Head coach Tyson Helton has once again added a new guy to his almost unrecognizable coaching staff for the 2021 season with the hiring of outside wide receivers coach Josh Crawford.

The hiring of Crawford is now the fifth change made to Helton’s crew, and that fifth change already sees what it means to be a Hilltopper.

“When you walk into this building, I think the culture that certainly coach Helton is leading with the new team is evident and it’s exciting to be a part of that,” Crawford said.

Making his first appearance at the college level as a coach, Crawford has spent most of his time in the game of football in south Georgia where he was coaching High School from 2010-2020.

Crawford had the opportunity of coaching some exceptional wide receivers that included Jaheim Bell, LeMeke Brockington, Kiel Pollard, and most notably Darius Slayton who currently plays for the New York Giants.

“I’m prepared and ready for this,” Crawford said. “These programs that I’ve been able to be a part of in south Georgia, you’re coaching a high caliber of athlete and you’re also going against coaching staff’s and other programs of coaches who are very established. From a football standpoint I really do feel like it’s prepared me very well.”

Coming into the WKU program, Crawford will embrace the likes of junior Craig Burt Jr., freshman Dakota Thomas, junior Dayton Wade, as well as a couple of impressive looking transfers in freshman Daewood Davis from the University of Oregon and Jerreth and Josh Sterns from Houston Baptist University.

Whether it be former or new Hilltopper receivers that Crawford is embracing, he plans to bring a new kind of formula to improve the WKU offense in the passing game.

“I think you have to have a sense of urgency about yourself in whatever you’re doing,” Crawford said. “Whether you’re walking in and getting a cup of coffee or you’re preparing for a position group meeting or you’re communicating with coaches about something related to whatever business that we have going on. That’s the same sense of urgency that I want to bring to the guys in my room.”       

Sports reporter Matthew Hargrove can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewHargrov1