After closing the 2020 season with a loss to Georgia State in the LendingTree Bowl and taking some time off from organized practices, Western Kentucky’s team activities amp back up Tuesday as the the team begins spring practices.

The Hilltoppers, led by third-year head coach Tyson Helton, will hold 13 practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and play their spring game on Saturday, April 17 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

WKU’s Tuesday and Thursday practices will be closed to the public, but its Saturday practices, scheduled to run from 10:30 a.m. to Noon on March 20, March 27 and April 10, will be open for the public to attend. Fans will also be allowed to attend the spring game.

“Spring ball starts the week,” Helton told reporters on a Zoom conference call Monday. “Really excited. Been a long time coming. We’ve had some great winter workouts with a lot of new faces – both staff and players. I think the staff and players are really excited to get out there tomorrow and get going. We’re looking forward to it.”

WKU’s overall makeup will look a bit different when the team takes the field Tuesday, as there were numerous departures and arrivals for both the coaching staff and roster over the winter.

While the Hilltoppers lost multiple players to the NCAA Transfer Portal, they also took advantage of the system by bringing in multiple players – some from the Power Five level.

Of the program’s 16 current signees as part of the 2021 class, 14 are transfers – highlighted by gun-slinging quarterback Bailey Zappe and wide receivers Ben Ratzlaff, Jerreth Sterns and Josh Sterns from FCS program Houston Baptist, running back Adam Cofield from FCS powerhouse North Dakota State and multiple defensive players from the likes of North Carolina, Cincinnati and Michigan State.

In terms of the coaching staff, WKU lost defensive coordinator Clayton White to South Carolina, but promoted experienced defensive coach Maurice Crum to the position. On the offensive side of the ball, the Tops hired Zach Kittley – who came from Houston Baptist with the three aforementioned HBU transfers – as their new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, as well as Carlos Locklyn as running backs coach and Josh Crawford as outside receivers coach.

Bryan Ellis now serves as WKU’s co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach.

“It’s been fantastic,” Helton said of how the transition has been for the new coaches and players. “I’m really excited about this staff. Everybody’s gelled together extremely well. Whenever you put together a staff and you’re evaluating people, you have to ask yourself, ‘OK, how do we get better? How do we take another step?,’ and we definitely took a big step in my opinion.

“There’s a lot of new faces and a lot we have to get done during the spring practice sessions, but we’re about as good a spot we can be in right now.”

WKU is scheduled to kickoff its 2021 campaign September 4 vs. Tennessee-Martin at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

– Tyler Mansfield is the managing editor and primary beat reporter for InsideHilltopperSports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RivalsMansfield. –