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SEP 5 NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sebastian Benjamin, Saint Francis U, LB, So., Philadelphia, PA, Northeast,...Week 1 Stats: 4 sacks, 6 solo tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1 forced fumble...Benjamin had four sacks for Saint Francis U, which pushed FBS opponent Akron to the bring before coming up short in overtime. The linebacker from Philly matched his sack total from the entire 2021 campaign in his season debut against the Zips. In addition, the four sacks matched a single-season program record, and they were the most by a NEC player since Merrimack's Cory Hagerman had four against LIU on Nov. 23, 2019. - NEC Football

(DS#110 DE) rSr/2025

DE Sebastian Benjamin, Western Kentucky
News Source: NEC Football
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10/14/22 - Sebastian Benjamin, rSr/2025, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 238 (DS#110 DE) + More +

SEP 5 NEC PRIME PERFORMER: Sebastian Benjamin, SFU (LB, So.),...Benjamin tied Saint Francis U's single-game record with four sacks against FBS opponent Akron to also earn NEC Defensive Player of the Week distinction. The sophomore, who entered the season with four career sacks, recorded the most in a game by a NEC player since Cory Hagerman of Merrimack had four against LIU on November 23, 2019. - NEC Football

(DS#110 DE) rSr/2025

DE Sebastian Benjamin, Western Kentucky
News Source: NEC Football
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10/01/22 - Jalen Hampton, rSr/2026, Western Kentucky, 5-09, 206 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Jalen Hampton rushed for a 11-yard touchdown in the second overtime and Elon beat Richmond 30-27 on Saturday. Elon kicker Skyler Davis forced overtime with a 42-yard field goal with 37 seconds left in regulation. Then Elon scored on the first play of overtime when Matthew McKay threw it across the field to a wide open Johncarlos Miller II. Richmond answered with a 19-yard score from Reece Udinski to Jakob Herres. Jake Larson put Richmond ahead in the second overtime with a 47-yard field goal before Hampton's run up the middle. McKay passed for 322 yards and three touchdowns for Elon (4-1, 2-0 Colonial Athletic Association). Hampton rushed 15 times for 93 yards and a score. Bryson Daughtry caught four passes for 134 yards and a TD. Udinski attempted 58 passes for Richmond (3-2, 1-1). He completed 42 for 383 yards and two touchdowns. Herres caught 12 passes for 174 yards and a score. - AP College Football

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2026

RB Jalen Hampton, Western Kentucky
News Source: AP College Football
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09/26/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

Western Kentucky's 73-0 win over Florida International was the biggest margin of victory in a game matching FBS teams since Michigan rolled Rutgers 78-0 on Oct. 8, 2016. Ohio State set the national season high for points in its 77-21 win over Toledo on Sept. 17. - AP College Football

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: AP College Football
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09/24/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

Austin Reed passed for 381 yards and five touchdowns and Western Kentucky rolled to a 73-0 victory over Florida International on Saturday. Reed completed 29 of 35 passes for Western Kentucky (3-1) in a Conference USA opener. The Hilltoppers have scored at least 30 points in 18 straight games. Reed connected with Malachi Corley for a 76-yard touchdown to open the scoring and teamed up with Joey Beljan for a 9-yard score on the final play of the first quarter. Reed hit Corley for a 21-yard touchdown and found Dalvin Smith for a 12-yard score - giving him touchdown passes on four straight possessions. Reed's final scoring toss was a 4-yarder to Daewood Davis with 26 seconds left in the first half for a 42-0 lead.

