Tyson Helton (born June 20, 1977) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach and former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, who is the current

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the Co ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

from 1996 to 1999. He previously served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

(2018), quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

(2016–2017), offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky (2014–2015), and as an assistant at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, UAB,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Tyson's father,

Kim Helton Charles Kimberlin Helton (born July 28, 1948) is an American college and professional football coach. He is currently an offensive analyst at Western Kentucky. Helton was formerly the head football coach of the University of Houston from 1993 t ...

, is a former head football coach, and his older brother

Clay Helton Clay Charles Helton (born June 24, 1972) is an American college football coach and former player, who is currently the head coach at Georgia Southern. He was previously the head coach of USC from 2015 to 2021. Helton has also been an assistan ...

is the current head coach at

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

. Due to his father's career as a collegiate football coach, Tyson was exposed to football from an early age. He played

at Houston, where he played mostly as a

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...

. He joined the coaching ranks immediately upon graduation from college, working initially for

June Jones June Sheldon Jones III (born February 19, 1953) is an American football coach and former player who is currently the Offensive Coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons. Jones was the head football coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 19 ...

as an assistant at Hawaii. He gradually worked his way through the ranks at various

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

schools before being named head coach at Western Kentucky in 2019. He has an overall record of 31 wins and 21 losses as a head coach, including two

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

wins and one division championship.

Playing career

A native of

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, Helton played quarterback at

Clements High School William P. Clements High School, more commonly known as Clements High School, is a public high school in First Colony and in Sugar Land within the U.S. state of Texas that is named after former Texas governor Bill Clements, and is a part of the Fo ...

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...

. He played college football at Houston from 1996 to 1999, during his father's tenure as the Cougars' head coach.Tyson Helton
profile at USCTrojans.com. Accessed December 10, 2017. As a backup quarterback, Helton completed 44 of 109 passes for 454 yards, 1 touchdown and 6 INTs during his career. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business in 1999.Tyson Helton
profile at WKUSports.com. Accessed December 10, 2017.

Coaching career

Helton began coaching as a graduate assistant at Hawaii under head coach

in 2000, working primarily with

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. The following season, he was hired as the Warriors' special teams coach. During this season, Hawaii led the nation in kickoff return yardage, averaging an NCAA record 30.3 yards per return.

Chad Owens Chad Owens Sr. (born April 3, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver and kick returner. He was most recently a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Jacksonville Ja ...

, who was among the players Helton coached on special teams, set school records for all-purpose yardage. From 2004 to 2006, Helton coached tight ends and special teams on the staff of Coach Tommy West at Memphis. Players he coached during this period included future

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

kicker

Stephen Gostkowski Stephen Carroll Gostkowski ( ; born January 28, 1984) is an American football former placekicker who played for 15 years in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New England Patriots. He was selected in the fourth round of th ...

, who became the school's all-time career scoring leader, and was named

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

Special Teams Player of the Year in 2005. In 2007, Helton joined the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA (C-USA) and participates in Division I of th ...

staff as quarterbacks coach under head coach

Neil Callaway Claude Neil Callaway (born November 15, 1955) is an American college football coach and former player who is the offensive line coach for the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL). Callaway served as the head football coac ...

. His father, Kim, had been hired as the Blazers' offensive coordinator. Under Helton's tutelage, UAB quarterback Joe Webb became the first player in NCAA history to pass for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. After Callaway was fired in 2011, Helton switched to running backs coach on the staff of newly-hired head coach

Garrick McGee Garrick Ladell McGee (born April 6, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the wide receivers coach at Louisville. He was previously the quarterbacks coach at the University of Florida. McGee was the head football c ...

. During Helton's only season on McGee's staff, Blazers running back

Darrin Reaves Darrin Reaves (born April 17, 1993) is an American football running back free agent. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers in 2014. He played college football at UAB Blazers football, UAB. He also played for the Kansas ...

rushed for over a thousand yards and was awarded all-conference honors. After spending the 2013 season on the Cincinnati Bearcats staff, Helton was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under head coach

Jeff Brohm Jeffrey Scott Brohm (born April 24, 1971) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current head football coach of the Louisville Cardinals. Brohm played college football at the University of Louisville for coach Howard S ...

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

. During his first season in 2014, the Hilltoppers' offense set several dozen school records, and finished fourth in the nation in total offense. Quarterback

Brandon Doughty Brandon Doughty (born October 6, 1991) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Western Kentucky and was their starting quarterback from 2013 to 2015. Early years Doughty attended North Broward Preparatory School ...

passed for 4,830 yards and 49 touchdowns, and was awarded the

Sammy Baugh Trophy The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

at the end of the season. Helton's 2015 offense finished in the top 10 nationally in total yards per game, passing yards per game, scoring, and passing efficiency, and he was among the finalists for the ''FootballScoop'' Offensive Coordinator of the Year award. That year, Doughty led the nation in completion percentage, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. In 2016, Helton, was hired as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator at

, where his brother,

, was serving as head coach. Under Tyson Helton's guidance in 2016, USC quarterback

Sam Darnold Samuel Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC, where he became the first freshman to win the Archie Griffin Awar ...

completed 67.2% of his passes, won the

Archie Griffin Award The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

, and was named

Rose Bowl MVP The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2. The Rose ...

. Helton was named the ''FootballScoop'' Quarterbacks Coach of the Year. In December 2017, Helton was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at

, joining the staff of newly hired head coach

Jeremy Pruitt Jeremy Pruitt (born May 28, 1974) is an American football coach who most recently was a senior defensive assistant for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach at the University of Tennes ...

.Adam Spencer,
Report: Tennessee Expected to Hire USC's Tyson Helton as Offensive Coordinator
" ''Saturday Down South'', December 8, 2017.Austin Price, Brent Hubbs, and Jesse Simonton,
Pruitt Makes Initial Staff Hires
" ''VolQuest.com'', December 7, 2017. In November 2018, Helton was hired as the head football coach at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

.Chris Low,
Report: Tennessee's Tyson Helton agrees to coach Western Kentucky
" ''ESPN'', November 26, 2018.

Personal

Helton and his wife, April, have four children: Shelby, Presley, and twins, Cole and Clay.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helton, Tyson 1977 births Living people American football quarterbacks Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches Houston Cougars football players Memphis Tigers football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches UAB Blazers football coaches USC Trojans football coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches People from Gainesville, Florida People from Sugar Land, Texas Players of American football from Texas