In Bailey Zappe’s debut for Western Kentucky last fall against UT Martin, the quarterback threw for 424 yards and set a Houchens-Smith Stadium record for a Hilltopper with seven touchdown passes.

When Austin Reed makes his first start Saturday, his goals are straightforward.

“A successful debut for me would be a win – that simple. I’d love to just get the win any way we can,” Reed said. “Obviously I’d love to do it in style, let us have a good game, look clean and solid, but I’m not really trying to match numbers. If I go out there trying to chase Bailey Zappe’s stats I’m going to have a hard time doing that. I’m just going to go out there and do the job that I’ve been asked to do and lead this offense.”

Reed, a transfer from West Florida, was named the team’s starting quarterback last week for Saturday’s 11 a.m. season-opening game against Austin Peay at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound St. Augustine Beach, Fla., native beat out West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege for the job. Doege has since transferred to Troy – WKU’s Oct. 1 opponent.

“It was pretty surreal. Coach (Tyson) Helton and I had a meeting one-on-one and he just came in there and announced he was going to roll with me game one and that I had done a great job competing throughout the offseason,” Reed said. “It was pretty special. I just wanted a chance to come here and compete, like I told you earlier, like I told coach Helton in the transfer process and he gave me that opportunity to compete. I felt like I did a good enough job to win the job. It was really a special moment. It was a blessing. It was really special for coach Helton to show that trust in me.”

Reed, who started his career at Southern Illinois, comes to WKU from Division II West Florida, where he went 22-3 as the starting quarterback over two seasons – the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and claimed a national title in 2019. During that time, he threw for 7,507 yards and 78 touchdowns.

Reed says being named the starter has helped him get back into his routine that he got used to in his three years in Pensacola, Fla., and that he’s tried to stay the same at practice, but recognizes “things are a little bit different now being the guy.” Co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle has seen the same as he prepares for his first game as WKU’s play caller.

“Business as usual because he handled himself well all through fall camp, but you’ve seen a heightened sense of urgency from him, like, ‘OK, hey. This is my team now. I’m going to go out here, I’m going to give my best, I’m going to make sure the guys are lined up right, I’m going to try to put them in the best position to be successful,’ ” Arbuckle said. “At the end of the day, he’s an extension of the coaching staff out there and he wants to put them in a position to be successful. That’s really the biggest thing. I’ve seen more of a heightened sense of urgency because he’s like, ‘It’s my time to shine, it’s our time to shine as a team and we’re going to get this thing going.’ ”

He’ll have a deep roster to throw to with returners like Daewood Davis, Malachi Corley, Craig Burt, Josh Simon and Joey Beljan, as well as newcomers like Michael Mathison and Jaylen Hall. Reed also believes the Hilltoppers have the ability to run the ball well behind an offensive line with three new starters.

“Man, Austin’s a great quarterback,” said Davis, who had 43 receptions for 763 yards and eight touchdowns last season. “ … Austin came in, stepped in the role and he’s been lights out. He comes in, works every day. He don’t complain. He’s power driven. He’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever been around. He kind of reminds me of a shorter Justin Herbert, low key. I love Austin, the offense loves Austin, the whole team loves Austin. Now it’s just time to come together and do what we do on Saturdays.”

He has big shoes to fill with Zappe, who transferred from FCS Houston Baptist and – after his record-setting debut – set single-season FBS records with 5,987 passing yards and 62 passing touchdowns. Zappe was selected in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots.

“The biggest thing for him is I don’t want him getting caught up in stuff like that,” Arbuckle said. “It’s put us in the best position to be successful, and at the end of the day – no matter what happens throughout the game – figure out a way to get one more point than the other team. Just figure out a way. That’s all you need, is just one more point than the other team. If he takes care of business and he does what he’s coached to do and he is the person he is and the player he is, then I feel confident that he’ll get us one more point than the other team.”

Austin Peay went 6-5 last fall and was second in the OVC with a 4-2 mark. The Governors allowed an average of 24.9 points and 357.9 yards per game, with 209.5 yards per game allowed through the air.

Like Arbuckle, Helton doesn’t expect a rare performance like Zappe’s against UT Martin in Reed’s first start with the team.

“He’s doing good, been a good leader for our football team and this will be a good test for him,” Helton said. “I’m not expecting him to go out there and be special or spectacular. In his first game, I’d like to see him manage the offense, I’d like to see him do his job, I’d like to see the players on offense that surround him play at a high level to help him out.

“First games are hard when you’re a first-time starter. I’m not expecting him to be special – I’m just expecting him to do his job. He’s had a good week so far. … I expect him to be just fine.”

Helton and the Hilltoppers aren’t overlooking their FCS foe. While WKU cruised by the Skyhawks last year, it struggled in recent history against lower-division programs, narrowly escaping against Chattanooga in 2020 after falling to Central Arkansas to open the Helton era in 2019 and losing to Maine in the 2018 home opener.

Reed, who started his career at the FCS level before moving to Division II, knows firsthand how dangerous the non-FBS teams can be having played for and against them regularly during his college career.

“For me, this is only my second-ever game against a Division I opponent,” Reed said. “I played McNeese State last year when I was at UWF, but for me this is only my second-ever Division I game, so I have no reason to overlook anyone.

“I have to take every game seriously and every single game for me this year is going to be a new challenge. It’s something I’ve never seen, so there’s no games that I can go into and take too lightly, but that goes for our whole team. Obviously there’s the past where Maine came in here and Central Arkansas and those games like that, so there’s no reason for us to go into any game just expecting to win. Everything has to be done to go out there and do our jobs.”{&end}