Courtesy of WKU Athletics
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Football has promoted Maurice Crum to Defensive
Coordinator, head coach Tyson Helton announced Sunday morning.
The longest-tenured full-time Hilltopper coach, Crum will be entering his fifth
season working with the linebacker position group. He was most recently the
Co-Defensive Coordinator in 2020 and also served as Co-Special Teams Coordinator
during the 2018 campaign. Previous defensive coordinator Clayton White left the WKU
staff to pursue another opportunity.
“I am elated to lead our defense,” Crum said. “I would like to thank Coach Helton
for believing in me and Coach White for his guidance. To the players: Let’s get
ready to play.”
In 2020, Crum helped the WKU defense rank eighth in pass yards allowed (177.3), 28th
in total yards allowed (348.7) and 41st in points allowed (25.3) per game. Primary
starting linebackers Kyle Bailey and Eli Brown combined for 129 tackles – including
16.5 for loss – with five sacks, two interceptions and six quarterback hurries. Both
Bailey and Brown were voted 2020 Conference USA Honorable Mention by the league’s
coaches.
In 2019, Crum helped lead a group of linebackers with a lot of new faces. After
making the change from safety to linebacker, Bailey burst on to the scene for the
Hilltoppers, leading WKU with 109 tackles and three interceptions. He was one of
only seven defenders with at least 100 tackles and three picks in the 2019 season.
Bailey earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors vs. UAB and was voted C-USA
Honorable Mention.
Another player in Crum’s position group who made strides was Clay Davis. After
sitting out the 2018 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules, Davis put together a solid
season by racking up 60 tackles, three TFL’s, one sack and a forced fumble.
As a team, WKU produced a top 25 overall defense, as the Hilltoppers completed one
of the best defensive seasons in recent memory. WKU allowed only 20.1 total points
per game, which was the lowest mark for the program since 2004 and ranked No. 22 in
FBS.
In 2018, Crum developed linebacker Ben Holt into a tackling machine and team leader.
Holt, who was elected one of two yearlong captains by his teammates, set WKU’s FBS
Era record for tackles per game (9.67) with 116 tackles in 12 games. That mark
ranked fourth in C-USA and his 116 total tackles were the third-most among league
players in the regular season.
In his first season on The Hill in 2017, Crum’s experience at the highest level was
put on display as WKU needed to replace two of the season’s previous three starting
linebackers, returning only junior Joel Iyiegbuniwe. Under Crum’s direction,
Iyiegbuniwe exploded in 2017 en route to an All-CUSA First Team season. He led the
Hilltoppers in tackles with 116, the third-most in a single season in the FBS Era,
and tackles for loss with 11.5. The junior declared for the NFL Draft a year early
and was selected 115th overall in the fourth round by the Chicago Bears.
Crum, was a standout linebacker at Notre Dame from 2005-to-2008. During his playing
career, Crum played in 50 games with 42 consecutive starts and registered 306
tackles – including 23 tackles for loss – with eight sacks. His 306 career tackles
ranked 11th in Notre Dame history. A two-time team captain in 2007 and 2008, Crum
was one of only 17 players in school history to accomplish that feat.
