KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Under the direction of head coach Tim Lester, the Western Michigan football team will open spring practice on Tuesday, February 18, at the Donald "J" Seelye Athletic Center. Under NCAA regulations, the Broncos will have 15 practice sessions including the program's annual open practice scheduled for Saturday, March 28.
 
Western Michigan returns 15 starters and 32 lettermen from last year's squad that went 7-6 and earned a trip to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.
 
Lester has guided the Broncos to two bowl game appearances in the last three years and reached bowl eligibility in each of his campaigns.
 
On offense, the wide receiver duo of rising sophomore Skyy Moore, a first team All-Mid-American Conference selection, and rising redshirt sophomore DaShon Bussell join four offensive linemen as returning starters. In 2019, Moore caught 51 passes, tied for the team lead, and finished with a squad-high 802 receiving yards (15.73 yards per catch) and three touchdowns. Nationally among freshmen, he finished fourth in receiving yards. Moore became the first MAC true freshman wide receiver to be first team all-league since Roger Lewis of Bowling Green in 2014, the first in WMU history and just the third in the MAC since 1982. Up front, four-year starting center Luke Juriga is the squad's only lost starter. Guards Jordan Asbury and Mike Caliendo and tackles Jaylon Moore and Spencer Kanz return with Caliendo and Moore earning second team All-MAC accolades in 2019.
 
Western Michigan must replace five offensive starters including quarterback Jon Wassink, who amassed 6,482 passing yards, the sixth most in program history, and 50 passing touchdowns, the fifth most by a Bronco.  Rising redshirt sophomore Kaleb Eleby returns having played in five career games and coming off a redshirt season in 2019. In his career, Eleby has thrown for 1,092 yards and four touchdowns against three interceptions. Rising redshirt junior Griffin Alstott, who played in four games last fall, and rising redshirt freshman Nick Kargman also return and will compete for playing time
 
Defensively, six starters return including All-America linebacker Treshaun Hayward, who is a rising senior and finished third nationally with 142 total tackles and was tabbed MAC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Western Michigan brings back second team All-MAC defensive end Ali Fayad, who is a rising senior, has played in 38 career games and finished 2019 ranked third in the league in tackles for loss (15.0), tied for fifth in sacks per game (0.50) and tied for sixth nationally in forced fumbles per game (0.31). The Broncos return third team All-MAC cornerback Patrick Lupro, who replaced the injured D'Wayne Eskridge in week four and went on to tie for fifth in the MAC in interceptions (3) and tie for seventh in pass breakups per game (0.83). WMU must replace cornerback Anton Curtis and safety Justin Tran­quill, who combined for 60 career starts.
 
Two graduate transfers will join the Broncos for spring workouts, cornerback Therran Coleman and running back Jaxson Kincaide. Coleman graduated from Pittsburgh in December and played in 34 games over the past three seasons for the Panthers. Kincaide, who graduated from Nevada in December, played in 38 games and rushed 199 times for 894 yards (4.49 yards per rush) and six touchdowns with the Wolfpack. Michigan State transfer La'Darius Jefferson, a running back, has also enrolled at WMU and can go through spring practice, but must sit out the 2020 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2021 campaign.
 
The Broncos will cap their spring workouts with the March 28 open practice, which will run from 10 a.m. – noon.
 
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