GALLATIN, Tenn. – Western Kentucky football received more exposure than ever last season, going 12-2, winning a bowl game and finishing No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25.

That success has carried over to recruiting, coach Jeff Brohm said Monday after a satellite camp at Gallatin High School.

The more notoriety the Hilltopper football program gains, the more potential prospects are likely to learn about the team and be interested in playing for it.

“When your team performs well it brings a lot of attention to your program,” Brohm said. “It helps your players on the current team and definitely it helps players within this state and surrounding states recognize what we’re about, what we do on offense, what we do on defense, who our main players are.”

WKU has developed what Brohm described as a “brand” in recent years. The 2015 Hilltoppers ranked third in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 44.3 points per contest.

Quarterback Brandon Doughty piloted a high-powered offense over the last three seasons. He’s gone on to the NFL, but playmakers like receivers Nicholas Norris and Taywan Taylor and running backs D’Andre Ferby and Ace Wales remain.

WKU also dramatically improved its defense. The Toppers ranked No. 53 nationally last season giving up 25.9 ppg, a big improvement over a No. 124 ranking in 2014 (39.9 ppg).

Potential college prospects – like the close to 150 that showed up to Monday’s camp – are now able to associate WKU with national success and certain styles of play, Brohm said.

“Do we throw the ball a lot? Do we play an exciting brand?” Brohm said. “All those questions are answered in their mind.

“We’ve had a great showing to this point and I think all the players recognize we’re a program that’s on the rise and going to make more strides.”

Tennessee target receives offer at WKU camp

Monday’s camp turned out to be productive for Class of 2017 wide receiver Javonta Payton. The Hillsboro (Tenn.) High School rising senior told the Daily News he picked up an offer from WKU after impressing Hilltopper coaches during the afternoon.

Payton said he’d had WKU on his radar and had been waiting for the offer. Receivers coach Bryan Ellis and quarterbacks coach Brian Brohm have been his main recruiters.

“They’re so cool, man,” Payton said. “Everybody gets along. They like to have fun and that’s real good. I like the environment.”

Payton’s other FBS offers have come from Cincinnati, Middle Tennessee, Purdue and Tennessee. According to his 247Sports profile, his main recruiter with the Volunteers is former Toppers offensive coordinator Zach Azzanni.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Payton is classified as a three-star recruit by 247. He’s listed as the 58th-ranked receiver nationally and 11th-ranked prospect in Tennessee.

“I’m a ballhawk,” Payton said. “You throw it up, I’m going to go get it. I have my speed.

“You let me get off the line, it’s a wrap. That’s what I tell all my corners. ‘Don’t let me get off the line, because if you do, it’s over.’”

Fellow Class of 2017 prospect Giovanni Hightower tweeted after the camp that he’d also picked up an offer from WKU.

Hightower is listed as 6-6, 240 pounds on his Hudl profile. The McCallie (Tenn.) School product lists himself as a tight end/defensive end.

Gallatin running back Jordan Mason competed in Monday’s camp after picking up a WKU offer this offseason. He told the Daily News that Ball State and Northern Illinois were also in the running for his services.

Mason is listed on his 247 page at 6-feet, 205 pounds. He’s a three-star prospect ranked by 247 as 51st nationally among running backs and 30th among Class of 2017 players in Tennessee.

WKU coaches “hadn’t got to see me cut and do all this and that,” Mason said. “This helps them see what I can do.”

Brohm talks Donatell, Fishback

Brohm talked for the first time Monday about Steve Donatell, the Wake Forest grad transfer tight end who enrolled at WKU last week.

Donatell has one year of eligibility left. He joins a position group that’s among the least experienced on the Hilltopper roster.

The 6-6, 230-pound native of Lone Tree, Colo., caught three passes for 31 yards last season for the Demon Deacons.

“We like him,” Brohm said of Donatell. “He’s got great knowledge of the game and is just a big target over the middle.

“Depth-wise, tight end is a position we need to shore up. We’ve been good there the last few years and really we had three guys graduate at the tight end position.

“We’ll have some young guys hopefully step up and then with Steve coming in, hopefully he’ll provide some competition. I think he’s going to be an eager guy that wants to have a great senior season and showcase what he’s about. We’ll hopefully try to get him into the mix, throw him the ball a lot and showcase his skills.”

Brohm also talked about Nelson Fishback, the WKU redshirt senior quarterback who suffered a pectoral injury earlier this month while training back home in California.

Fishback tweeted that the injury is season-ending, while a WKU statement said the recovery time would be between four and six months.

Fishback has been at WKU since 2013 and was one of the candidates vying to replace Doughty as the Toppers’ starting QB.

“It’s extremely disappointing for Nelson and for us,” Brohm said. “We feel extremely bad for him.

“He’s worked really hard to get to this point. He was going to have a run for the job and to get hurt in the weight room is really devastating to him.

“But I think he’ll get over it. … We’ll be there for him, we’ll support him along the way and he wants to be around the team and help us as well.”

– Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @Stephens_Brad or visit bgdailynews.com.