Davion Ervin-Poindexter had two touchdown runs for Western Kentucky and L.T. Sanders ran 35 yards for a score. Backup quarterback Darius Ocean threw a 44-yard scoring strike to Easton Messer and Aaron Key returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown. The last shutout for the Hilltoppers came in 2011 against Florida Atlantic. WKU piled up 688 yards of offense, while yielding just 180. The Hillltoppers' next victory will be the program's 600th. It was the most points FIU has allowed in program history. The Panthers surrendered 72 in a 2013 loss to Louisville. - Western Kentucky/AP College Football

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: Western Kentucky/AP College Football
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09/24/22 - Jalen Hampton, rSr/2026, Western Kentucky, 5-09, 206 (DS#999 RB) + More +

Jalen Hampton ran for two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Elon erased a 15-point deficit after three quarters to earn a 35-31 win over William & Mary in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both schools Saturday. Both teams came into the game with 3-0 records. Darius Wilson threw all three of his touchdown passes in the first half as the Tribe took a 28-10 lead into intermission. Matthew McKay hit Bryson Daughtry from 18 yards out with 5:06 left in the third quarter to pull the Phoenix within two scores, 28-16, but William & Mary answered with a 46-yard field goal by Ethan Chang with 2:53 left to make it 31-16.

Hampton capped a 10-play, 63-yard drive with a 2-yard plunge to make it 31-23 and D.J. Moyer wedged in from the 1 with 4:43 left to make it 31-29, but the Phoenix could not connect on a 2-point pass attempt to tie the score. After Elon forced a three-and-out, it marched 84 yards in seven plays, taking the lead on Hampton's 15-yard run with 1:07 left. Hampton finished with 145 yards on 28 carries to lead Elon (3-1, 1-0). McKay was 16-of-28 passing for 207 yards and a touchdown and ran 14 times for 85 yards. Wilson was 17 of 26 for 252 yards passing and three touchdowns with an interception for William & Mary (3-1, 0-1). - Elon/AP College Football

(DS#999 RB) rSr/2026

RB Jalen Hampton, Western Kentucky
News Source: Elon/AP College Football
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09/05/22 - Kaleb Oliver, rSr/2023, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 219 (DS#51 SS) + More +

SEPT 5 CONFERENCE USA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: WKU DB Kaleb Oliver had the best game of his WKU career in Saturday's 49-17 win over Hawai'i. The Georgia Tech transfer intercepted a pair of passes on the night and broke up another. His two picks were two of six takeaways produced by the WKU defense. Oliver also made two tackles on the night. Oliver returned his first interception 42 yards to the Hawai'i 17-yard line, setting up a WKU touchdown on the very next play. His second interception came late in the third quarter, helping WKU put the game away. - Conference USA Football

(DS#51 SS) rSr/2023

SS Kaleb Oliver, Western Kentucky
News Source: Conference USA Football
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09/04/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

Austin Reed threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score and Western Kentucky rolled to a 49-17 victory over Hawaii on Saturday. Reed capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive with a 5-yard TD toss to Dalvin Smith to put the Hilltoppers (2-0) up 7-3 early in the second quarter. On Hawaii's ensuing possession, Juwon Jones picked off one of four interceptions thrown by Brayden Schager and returned it 38 yards for a score and a 14-3 lead. Western Kentucky capped off a 21-point second quarter with Reed's 47-yard scoring strike to Joshua Simon and the Hilltoppers led by 11 at halftime.

WKU upped its lead to 28-10 after three quarters when Reed hit Jaylen Hall for a 17-yard score. Kye Robichaux pushed the Hilltoppers' advantage to 35-10 with a 7-yard TD run early in the final period. Reed and Davion Ervin-Poindexter had short scoring runs after that. Reed completed 22 of 31 passes for 271 yards with one interception. Schager finished with 230 yards on 22-of-33 passing for the Rainbow Warriors (0-2). Backup QB Joey Yellen completed 4 of 11 passes for 36 yards with a pick. Dedrick Parson and Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei had short TD runs. - Western Kentucky/AP College Football

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: Western Kentucky/AP College Football
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09/03/22 - Maverick McIvor, rSr/2026, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 214 (DS#13 QB) + More +

