News and notes from WKU's live scrimmage Saturday

With just 19 days to go until the start of its 2021 football season, Western Kentucky continued fall camp Saturday with a live scrimmage for practice No. 10.

While the scrimmage was closed to both the media and the public, WKU offensive coordinator Zach Kittley and defensive coordinator Mo Crum met with the media following Saturday's action to discuss how it went.

NOTES FROM OC ZACH KITTLEY:

– Kittley said that the scrimmage "went pretty good overall." He said the offense had three penalties overall and two turnovers, with one being a tipped ball in the red zone. Kittley mentioned that the offense scored all but twice when in the red zone Saturday. "I felt good about moving the ball downfield," he said.

– Quarterback Bailey Zappe didn't have a great spring game performance back in April, but Kittley said that's how spring practice and fall camp goes. "You want to see a battle back and forth to where defense wins some days and offense wins some days because at the end of the day you want to have a complete football team," he said.

– Kittley said the offense is getting better overall. He noted that here's more familiarity now with the new system, and that it'll only get better moving forward.

– While Zappe will be the Hilltoppers' starter in 2021, there has been a battle for the backup quarterback spot throughout camp. Kittley provided an update Saturday, saying that San Diego State transfer Carson Baker and redshirt sophomore Drew Zaubi have been the two primary guys battling, but that freshmen Darius Ocean and Chance McDonald are both in the mix. He mentioned that freshman Grady Robison has been doing a little bit of everything – taking snaps, playing on special teams, and even catching passes – during camp.

– Kittley said that multiple guys have been making big plays throughout camp, and mentioned freshman wide receiver Malachi Corley, Oregon wide receiver transfer Daewood Davis, North Dakota State running back transfer Adam Cofield and freshman tight end River Helms as players that shined during the scrimmage. "I really like our team," Kittley said. "A lot of new pieces compared to last year."

NOTES FROM DC MO CRUM:

– Crum said that the scrimmage went well, and both sides competed very hard. He mentioned there are players battling for multiple positions, so a lot of guys have been making some big plays during fall camp.

– "I thought I would have seen more missed tackles, but we tackled solid for the most part," Crum said of what he saw during the scrimmage. He said his group tackled well, but he would've liked to have seen some more defensive plays made.

– Crum said that his unit has everything in place, now they just need to get all of the details down. He noted that they'll probably go back to the basics heading into game prep.

– Crum said his guys upfront – highlighted by Juwuan Jones and DeAngelo Malone – had a good scrimmage, and the linebacker core made some plays.

– In terms of news guys, Crum said he is really excited about freshman defensive end JaQues Evans. "He's been doing a good job," Crum said. "He has a such a high motor." He also mentioned redshirt sophomore defensive end Niko Cooper as another newcomer that's been impressive during camp.

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