Western Kentucky wide receiver Kisean Johnson (13) makes a catch during Western Kentucky football’s Red-White Spring Showcase at Houchens Industries L. T. Smith Stadium on Saturday, April 20, 2024. (Daily News Photo by Caleb Lownndes/caleb.lowndes@bgdailynews.com)

Spring practice wrapped nearly a week ago, but the work has been nonstop for Western Kentucky’s football staff.

With the NCAA transfer portal still wide open until the end of the month, the task of maintaining and building a roster for the 2024 season remains a daily duty for head coach Tyson Helton and his staff.

So while Helton was pleased with the group that took the field for last Saturday’s Red & White Spring Showcase to close out the spring practice session, he is well aware the team on the field at Houchens-Smith Stadium is far from a finished product.

“We’ve got a lot of good talent out here,” Helton said after the Showcase. “We’ve got to build from here. We’ve got a big summer ahead of us. We’ve got to train hard and we’ve got to add some more pieces. You know how recruiting is non-stop, so we’re in the thick of recruiting right now. But really like our football team coming out of spring – still have a lot of competition in a lot of areas that throughout the summer and fall camp that we’ll have to see, but overall it was a good spring and a good showing today.”

The showcase already featured a significantly different roster than last season’s WKU squad. Transfer quarterback TJ Finley (Texas State), wide receiver Kisean Johnson (Alabama State), running back Ta’ron Keith (Bowling Green), tight end C.J. Kiss (Notre Dame College), offensive lineman Stacey Wilkins (Louisiana Monroe), Rodney Newsom Jr. (Itawamba Community College) and Melvin Collins Jr. (Itawamba Community College), safety Kent Robinson (Texas A&M), defensive lineman Jalil Rivera-Harvey (Marshall), cornerback Jaymar Mundy (Hutchinson Community College), defensive back Demarko Williams (Ole Miss), safety Devonte’ Matthews (Nicholls State), linebacker Chandler Matthews (Limestone), and kicker/punter Riley Stephens (Austin Peay) all suited up for the game, along with a batch of incoming true freshmen including quarterback Tucker Parks, safety Tate Titshaw, defensive end Harper Holloman and wide receiver Damari Jefferson.

Many more newcomers will arrive before the start of fall practice.

“There’s probably another eight young freshmen that we’ll had that we’ve already signed,” Helton said. “And then I’m guessing here, you’re probably adding 10 more bodies when you say, OK, whether it’s junior college or transfer guys. That would be a guess.”

The roster has evolved even over the past week, with Keith – who played in the showcase – reentering the transfer portal. Wide receiver Moussa Barry, defensive lineman Ryan Williams and linebacker Trent Zappe entered the portal as well, with cornerback Anthony Johnson Jr., linebacker Lonnie Rice and defensive back Rickie Davis Jr. entering the week before.

Johnson and Rice still suited up Saturday even while in the portal, illustrating that a transfer is no sure thing – WKU has already seen quarterback Caden Veltkamp, defensive back Upton Stout and offensive lineman Quantavious Leslie all exit the portal and stay with the program.

Could more Hilltoppers currently testing the waters do the same? One in particular would be a huge retention for WKU – edge rusher JaQues Evans, the Conference USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 who saw his season end early due to injury, is still in the portal but was on the sideline for the showcase.

“We’ve got a great relationship,” Helton said of Evans. “It was awesome to see him out here today. I’m an open book about that kind of stuff. He’s done so much for our program. He’s a part of our family. We’re working through the process with him, and I want him to go through the whole process. We’re not afraid of him seeing people and talking to people. It’s no different than the NFL during free agency – those guys are allowed to see people, talk to people. He’s doing that. He loves being here, he loves being a Hilltopper. Whatever he decides, it’s going to be best for his future. I know he’s not trying to do anything to take the short way out.

“It’s really about his long-term future and I think he sees value here, for sure, and he sees himself playing here and finishing his career here. But at the same time, he’s got to evaluate what else is out there and what’s best for him. It was great to see him here today, though. I wish he was running around out here, though, but hopefully he’ll be running out here in fall camp.”

Fellow defensive lineman Deante McCray would love to have Evans back next season, but the focus during spring was on the players currently on the field. Evans is reportedly taking an official visit to Baylor this weekend, the same program that signed former Hilltopper standout safety Kendrick Simpkins out of the portal during this offseason.

“Of course we want him back – it’s just work with what we got,” McCray said of Evans. “We’re still a team at the end of the day. It’s just the next guy up, you know what I’m saying. We can’t stop moving. We’ve got to keep going.”

WKU has kept going with the process of building a team – in the past week, the Hilltoppers picked up commitments wide receiver Bryce Childress (New Mexico State), defensive end Zach Edwards (Troy) and offensive lineman Travon Taylor (Alabama State), who announced his commitment on Thursday. Another transfer offensive lineman, Blake Austin from Troy, committed just a couple days before the end of spring.

It’s a constant shuffle, but McCray said it isn’t all a bad thing.

“I honestly see it as a chance to get better as person, as a player,” McCray said. “You know, you can learn from them, you can learn what they’ve been through, learn how to deal with things you’ve never been through. Honestly, I just love it. Of course, it sucks to see guys go but at the end of the day, man, you still have made another piece of family and no matter what you’re going to be family, stick together and stay in contact. Life goes on.”

Fellow defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler, who joined the Tops as a transfer last season from Sacramento City College, expects the newcomers to blend seamlessly with the holdovers as they work toward next season.

“No matter what you’re with, you’ve got to execute,” Wheeler said. “No matter what play call, who’s on the field with you – that’s your brother at the end of the day.”