as he rushed 12 times for 27 yards – just 2.3 yards per carry.

The Daytona, Fla., native Eckels became the veteran of the QB room with White’s graduation. He’s taken most of the first-team reps this spring during team practice periods.

Eckels has flashed his quick feet both in running the ball and handling pressure when he looks to throw.

“With Drew, he has pretty good pocket awareness,” QBs coach Matthew Mitchell said. “He’s done a good job with his pocket mechanics, making subtle movements and keeping himself alive within the pocket. I’ve seen good improvement there.”

Duncan doesn’t look at first glance like a dual-threat quarterback. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, he’s built in the mold of a pocket passer like Doughty or White.

Duncan didn’t run much in high school, he said, but has learned how to use his feet at the college level.

“People don’t think I can run,” Duncan said. “I’m sneaky fast. Not 4.4 (second) speed of course, but I can run a little bit.

“I’ve tried to put it in my game more. … I think I’ve had steady improvement in that area.”

Shanley came to WKU with the reputation of creating plays with his legs.

The Duluth, Ga., native was a dual-threat QB at South Forsyth High School. Over his junior and senior seasons, he passed for 4,017 yards and 39 touchdowns and ran for another 1,094 yards and 15 scores.

Shanley (6-1, 185 pounds) doesn’t have the size of the 6-4 Duncan or 6-3 Eckels, but he’s got the mobility to give defenses fits.

“It’s going to really cause a lot of stress for the defense to cover a different aspect of the game,” Shanley said. “I think it’s going to really show on the field, especially when we come out in the spring game, how we can use our legs instead of just our arms.”{&end}