Maverick McIvor threw two touchdown passes and Abilene Christian's defense blanked Lamar over the final three quarters to give the Wildcats their first season-opening win since 2013 with a 28-14 victory on Thursday night. After Mike Chandler threw a pair of long first-quarter touchdown passes - 59 yards to Jalen Dummett and 75 yards to Sevonne Rhea - the Cardinals managed just 132 yards the rest of the game. McIvor, a transfer from Texas Tech making his first collegiate start, tied the game with a 30-yard pass to Kendall Catalon early in the second quarter. Late in the quarter Catalon broke the tie by racing 37 yards untouched on a reverse around the left side. That made a winner of former Texas Tech defensive coordinator Keith Patterson in his first game replacing Adam Dorrel. McIvor, in his first meaningful action since getting injured as a high school senior four years ago, finished 22 of 38 for 258 yards. Catalon had seven catches for 199 yards. Chandler was 8 of 24 for 204 yards, but was 4 of 19 after the first quarter. - AP College Football

(DS#13 QB) rSr/2026

QB Maverick McIvor, Western Kentucky
News Source: AP College Football
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08/29/22 - Juwuan Jones, rSr/2023, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 269 (DS#99 DE) + More +

2022 PRESEASON WUERFFEL TROPHY (COMMUNITY SERVICE) WATCHLIST: Juwuan Jones, Western Kentucky, Sr., DL,...Jones routinely serves others in the community, specifically with children receiving special education. He is a two-time college graduate with a bachelor's degree in sport management and master's degree in special education teaching, both from WKU. On the field last season, Jones started all 14 games for WKU in while helping the Tops win a Conference USA East Division Championship. He totaled 45 tackles for the year, including 6.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks. - Western Kentucky Football

(DS#99 DE) rSr/2023

DE Juwuan Jones, Western Kentucky
News Source: Western Kentucky Football
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08/27/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

Austin Reed threw four touchdown passes in his Western Kentucky debut and the Hilltoppers defeated Austin Peay 38-27 in a season-opener on Saturday. Reed's first three TD throws went to Malachi Corley, a sophomore who caught 73 passes last season. Western Kentucky recovered a fumble near midfield after Corley's third touchdown catch and Reed quickly found All-American candidate Daewood Davis deep over the middle for a 48-yard score and a 35-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. After forcing a punt on the Governors' next possession, Western Kentucky was driving again before Reed threw his only interception of the game, a pickoff by Shamari Simmons.

Austin Peay then closed the gap to 35-27 when Mike Diliello hit Drae McCray for 24 yards and a touchdown. The Hilltoppers regained a two-score advantage, driving 70 yards in 11 plays for a 23-yard field goal by Brayden Narveson. Austin Peay fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, the Hilltoppers recovered and ran the final three minutes off the clock. Upton Stout's 34-yard pick-6 in the second quarter put Western Kentucky ahead 21-10 and the Hilltoppers went on to lead 21-17 at halftime. Reed, who transferred from West Florida, the team he led to the 2019 Division II national championship, completed 19 of 33 passes for 276 yards. Davis caught six passes for 124 yards and Corley had five receptions for 61 yards. - Western Kentucky/AP College Football

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: Western Kentucky/AP College Football
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08/27/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

An influx of transfers last year - nearly a quarter of the roster was transfers - helped lead the offense to second nationally in scoring and yards per game - and first in passing yards - but many key players need replaced. That starts with Bailey Zappe, who set single-season FBS records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in his one year with the program, and Jerreth Sterns, who led the country in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, as well as WKU's second-leading receiver, Mitchell Tinsley. West Florida transfer Austin Reed will start at quarterback, and WKU still has a deep receiving room with players like Daewood Davis, Malachi Corley, Dalvin Smith and Craig Burt returning, and transfers like Jaylen Hall and Michael Mathison joining the team.

Joey Beljan and Josh Simon - who missed almost all of 2021 with a knee injury - are back at tight end, but the Hilltoppers only return two starters on the offensive line. The top two rushers from 2021 have departed, and WKU will look to experienced players like Jakairi Moses and Kye Robichaux, as well as Indiana transfer Davion Ervin-Poindexter, to help replace that production lost. "Of course everybody knows we were really, really good on offense last year," Arbuckle said at media day. "Some pieces left and a lot of turnover and stuff, but I'm really excited about the guys we have in here, players-wise and the coaching staff we have. Coach Helton's done a great job of assembling a staff that works together, a lot of continuity and, frankly, we're going to try to put our guys in the best position to be successful and score enough points to win the game, whatever that may be." - BG Daily News

