Western Kentucky’s offense shined early in the team’s first scrimmage of fall camp last week, but the defense showed signs of improvement in the second, according to head coach Tyson Helton.

The Hilltoppers held a scrimmage closed to the media and public Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium, but Helton spoke with the media after.

“Good day. Good, competitive day,” Helton said. “Offense started out hot – got a good scoring drive right out of the gate. I thought the defense settled in, made some really good stops, had a turnover down there in the end zone and that was huge. For defense, that’s the big thing – get turnovers, get stops, make them kick field goals. I thought it was a good, competitive day overall. I was pleased.”

WKU finished second nationally in scoring offense and total offense last year, and ranked No. 1 in passing offense. Helton said during the first scrimmage the offense was “hitting on all cylinders early” and “got the best of the defense for sure in the first half.”

The Hilltoppers have been picking up the new attacking style first-year WKU defensive coordinator Tyson Summers brought when joining the staff during the offseason. Helton said linebacker Will Ignont and tackle Darius Shipp have played well since their return from injury, and linebacker Jaden Hunter has had a nice camp. He also pointed out Kahlef Hailassie in a secondary that “has done a really good job for the most part.” The fourth-year head coach also mentioned freshman defensive end Marcus Patterson and North Texas transfer Upton Stout as potential defensive newcomers to watch.

“At the end of the day, we’re looking for production,” Summers said Friday, the day before the team’s second scrimmage. “As we go through it, we want to be able to be smart, we want to be able to communicate and we want to obviously come out of it healthy as much as anything, but we’re looking for tomorrow to be able to play with some intentionality and some aggressiveness.”

WKU ranked 10th of 14 teams in C-USA last year in scoring defense and 12th in total defense, allowing 29.4 points and 435.8 yards allowed per game, but were second nationally in turnovers gained with 31.

“The big thing about playing defense is – I think we have a good offense and it’s a fast-paced offense, so the ball is going to move – the biggest thing is to create turnovers, which they did today, and try to make them kick field goals, which they did today a couple times,” Helton said. “I like to think we’ve got some good players on offense and the quarterback’s good and the skill players are good, so we’ve got to be at the top of our game defensively, but I thought they made some good, key stops today. That was a big step from the previous week.”

WKU still has some things to clean up offensively, like limiting turnovers and false starts, according to Helton, but he gave positive reviews for each position group following Saturday’s action.

Who will be the team’s field general this fall is yet to be decided.

The Hilltoppers have five quarterbacks in the room, and Helton has said since fall camp opened West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege and West Florida transfer Austin Reed were the frontrunners.

“It’s really tight,” Helton said. “We’ll go back and look at this film. I love both of our quarterbacks. I think either one can go out there and win for us, so we’ve just got to keep evaluating this film and come together and make decisions, but that’ll be later down the line.”

After practicing in the morning since opening camp, the Hilltoppers will change to more of its typical game-week schedule moving forward. WKU is scheduled to open the 2022 season Aug. 27 against Austin Peay. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Houchens-Smith Stadium.