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iyiegbuniwe has breakout season | Page 3 Players to watch | Page 6

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IYIEGBUNIWE MAKES IMPACT in breakout season BY EVAN HEICHELBECH

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU A little over four years ago, redshirt sophomore linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe was playing for a South Warren High School football team that was heading into its third season of existence. He did not fill out his 6-foot-2-inch frame with the 225 pounds that he now has, and he also did not necessarily have expectations of playing football at his hometown school. Now, the redshirt sophomore linebacker is arguably the most important player on a WKU defense looking to improve every week. “I started to think that if I wanted to go to the next level, it may not necessarily be at Western, but playing at the next level I knew I definitely could,” Iyiegbuniwe said. As the team’s starting outside linebacker and fourth-leading tackler, Iyiegbuniwe has burst onto the scene this season after playing as a reserve linebacker for the Hilltoppers a season ago. After seeing time in all 14 games last season on special teams and sparingly on defense, Iyiegbuniwe took it upon himself to improve in the offseason and come back as a difference maker this season. “It was my goal, definitely,” Iyiegbuniwe said. “I worked my tail off in the offseason, spring and fall camp. Seeing those things payoff is pretty cool.” “Iggy,” as his teammates call him, wasn’t the only one who felt that a big step forward was possible for himself. “I always knew Iggy had it,” redshirt junior linebacker T.J. McCollum said. “He’s got the size, he’s got the athletic ability; he’s fast. I knew all he needed to do was just learn the defense. This year he came in and really learned the defense to where now he can play any spot he wants to. He’s that guy that’s going to be one of the big-time players in the future.” No one bats an eye anymore when Iggy has 10 tackles against the No. 1 team in the nation like he did at the University of Alabama in the second week of the sea-

son, but his path to earning a starting role wasn’t the most direct. Iyiegbuniwe didn’t start playing football until he was in seventh grade, and while he was rated as the 12th best prospect in Kentucky by 247Sports.com, he only had two other official offers coming out of high school. After having his senior season at South Warren cut short, Iggy began to settle in at WKU during his freshman season in 2014, playing in the first three games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He was granted a medical redshirt and had to watch from the sidelines as another football season was essentially lost. “It was tough because the previous year, my senior year of high school, I was out too for a staph infection so when that hit me a year later it was like, ‘Wow,’” Iyiegbuniwe said. “I just had support from my family and prayed to God. That kind of got me through it.” McCollum knows what it’s like to be a hometown kid as well. After spending two years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, McCollum transferred to WKU in 2015 when UAB’s football program was cancelled. “When you’re a hometown kid, you’re family,” McCollum said. “I think it’s big for him playing in front of his home crowd. Basically, he knows everybody that’s here –– everybody knows Iggy. That just gives you an extra edge and energy to play even better.” As a starter and leading playmaker on defense, Iggy’s role has changed from a rotation player looking to earn reps on special teams to the role model and leader for younger players that he once sought. “It’s really great to learn under him and watch him,” sophomore linebacker Ben Holt said. “It’s great to watch him progress also. He’s a great leader on defense, especially for the younger linebackers.” Iyiegbuniwe’s impact on the field is unquestioned –– even if he isn’t the most vocal leader. “He leads by example,” McCollum said. “He doesn’t say much and when

Redshirt senior linebacker, Joel Iyiegbuniwe (4), tackles MTSU’s running back, I’Tavius Mathers (4) during WKU’s 44-43 win Saturday, Oct. 15, Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Kathryn Ziesig/HERALD people talk trash to him, he just looks at them and says, ‘Ok I’ll just show you on the field,’ because that’s what he does. The thing that he’s better at than everybody on the field is getting to the ball … Coach [Nick] Holt always says that he runs like a gazelle. He can play defensive end, SAM linebacker, outside linebacker, inside linebacker –– he could even play safety if he wanted to.” Despite taking a quieter leadership approach on the field, McCollum calls Iyiegbuniwe a “joking guy” around the locker room. “Me and Iggy’s relationship is kind of funny,” McCollum said. “We always joke on each other. I always joke on his last name. I tell him that one day this crowd is going to chant, ‘Ee-Yay-Boo-Nee-Way, Ee-Yay-Boo-Nee-Way.’ It’s got a good ring to it. Yeah, me and Iggy are pretty close.” Just because Iyiegbuniwe’s teammates recognize him as a major piece and leader of the team doesn’t mean that they’ve gained an understanding for a fundamental aspect of his identity: his last name.

“Most can pronounce it,” Iyiegbuniwe said. “There’s probably only one or two that can actually spell it. But they’re getting better. Saying it is half of it. Once you can say it, spelling is the next step.” Holt is not one of the select few who has mastered the spelling. “No way,” Holt said. “Not a chance.” While McCollum can’t spell it either, he definitely knows how to say it and is waiting for the day that all of Smith Stadium knows how to pronounce his fellow linebacker’s name too. “I cannot spell his last name,” McCollum said. “I can only say it right now. I’m telling you they’re gonna do it one day though.” “Ee-Yay-Boo-Nee-Way, Ee-Yay-BooNee-Way,” McCollum chanted before taking off around the WKU practice field and still chanting, “Ee-Yay-Boo-Nee-Way, Ee-Yay-Boo-Nee-Way!”

Reporter Evan Heichelbech can be reached at 270-745-6291 and evan. heichelbech059@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @evanheich.

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wku depth chart

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ODU Depth Chart

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six players to watch in wku vs. odu BY JEREMY CHISENHALL

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Mike White

WKU redshirt junior quarterback

White had big shoes to fill replacing Brandon Doughty this season, and he has done a respectable job thus far. White is ranked seventh in the nation in passing yards, and his 16 touchdowns have helped to get WKU ranked 28th in the nation in points per game. Old Dominion ranks 47th in the nation in passing yards allowed, so White’s passer skills will be put to the test.

Taywan Taylor

WKU senior wide receiver

While Old Dominion has one of the better passing defenses in the conference, the White-Taylor connection will certainly make it difficult on their secondary. Taylor is coming off his best game of

the season, as he recorded a season-high 197 yards and one touchdown against MTSU. He’s also ranked fourth in the nation in receiving yards with 870. He’s a high-volume target, ranking ninth in the nation in receptions with 54, so Old Dominion may have to give Taylor some extra attention in pass coverage, which could open up other holes for the offense to exploit.

Nicholas Norris

WKU senior wide receiver

If Old Dominion decides to devote extra coverage to Taylor, Norris will become a major weapon for White. Norris, the second-highest targeted receiver on the team, has 647 receiving yards and leads the team with eight receiving touchdowns. Norris is capable of being the team’s top receiver if Taylor is getting shut down. He showed that against Miami (Ohio) when he had 11 catches for 187 yards and a touchdown, while Taylor had just three

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explosive as WKU’s, but Pascal is far and away Old Dominion’s best receiver. Pascal leads the team in receptions with 33, yards with 425 and receiving touchdowns with four. If Old Dominion’s catches for 58 yards that week. passing game is to have success, Pascal If ODU tries to shut Taylor down, watch will have to be the most-used receiver for for Norris to emerge as White’s number the Monarchs. one target.

Jeremy Cox

ODU sophomore running back

Cox isn’t exactly one of the nation’s leading rushers this season. He’s got 420 yards, but he averages 6.1 yards-per-carry and he has nine touchdowns. Plus, he’s coming in with a lot of momentum against Massachusetts last week. Cox ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 24 attempts. WKU allowed I’Tavius Mathers to run for 143 yards last week in their win over MTSU, so the front seven will have to be focused on limiting Cox’s yardage this week.

