Fresh off being named a 2017 Broyles Award nominee as a top assistant coach in college football, defensive coordinator Clayton White spoke with media following WKU’s practice Wednesday evening at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
Sitting at 5-4 on the season, including 3-2 in Conference USA play, the Hilltoppers have been stressing finishing the season out strong. They must do just that with a potential sixth win at stake on Saturday night against Marshall, which would make WKU bowl-eligible for the eighth-consecutive year.
“It’s November college football. Everyone’s pushing the same thing right now: finish, finish, finish – and so are we,” White said. “Every other rep, in our meetings, all the time with our units, we’re talking about finishing right now. We have to put that in the guys’ heads so they can continue to practice that way.”
At 6-3, the Thundering Herd have already reached the magic number, but just like the Hilltoppers have dropped two straight games. As White explained, quarterback Chase Litton and his offense will provide a challenge for the visiting Red and White.
“You have to start out with the quarterback, a big tall guy who can throw the ball around,” he said. “[Litton] has had a really good season and they have really good athletes on the outside.”
The top Marshall wideouts include Tyre Brady (55 receptions for 776 yards) and Marcel Williams (40 receptions for 496 yards), while the rushing attack is spearheaded by a pair of backs in Tyler King (560 yards and five touchdowns) and Keion Davis (558 yards and four touchdowns). Still, the most notable part of the unit is an offensive line that has not given up much in terms of a pass rush in 2017.
“Their O-line is not really talked about a lot, but they’ve only given up four sacks,” White said. “Any team in the country would definitely take that.”
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Bryan Fyalkowski
Assistant Director of Media Relations
WKU Hilltopper Athletics
