BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Football quarterback Maverick McIvor, wide receiver Matthew Henry and defensive lineman Jaden Hardy each received rookie minicamp invites from NFL teams.
McIvor will take part in rookie minicamp with the Dallas Cowboys, while Henry received an invitation from the Tennessee Titans and Hardy was invited to rookie minicamp by the New York Jets.
Prior to the trio of Hilltoppers receiving minicamp invitations, Cole Maynard accepted invitations to rookie minicamp with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
McIvor played in eight games during his lone season on The Hill with starts in the team's first seven games of the season. He finished the season with 2,062 yards and 12 touchdowns on 183-of-273 passing to just six interceptions. He also rushed for 76 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 39 attempts.
McIvor was a member of the CUSA Preseason Watch List, the Maxwell Award Watch List, the Senior Bowl Top 300 Watch List, the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List, the Athlon Sports Preseason All Conference USA First Team and the Phil Steele Preseason CUSA All-Conference First Team. He received CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honors three times during WKU's first seven games – on Aug. 25, Sept. 1 and Oct. 6 – and he was also named the East-West Shrine Bowl Monday Morning Quarterback on Aug. 25 and an Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week Honorable Mention selection on Sept. 3.
After being sidelined for most of the second half of the season, McIvor returned to the field during the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 23 and led the Hilltoppers to a 27-16 victory over Southern Miss at Caesars Superdome. McIvor was named the game's MVP after throwing for 199 yards on 12-19-1 passing and rushing for an additional 48 yards and one touchdown on eight attempts to cap off his college career.
McIvor threw for a season-best five touchdowns in WKU's Aug. 30 win over North Alabama and had a season-high 401 yards passing in the Week 0 conference win over Sam Houston in his Hilltopper debut. McIvor threw for over 300 yards in three of his seven starts. Despite not playing most of the second half of the season, McIvor finished fourth in CUSA in passing touchdowns and fourth in passing yards. McIvor's 51 passing attempts in WKU's game against Sam Houston were second-most by a CUSA player in a single game during the 2025 season, and his 33 completions that game were most in a single game by a CUSA player. His five passing touchdowns against North Alabama were tied for most in a game by a CUSA player in 2025, and he was one of just three players in the league to have a 400-yard passing game in 2025, with his 401 against the Bearkats ranking third. McIvor's .670 completion percentage ranks fifth-best in a career for a WKU player (min. 100 comp.) and sixth-best in a single season (min. 100 comp.). His five touchdown passes against North Alabama are tied for eighth-most in a single game in program history.
McIvor transferred to WKU after spending three seasons at Abilene Christian, where he was one of the top players at the FCS level. Over three seasons with the Wildcats, he threw for 8,012 yards and 63 touchdowns on 655-of-1089 passing with 21 interceptions. He was named a Second Team All-American by FCS Football Central, and was an All-UAC First Team selection at quarterback. He arrived at Abilene Christian after three seasons at Texas Tech, where he did not see any game action.
Henry started all 13 games for WKU at receiver during his lone season with the program. He finished the year as WKU's leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, posting 888 yards and six touchdowns on 55 receptions, while adding a kickoff return for a touchdown in WKU's Sept. 20 win over Nevada. Henry posted a two-touchdown game in WKU's Nov. 1 win over New Mexico State. He had a season-high 148 yards receiving on seven receptions in his Hilltopper debut in WKU's Week 0 conference win over Sam Houston. It was his first of three 100-plus yard receiving games during the season. He also had 135 yards receiving in WKU's Nov. 15 win over Middle Tennessee, and he posted 126 yards on seven receptions in WKU's New Orleans Bowl win over Southern Miss on Dec. 23.
He finished the year first in CUSA in receiving yards per game with 68.31 and ninth in CUSA in receptions per game with 4.23. He was one of just five players across the league to post three 100-yard receiving games during the season, and he was one of only five players in CUSA to return a kickoff for a touchdown. He was named All-Conference USA Second Team by the league's head coaches and by Phil Steele following the season.
Henry joined the Hilltoppers after one productive season at Western Illinois, where he appeared in 12 games with the Leathernecks and led the team in receiving with 1,211 yards and six touchdowns on 64 catches. He ranked first in the Big South-OVC in receiving yards per game, first in receiving yards, sixth in receptions per game, fourth in all-purpose yards, third in yards per catch and seventh in total receptions. His 15 receptions against Lindenwood were most in a single game by any player in the conference in 2024, and he twice posted 200-plus receiving yards in a game – 242 against Gardner-Webb and 226 against Lindenwood. Henry's five 100-yard receiving games were tied for most in the league. He ranked fifth nationally in receiving yards and receiving yards per game and 12th in yards per reception. Henry was named an FCS Football All-America Third Team member and he was an Associated Press All-America Team Honorable Mention selection. He was a 2024 Big South-OVC Football Association All-Conference First Team Offense honoree. He spent the previous three seasons at Division II Livingstone College, where he appeared in 15 games and caught 66 passes for 840 yards and eight touchdowns.
Hardy added depth on WKU's defensive line, appearing in 12 games with starts in the team's first five games during his lone season with the program. He totaled 21 tackles, had a pair of tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks, while adding one pass breakup for the Hilltoppers.
Hardy spent five seasons at Grambling State prior to transferring to WKU. He appeared in 35 games along the defensive line for the Tigers over his career, tallying 75 tackles, with 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble and a pair of fumble recoveries. Hardy was named to the 2024 All-SWAC Second Team.
WKU is coming off a 9-4 season in 2025, which included a 27-16 victory over Southern Miss in the 2025 New Orleans Bowl – the seventh consecutive season with a bowl appearance and fifth bowl win for the Hilltoppers in seven seasons under Head Coach Tyson Helton.
The Hilltoppers will open the 2026 season at Nevada on Saturday, Sept. 5.
WKU Football 2026 season tickets are on sale now! Season tickets start as low as $50, and there are several options for different season ticket levels. For more information or to purchase 2026 WKU Football season tickets, click HERE. Are you interested in purchasing 2026 WKU Football tickets but don't know where to start? Fill out this form and a member of the WKU Ticket Office will be in touch soon! All season tickets require an HAF donation.
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