Transfers ratcheting up competition as WMU football kicks off 2023 fall camp

By Matthew Ehler |
KALAMAZOO, MI – Make no mistake about it, there’s a ballooning list of fresh faces funneling in and out of Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo these days.
And it goes well beyond the new man in charge.
Over a quarter of Western Michigan’s football program
Western Michigan’s football program may still be in the infant stages of a new era under first year head coach Lance Taylor, but they’ve made sure to fasten more than just a renowned aurora of energy and peppiness with it. For the Broncos, one thing remained paramount when fall camp kicked off on Tuesday.
These Broncos are hungry – and they’re here to lock horns, too.
Over a quarter of WMU’s staff and players took the bubble wrapping off and were unveiled for the first time on Tuesday morning, showcasing some of their first glimpses of football talent since the spring showcase. In his first offseason, and first time recruiting in the transfer portal, Taylor came away with 26 players – 10 transfers and 16 incoming freshman – to beef up a program that had significant turnover from 2022.
There’s a myriad of starting spots still very much wide open as Western’s regular season looms, and that has Taylor thrilled for the opportunity to see his players rise to the occasion and “attack the grass” every morning.
“One of the things I’ve been most proud about our locker room and our group of men is that they’re hungry,” said Taylor at the Broncos’ opening fall presser. He was introduced as Western’s new coach in December of last year. “They want to win and want to do things that it takes to win and build a winning culture and winning habits. Anytime you can bring in competition – iron sharpens iron and we believe competition will make us better at all positions.
“Just like we went into spring ball, there’s a lot of jobs out there that are still open and I’m really excited to see what the new guys can do and also how our guys that have been with us in the spring, how have they grown since the end of spring ball.”
The Broncos emphasized plucking experienced players in the portal, and those talents were on full display Tuesday.
Quarterback question marks
That goes hand in hand with perhaps the biggest question mark left to be solved – the scintillating quarterback competition which remains in full swing. A trio of signal callers are still getting acclimated to new offensive coordinator Billy Cosh’s air raid, up-tempo offense, but for one transfer, similar ties has allowed for a smoother transition.
“This is a great opportunity for me schematically with the offense and coach Cosh, as I’ve got some connections and ties to him,” said former Old Dominion starting quarterback and graduate transfer Hayden Wolff. “The guys I’m competing with are all really good dudes and we mesh together well. We just have to keep pushing ourselves and making each other better. Whoever is going to be the most consistent at the end of camp is going to be the starter so we just have to keep working.”
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Venice, Florida native had significant interest from other schools, including Auburn, and threw for 5,578 yards, 30 touchdowns and 16 interceptions over three seasons under center at ODU. With plenty of experience, Wolff should, at the very least, provide some stability within a room that had its struggles last season, throwing more touchdowns than interceptions.
However, the job won’t be handed to Wolff on a silver platter.
Redshirt freshman Treyson Bourguet perhaps had the most impressive first day of camp, leading a swift 7-on-7 drive with a nifty no-look touchdown strike over the middle to tight end Blake Bosma – he’d look off the safety on a go route down the right sideline.
Wolff threw the only interception of the session on a throw over the middle in traffic. Nonetheless, Taylor sees positives in naming a starter sooner rather than later, especially to bring a sense of togetherness to the offense.
“We won’t name a starter until one declares itself but the sooner you can give one guy most of the first team reps and create continuity, consistency and comradery, it would be great,” Taylor said. “But we have a great competition going on when you look at Jack Salopek and Treyson, who both had a great spring and bringing in Hayden who has over 20 starts under his belt and has big time college football wins.
“He brings a lot of experience and I really like what he’s done,” Taylor added of Wolff. “He’s one of the hardest working guys in the building and all those guys have embraced that we are open and upfront with the competition and that we would bring in competition. They’ve all challenged each other, and I think it will be a battle through most of training camp if I had to guess because all three of those guys have shown that they can play a high level of football.”
Reinforcements
Already one of the best groups in the Mid-American Conference, the Broncos and Taylor bolstered the offensive line with reinforcements in Michael Shanahan (Texas Tech) and Chad Schuster (Syracuse), and plucked a Virginia Tech gem, landing running back Keshawn King, too.
All that has former Boston College transfer and graduate senior wide receiver Jehlani Galloway geeked about the potential of the offense.
“It’s huge to get help,” said Galloway, who made 28 receptions for 355 yards last season. “They’ve already done a hell of a job in joining into a leadership position and I feel that’s just a great benefit for us to have guys that are coming from different programs and carving out a spot for their own and helping us win a MAC championship this year.”
Galloway added that he’s looking to become an effective leader for a relatively young wide receiver group, and help any incoming freshman or transfers along the way as well.
“The important thing when coming into a new place is to develop relationships and give the young guys some tools and some experience that I have myself,” he said. “I want to be in a leadership role and I’ve been in a lot of camps and played in a lot of games so I’m just telling my story to give them that experience to help them develop as a player.”
Defensive stability
Defensively, the return of redshirt junior Marshawn Kneeland should big a massive boost to help combat the loss of a pair of top-flight players in transfer defensive lineman Andre Carter and Braden Fiske. At times, it looked like the Broncos could be regressing on a side that was second statistically in the MAC last season, but once again, their activity in the portal should pay serious dividends.
Boosted by the additions of defensive back Tate Hallock (Michigan State) and linebackers Donald Willis (Minnesota) and Jacob Whalberg (Purdue), the Broncos, all of a sudden, should be solid for Esposito in 2023.
“It was great to be out here and obviously the first day is kind of just bullets flying around and trying to get used to the schedule,” said Hallock, a Forest Hills Central graduate who played in 18 career games with the Spartans. “But it’s now time to hit the ground running and really get everything hardwired down to prepare for August 31. Competition is the best thing and out here it’s about survival of the fittest. The guys that we brought in are some dogs and the guys that are here are already dogs.”
With transfers, a new wave of youth, an utmost level of competition and a new coach carrying pace and ferocity, the Broncos are aiming to kick the predictions of a last place finish in the MAC West this season to the curb.
Come the time of kickoff at Waldo Stadium on Aug. 31 against Saint Francis, WMU will unveil a new level of ferocity – something their coach brings to the program each day.
“They’re going to see a team that plays with their hair on fire,” Taylor said of what fans can expect this season. “We talked about attacking the grass every single day and that’s the way I live – I can’t stand still and I walk a hole in the floor in the team meeting room. And I love the noise and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our guys are hungry and they can hear that chatter and we welcome it and I love it.”