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: BG Daily News
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08/22/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

Austin Reed will be Western Kentucky's starting quarterback. The Hilltoppers have named the West Florida transfer QB1, head coach Tyson Helton confirmed after Thursday's practice. Reed was in a quarterback competition throughout the fall with West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege, who has entered the transfer portal. "At the end of the day, I just felt like he gave our team a good opportunity to win," Helton said. "I thought, as I've said all along, both quarterbacks we can win with. We can win championships with both quarterbacks. The job as the head football coach is I've got to pick one of them and that's a tough pick. I just felt like Austin did a couple things that gives us an opportunity to go win. It doesn't mean he's better. It doesn't mean I'm right. Just my gut told me I needed to go with Austin."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Reed comes from Division II West Florida, where he went 22-3 as the starting quarterback over two seasons and claimed a national title in 2019. During that time, he threw for 7,507 yards and 78 touchdowns. Helton, at the team's media day, described Reed as "a gunslinger" - "When he goes out there, you don't know where it's headed, but it's headed there fast," Helton said then. "It was my gut," Helton said Thursday. "I just felt like he'd give us a good opportunity to win games. Again, Jarret would've given us a good opportunity to win games as well. I think if you say, 'What's his strengths?' He has big-play ability, he's got a big arm. That doesn't win games - having a big arm - but he's had a lot of good drives that finished with touchdowns. That's really important. The name of the game's put the ball in the end zone. Just some of those things kind of stood out to me." - BG Daily News

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: BG Daily News
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08/21/22 - LaVell Wright, rSr/2026, Western Kentucky, 5-11, 222 (DS#75 RB) + More +

With just more than two weeks left until the opener, we still are awaiting word on the status of star running back Chris Rodriguez. The latest update came from UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart over the weekend when he confirmed UK's administration is involved in the decision about when or if Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to a DUI charge this summer, will play. Kentucky has no shortage of options in the running back room to take on larger roles if Rodriguez misses time, but LaVell Wright looks like the best candidate in that group to emerge as an every down back. The former North Hardin High School star impressed in a brief cameo last season, totaling 118 yards and one touchdown on nine carries in four games while redshirting. "If my name is called, I've just got to go out there and produce," Wright said. "It's nothing too much to it. Whenever they tell me to go out there, I just need to go on and put on a show." - Herald Leader

(DS#75 RB) rSr/2026

RB LaVell Wright, Western Kentucky
News Source: Herald Leader
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08/17/22 - Austin Reed, rSr/2024, Western Kentucky, 6-2, 220 (DS#11 QB) + More +

Western Kentucky quarterback Jarret Doege has entered the transfer portal, WKU confirmed to the Daily News on Sunday. Doege, who joined the Hilltoppers as a transfer from West Virginia, was one of the frontrunners for the starting position along with West Florida transfer Austin Reed. Reed on Sunday posted a photo collection on Instagram of photos from fall camp, which linebacker Will Ignont shared to his story with "QB1" written in it, and receiver Dalvin Smith shared it with the comment "Let's Ride!" The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Reed comes from Division II West Florida, where he went 22-3 as the starting quarterback over two seasons and claimed a national title in 2019. During that time, he threw for 7,507 yards and 78 touchdowns.

Helton described Reed as "a gunslinger" - "When he goes out there, you don't know where it's headed, but it's headed there fast," Helton said. "I just like to keep it down to one word and that's a winner," Reed said earlier in camp when describing his game. "In my time, all I've ever judged myself on is how many wins I get. For me, that's the most important thing. I'm going to throw it around the yard. I'm going to make a couple throws that you might clench your butthole when I make that throw. Sorry, that might not be the best use of words, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to win. "This offense is really just suited around putting a guy back there who can win. I'm just hoping to be that guy and hoping to do what this offense needs me to do and let those guys around me make me look good." Reed started his career at Southern Illinois, where he redshirted in 2018 before making the move to Pensacola, Fla., where he won a Division II national title with West Florida in 2019. - BG Daily News

(DS#11 QB) rSr/2024

QB Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
News Source: BG Daily News
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