Matthew Mitchell enters his second season on The Hill and first as a full-time coach as he leads the quarterback room.
Mitchell initially came to WKU as an offensive graduate assistant in 2017 where he assisted offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Junior Adams in the wide outs room.
During his first year working with Adams, the two had the monumental task of replacing the production lost by the graduation of the top two receivers in program history in Taywan Taylor and Nicholas Norris who combined for over 7,000 receiving yards in their career.
With just two receivers returning who tallied at least 25 receptions the previous season in Nacarius Fant (29) and Lucky Jackson (26), Mitchell and Adams were tasked with developing the next great crop of WKU pass catchers.
Fant enjoyed a breakout senior season as he etched his name into the record books in his final year donning the red and white. Fant’s 74 receptions in 2017 were a career-best and No. 5 on the school’s all-time chart, surpassed only by the two legends he followed and standout receiver Jared Dangerfield. Against Middle Tennessee, Fant’s 14 receptions were the second-most in a single game in program history and the most by a receiver in the FBS era.
In developing the next group of WKU stars at receiver, sophomore Lucky Jackson tallied the third-most receiving yards by a sophomore in program history (600) while freshman Xavier Lane’s 27 receptions were the fifth-most by a freshman in program history. Those marks, coupled with true freshman Jaquez Sloan’s 15.2 yard per catch average - third on the team behind only senior Kylen Towner and Jackson - give WKU a dangerous blend of speed and experience moving into 2018.
Mitchell came to WKU after two seasons at Notre Dame where he worked as an offensive intern and analyst. During the 2015 season, Mitchell worked primarily with the quarterbacks as an offensive intern under head coach Mike Sanford.
A former wide receiver at Wheaton (Ill.) College (2010-14), Mitchell was a two-year starter and helped led the team to two Division III playoff berths in 2010 and 2014 and capture a pair of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin titles (2012, 2014). As a junior, the Los Altos, Calif., native led the team in receptions (39) and receiving yards (399).
A 2014 graduate of Wheaton College in communications, he is married to the former Megan Campbell.
THE MITCHELL FILE
PERSONAL
Born: Oct. 18, 1991
Hometown: Los Altos, Calif.
College: Wheaton, '14
PLAYING CAREER (Wide Receiver)
College: Wheaton College (2010-14)
COACHING CAREER
2015-16: Notre Dame (Offensive Analyst)
2017: WKU (Offensive Graduate Assistant/Wide Receivers)
2018: WKU (Quarterbacks)
BOWL EXPERIENCE
2015: Fiesta (Notre Dame, Coach)
2017: Cure (WKU, Coach)
