After leading the Hilltoppers to three nine-win seasons in the last four years, Clay Helton returns as the head of a Western Kentucky coaching staff that contains experience and success at the highest level of college football.
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Coaching Staff
Head Coach, Tyson Helton
A renowned offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for several seasons — including a two-year stint with the Hilltoppers from 2014-2015 — Tyson Helton took over as the Western Kentucky head coach late in 2018. The 2019 season was not only his first at the helm of the Western Kentucky coaching staff but also his first head coaching role at any level.
During his tenure, Helton has made the Hilltoppers a consistent force in Conference USA. The first-time head coach delivered a nine-win season in his inaugural campaign, overseeing a turnaround from a three-win campaign that spelled the end of Mike Sanford’s brief spell in charge. Helton has led his team to nine wins in three of his four seasons in charge.
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In 2019, Helton was named C-USA Coach of the Year. In doing so, he joined his father as an elite father-son duo who both achieved conference Coach of the Year honors. Wherever he has been, the Hilltoppers head coach has initiated success, extracting the maximum from players such as Sam Darnold. His full coaching résumé can be found below.
- Hawaii (graduate assistant, 2000; special teams, 2001-2003)
- Memphis (tight end coach, special teams coach, 2004-2006)
- UAB (quarterback coach, 2007-2011, running back coach, 2012)
- Cincinnati (TE coach, special teams coach, 2013)
- Western Kentucky (offensive coordinator, QB coach, 2014-2015)
- USC (passing game coordinator, QB coach, 2016-2017)
- Tennessee (OC, QB coach, 2018)
- Western Kentucky (HC, 2019-2023)
Offensive Coordinator, Drew Hollingshead
After spending a large portion of his coaching career under the tutelage of the late, great Mike Leach, Drew Hollingshead joins the Western Kentucky coaching staff as the offensive coordinator for the Hilltoppers in 2023. In addition to that role, Hollingshead will act as the Western Kentucky quarterback coach, working with productive passer Austin Reed.
A former quarterback at the University of Houston, Hollingshead cut his coaching teeth at Hyde Park Baptist High School in Austin while completing a coaching internship with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.
He landed his first college coaching role at Texas A&M Commerce, where he quickly gained promotion to QB coach after working on offensive quality control in 2013. His full college coaching résumé, which includes time spent working with QBs Gardner Minshew and Will Rogers, can be found below.
- Texas A&M Commerce (offensive quality control, 2013; QB coach, 2014)
- Washington State (offensive graduate assistant, 2016-2017; offensive quality control, 2018-2019)
- Mississippi State (offensive quality control assistant, 2020-2021; inside wide receiver coach, 2022)
- Western Kentucky (OC and QB coach, 2023)
Defensive Coordinator, Tyson Summers
Originally joining the Western Kentucky coaching staff as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Tyson Summers was promoted to defensive coordinator in February 2022. In his first season in the role, the Hilltoppers ranked second in the conference for scoring defense and third for total defense — a substantial improvement for both metrics.
This is the second time that Summers and head coach Helton have worked together on a coaching staff. The pair crossed paths at UAB, where Summers was the linebackers coach for four years before serving as the safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator for the Blazers.
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A team captain at Presbyterian, Summers got his first coaching role with his alma mater as a defensive back coach. During his coaching career, he has coached several players who would later earn selection in the NFL Draft including kickers defensive standouts Kindle Vildor and Davison Taylor. His full college football coaching résumé can be found below.
- Presbyterian (DB coach, 2003)
- Troy (graduate assistant, 2004)
- Georgia (graduate assistant, 2005)
- Georgia Southern (safeties coach, 2006)
- UAB (LB coach 2007-2010; safeties coach and ST coordinator, 2011)
- UCF (LB coach, 2012-2013; DC, 2014)
- Colorado State (DC and safeties coach, 2015)
- Georgia Southern (HC, 2016-2017)
- Georgia (defensive quality control, 2017-2018)
- Colorado (DC, 2019-2020)
- Florida (defensive analyst, 2021)
- Western Kentucky (DC, 2022-2023)
Special Teams Coordinator, Andy LaRussa
Andy LaRussa joined the Western Kentucky coaching staff in 2019 as the special teams coordinator and safeties coach. His role has evolved during his time with the Hilltoppers, adding assistant head coach duties at the end of the 2021 season. He also coaches the program’s tight ends. Among several college roles, he was also the special teams coordinator at UNLV.
Offensive Line Coach, Zach Lankford
Zach Lankford originally joined the Western Kentucky staff as a graduate assistant in 2014, moving to offensive quality control for 2015-2016. After spending two seasons coaching the offensive line at Faulkner, the former UAB tight end returned to the Hilltoppers to coach the program’s tight ends in 2019, earning his current role as o-line coach and co-OC in 2022.
Running Back Coach, Andre Crenshaw
Andre Crenshaw, a former Oregon Duck who played running back for the program from 2006-2009, joins the Western Kentucky coaching staff for the 2023 college football season as RB coach. He arrives after presiding over a successful South Dakota State running back room for the past two seasons, helping guide the JackRabbits to a win in the 2022 FCS National Championship.
Defensive Back Coach, Da’Von Brown
Da’Von Brown, a four-year player at defensive back for Lane Kiffin’s Florida Atlantic, joins the Western Kentucky coaching staff as defensive backs coach after spending the previous two seasons with Kiffin at the Ole Miss Rebels. A highly-productive playmaker, Brown got his first coaching gig at Geneva College before moving to Oxford as a graduate assistant in 2021.
Wide Receiver Coach, Michael Spurlock
A former NFL wide receiver for multiple teams, Michael Spurlock joined the Western Kentucky coaching staff ahead of the 2023 season as WR coach. While spending time at Ole Miss, UTSA, Southeastern Louisiana, and Coahoma Community College, Spurlock has coached at the NFL level with the Dallas Cowboys and arrived at WKU after spending one season in Green Bay.
Defensive Line Coach, Carson Hall
Another new addition for the 2023 college football season, Carson Hall joins the Western Kentucky coaching staff after serving as an assistant DL coach for the two-time national championship-winning Georgia Bulldogs. After starting his career at Valdosta State, Hall spent time at LSU before moving to Athens, where he worked with multiple first-round draft picks.
Inside Linebacker Coach, Davis Merritt
Another arrival from Athens, Davis Merritt, joins the Western Kentucky coaching staff for the 2023 college football season after working as a defensive quality control coordinator for Georgia. He also has SEC experience from stints at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, while he spent three years at FAU as a defensive quality control assistant on two CUSA-winning teams.
Outside Linebacker Coach, Jamar Chaney
Outside linebacker coach Jamar Chaney joined the Western Kentucky coaching staff for the 2023 college football season after spending the 2022 campaign working as a recruiting coordinator and defensive analyst for the Florida Gators. Chaney was a three-time captain and All-SEC honoree as a tough-tackling linebacker at Mississippi State.