Zach Pascal

ODU senior wide receiver

Old Dominion’s passing game isn’t as

David Washington

ODU senior quarterback

Washington hasn’t had nearly the kind of year that White has had for WKU. Washington has just 1,250 passing yards this season, but he’s got a chance to have a career day due to WKU’s passing defense. WKU ranks second to last in the nation in passing yards allowed this year. Washington’s coming off one of his better games of the year, as he threw for 248 yards and a touchdown last week, so he’ll be looking to build on that against the weakest pass defense he’s seen this season.

Reporter Jeremy Chisenhall can be reached at 270-745-6291 and jeremy. chisenhall921@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @JSChisenhall.

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Offense flying under the radar heading into ODU BY EVAN HEICHELBECH

HERALD.SPORTS@WKU.EDU

Seven games into the 2015 season, a Hilltopper offense led by all-time WKU passing leader Brandon Doughty had scored 308 points and piled up 3,748 total yards before going on to finish the season ranked fifth in the nation in total offense, according to espn.com. Fast forward to this season, and despite a 4-3 overall record and a first-year starting quarterback in redshirt junior Mike White, WKU ranks 15th nationally in total offense with 263 total points and 3,271 total yards to show for it. “We had a lot of really good players on offense, and when you return an offensive line like we did and enough weapons in the backfield, you think you have a chance,” wide receivers coach Bryan Ellis said. “I was fully expecting us to be this good.” With the departure of Doughty, offensive coordinator Tyson Helton and a few playmaking receivers in Jared Dangerfield and Antwane Grant, a few question marks lingered around the direction of the offense moving forward. But for as many playmakers that the Toppers lost on the perimeter, they were able to retain plenty of enough. Senior wide receiver Taywan Taylor finished the 2015 season as the third best receiver in college football, statistically. His 86 catches for 1,467 yards and 17 touchdowns ranked higher than current NFL rookie wide receivers Sterling Shepard, Will Fuller V and a slew of others. Taylor is on pace to have six more catches for 24 more yards than he did a season ago. He is having the fourth-best statistical receiving year in the nation. “A lot of people doubted us coming into this year just because we lost a lot of great, talented players, but we knew that we had a lot of great, talented players coming back; an experienced offensive line, experienced receivers, running backs with experience and a quarterback who can play quarterback,” junior wide receiver Nacarius Fant said. Fant’s role this year in Head Coach Jeff Brohm’s offense is a lot similar to the role the other senior wide receiver, Nicholas

Norris, played last season for the Tops. Norris’ 2015 campaign was good enough for the 43rd best statistical season in college football, and like Taylor, he’s already projecting to finish with bigger numbers this season. Norris has already accumulated approximately one third of the receiving yards that he finished with last year, and five of his eight touchdowns have come in the last three games. “They are extremely competitive –– both of them,” Ellis said. “They both think every week they walk out –– including Alabama –– that every time they step on the field, they’re the best two players out there.” While both Taylor and Norris on pace for well over 1,000 yards receiving, the man delivering them the ball is having an equally fruitful season. White is the nation’s seventh leading passer through seven games and is a big reason as to why the Toppers are averaging just under 500 yards of total offense and 37.6 points per game. “Mike’s doing a great job,” Fant said. “I feel like he’s doing exactly what we need him to do and he just keeps getting better. Everybody’s been building him up. With that experienced [offensive] line and experienced receivers, he knows that we have confidence in him and he has confidence in us.” With playmakers on the outside like Taylor, Norris and Fant, the Brohm brothers are able to open up the playbook more and get creative, as they have done all season. With redshirt senior running back Anthony “Ace” Wales coming off of a big day running the ball a week ago against MTSU, the running game allows for even more flexibility in the play calling. “The playbook is wide open,” Brian Brohm said in a WKU press release. “We’re trying to distribute the ball to all of our weapons and really run anything that we can think of. We put a lot on these players’ plates with a lot of football to digest.

Reporter Evan Heichelbech can be reached at 270-745-6291 and evan. heichelbech059@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @evanheich.

Senior wide receiver Taywan Taylor (2) runs downfield against Vanderbilt Saturday, Sept. 24, at Smith Stadium. Jeff Brown/HERALD

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