Western Kentucky University has hired three assistant football coaches, Head Coach David Elson announced today. Bob Cole has been named quarterbacks coach, Scott Booker will serve as defensive backs coach, and Brian Rector will be the Hilltoppers' offensive graduate assistant.

"Each of these three individuals will be tremendous additions to our staff," Elson said. "They are all excellent coaches who have consistently enabled their players to reach a high level of success. Bob Cole is an experienced coach who has a proven track record of developing quarterbacks and producing outstanding offensive results. Scott Booker has had a very positive impact on the defensive players he has coached, and it is very impressive that a pair of players he coached in the last three years have been selected in the NFL draft. Brian Rector's impact as a teacher and mentor to young men cannot be overstated, and he will be an asset to our student-athletes in many ways."

Cole has 21 years of collegiate coaching experience and joins the WKU staff after serving as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Wyoming in 2008. Throughout his college coaching career, Cole's offenses have been among the best in the nation. Prior to coming to Wyoming, Cole was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks' coach at Florida A&M for three seasons (2005-07) where he helped FAMU quarterback lead the Mid-Eastern Conference in passing and total offense in 2006.

Cole served as offensive coordinator at Utah State from 2000-04. The 2002 Aggies ranked seventh in the country in passing offense (308.0 yards per game), quarterback Jose Fuentes ranked ninth in the nation in total offense (287.6 yards per game) and Kevin Curtis ranked sixth in the country in receiving yards (114.4 yards per game) and 12th in receptions (6.73 receptions per game). The 2001 season saw Cole's USU offense rank 13th in the NCAA in passing (288.0 yards per game) led by Fuentes, who averaged 265.5 yards of total offense to rank 18th in the nation. Fuentes teamed with wide receiver Curtis, who led the nation in receptions (9.09 per game) and was third in the NCAA in receiving yards (139.2 yards per game). The Aggies' 2000 offense ranked 21st in the nation in passing offense (266.2 yards per game). That offense featured quarterback Jose Fuentes, who ranked No. 14 in the country in total offense (262.2 yards per game), and running back Emmett White Jr., who led the nation in all-purpose yards (238.9 yards per game).

As offensive coordinator at Montana in 1999, the Grizzlies reached the I-AA playoffs and Cole's offense ranked No. 2 among all NCAA Division I-AA teams in total offense (517.4 yards per game), scoring offense (46.4 points per game) and passing offense (370.0 yards per game). Quarterback Drew Miller led the nation in passing efficiency with a quarterback rating of 168.6, marking the second consecutive season that Cole coached the nation's passing efficiency leader. Miller also ranked second in the nation with an average of 346.1 passing yards per game.

Cole has been a college coach since 1988, when he began his career as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks' coach at Sonoma State University in California from 1988-92. After five years at Sonoma State, Cole moved on to Portland State, where he served in the same role for six seasons from 1993-98. During his tenure, Portland State ranked in the top 10 in the nation in total offense in 1994 (464 ypg.), 1995 (472 ypg.) and 1998 (464 ypg.). Portland State quarterback Jimmy Blanchard also led the nation in passing efficiency in 1998 rating of 167.6.

Booker joins the WKU staff after spending the last four seasons as cornerbacks coach at Kent State University. Since 2000, just six defensive backs out of the MAC have been selected in the NFL draft, and Booker is responsible for coaching two of them. Booker helped Jack Williams earn second team All-MAC honors in 2007, and Williams then was selected in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.

Under Booker's tutelage in 2006, Kent State ranked nationally in pass defense efficiency, pass defense and interceptions, standing first or second in the MAC in all three categories. In addition, defensive backs Andre Kirkland and Usama Young both earned second team All-MAC accolades. Young was then selected in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints, becoming KSU's first draft pick since 2000 and the sixth-highest selection in the history of the program, while Kirkland signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Rams. The Golden Flashes finished third in the MAC and 24th in the nation in pass defense in 2005, allowing just 190.5 yards per game. Booker also worked at Kent State as a graduate assistant in 2004 and as a student assistant in 2003.

As a player for the Golden Flashes, Booker was a four-year regular from 1999-02 at safety as well as on several special teams units. He was selected to the Mid-American Conference All-Academic Team in 2001. Booker graduated cum laude from Kent State in the spring of 2003 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and was a co-winner of the athletic department's Judy Devine Excellence in Leadership Award as a senior. He earned his master's degree in sports studies in 2006 from Kent State.

Rector comes to the Hill after serving as head coach of Ravenwood High School (Brentwood, Tenn.) for the last six seasons and posting an overall record of 43-22. He led Ravenwood to a state championship in 2005 in only the school's third year of playing varsity football and fourth year of existence and earned Tennessee coach of the years honors by the Tennesseee Sports Writers Association. Rector implemented all offensive, defensive and special teams aspects of the program while also setting up academic and tutoring programs to track the academic progress of his players. He also engineered an upset win over Brentwood Academy in 2008, making Ravenwood the first public school in Williamson County to defeat Brentwood Academy in 31 years.

Prior to coaching at Ravenwood, Rector worked as defensive coordinator at Oldham County High School (Buckner, Kent.) and as a varsity assistant/freshman and JV coach at Daviess County High School (Owensboro, Kent.). He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History/Secondary Education from Bellarmine University and a Masters in Secondary Education from WKU.

David Elson - Head Coach

Mike Dietzel – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers

Stu Holt – Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs

Walt Wells – Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

T.J. Weist – Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers

Scott Booker – Defensive Backs

Mike Chism – Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends

Bob Cole – Quarterbacks

Cary Marquell – Outside Linebackers

Eric Mathies – Defensive Line

Jami DeBerry – Defensive Graduate Assistant

Brian Rector – Offensive Graduate Assistant