GET AFTER IT: Tops set to open fall practice with big goals
Published 2:51 pm Friday, July 25, 2025
So many names have changed for Western Kentucky’s football program.
Fifty-something newcomers are on the roster and the coaching staff under Tyson Helton has a much different look heading into the 2025 season opener on Aug. 23 against Sam Houston.
The faces are fresh, but the goals are the same as always for the Hilltoppers – compete for a Conference USA championship and go win a bowl game.
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The next phase of work toward accomplishing those goals starts Saturday with the opening of fall practice.
“We’ve had a really good summer,” WKU head coach Tyson Helton said during Friday’s media day at Houchens-Smith Stadium. “Our team has worked extremely hard to get to this point. I feel like we have a very good, competitive football team. We have a lot of new faces, obviously, so these next couple weeks will be extremely important for us in putting all those pieces together.”
That work is compressed this year, with the Tops set to host the Bearkats in a Week 0 matchup at Houchens-Smith. It’s a daunting prospect, hosting a CUSA rival right out of the gate with a transformed roster.
Helton thinks it’s a good thing for his team to face a challenging opponent in front of a home crowd for that 6 p.m. matchup.
“I like it,” Helton said. “It makes for good college football. You better be on your game, for sure, but I love that it’s at home. It’s a big game so it’s great for our fans, it’s great for our team – I know they’re excited about it. One game doesn’t make a season, but you definitely want to get that one so that you can be off to the races with conference play.”
After reaching the CUSA championship last season – the Tops lost to Jacksonville State in the title game – and playing in a bowl for the sixth straight season, WKU’s roster underwent what has become an expected rebuild as numerous key players off last year’s team were lost to the NFL – including third-round draft pick Upton Stout – plus the usual graduation losses and now common transfers. Among that large group that transferred out was starting quarterback Caden Veltkamp, leaving a huge hole to fill on offense.
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The Tops looked to Texas to find Veltkamp’s replacement, hiring new offensive coordinator Rick Bowie from FCS-level Abilene Christian. Bowie’s quarterback there, Maverick McIvor, followed him to WKU and brings a wealth of experience and production as a seventh-year college player.
McIvor has been the expected season-opening starter since arriving on campus in January, and Helton confirmed he is the Tops’ starter.
“He’s a coach on the field,” Helton said. “He knows what we’re trying to accomplish. I think it’s been a good mix of what we’ve done in the past and what Rick’s brought with his offense. I think there’s a lot of good sharing of ideas there and Mav’s the glue that puts it all together. He’s done a tremendous job over the summer.”
“Maverick will be the Day 1 starter, but there’s some guys in that room that I expect good things out of. If something happens, I would not want to miss a beat. I’m excited to see those guys play as well.”
Bowie has the task of blending his high-powered Air Raid scheme from previous stops with the potent passing attack the Tops have been fielding since Helton took over as head coach in 2018.
“The meshing of both as been really fun,” Bowie said. “I think the meshing with coach Helton and to be able to have those conversations and to be able to have a mentor of that type to be able to ask football questions, ask schematic questions, as situational football questions – it’s really molded well together.”
Having McIvor to run the offense has made that transition much more seamless. After throwing for 3,828 yards and 30 touchdowns to seven interceptions on 312-of-499 passing – an average of 294.5 yards through the air per game – last season in his third year starting for Abilene, McIvor appreciates the welcome he got from his new teammates at WKU.
“I think gaining their trust was huge, and then as a vet quarterback I started respecting personal relationships more than Xs and Os,” McIvor said.
WKU’s defense also has a new look, from top to bottom. Tyson Summers departed for Colorado State after three seasons serving as WKU’s defensive coordinator and Helton opted to named two holdover assistants as co-defensive coordinators with Da’Von Brown and Davis Merritt sharing that role this year.
That could be an awkward setup, but Brown said the pair are working together well.
“We do a good job of meshing together,” Brown said. “If you ask me, I’ll say Davis Merritt will call the plays. If you ask him, he’ll say I will so we’re going to make sure that the guy calling plays on game day is putting our guys in the best position. We understand that.”
Trying to retain what the Tops did well the past few seasons under Summers – namely, forcing turnovers and scoring defensive points – combined with improving in the critical area of run stopping will be the focus in the fall as WKU has to sort through an experienced but significantly new group of players on defense.
“I think that’s got to be a point of emphasis in fall camp,” Merritt said. “From Day 1 we’ve got to be able to stop the run. That bleeds into everything that you do, so just understand that. You can’t run from it – you’ve just got to improve and that starts (Saturday) with camp.”
Helton thinks this group, the old and the new, has a chance to be right there again and compete for a conference title. That doesn’t mean it’s a finished product though – the next three weeks will require plenty of attention.
“I felt like we’ve had as a good of depth as we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Helton said. “What we’ve got to find out is who are the playmakers? And since spring practice, we’ve added a lot more pieces. We’ve been with those guys over the summer. We have a decent idea of what those guys can do, but now we have to put the pads on and see what we can do in live action.”
WKU defensive back Demarko Williams, one of the top returners that side of the ball, doesn’t mind the shorter buildup to the season opener.
“It’s basically allowing us to tune in a little bit more on the little details, just because of the shorter time of fall camp,” Williams said. “I feel like the team is very excited for Week 0 and Sam Houston. We’re ready to get after it.”
