McGill shines in passing game for Tops
Published 10:02 am Wednesday, November 4, 2026
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Western Kentucky redshirt senior running back Jaden McGill tries to break a tackle after making a catch against Delaware during the Hilltoppers’ 35-21 loss on Oct. 27 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
(LIAM DOWNIE/WKU Athletics)
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Western Kentucky redshirt senior running back Jaden McGill looks for running room during the Hilltoppers’ 35-21 loss to Delaware on Oct. 27 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
(SAVANNAH PHILPOT/WKU Athletics)
Jaden McGill got another opportunity last week against Delaware.
The Western Kentucky redshirt senior running back played an integral part in the Hilltoppers’ passing attack against the Blue Hens, tying wide receiver Jonathan Stafford Jr. for the team lead with five receptions in the 35-21 loss Oct. 27 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.
Those receptions were the first catches for McGill since the Tops’ season opener at Nevada back on Sept. 5, when he had three catches. McGill lost a fumble in the red zone on the second of those receptions in the third quarter of a game the WKU was losing 28-7 at the time – Nevada went on to win 49-14.
After finishing that season-opening game with three catches for 26 yards and two carries for six yards, McGill went the next six game without a single touch. That changed on Oct. 14 at Sam Houston, when McGill got back into action with six carries for 20 yards. Then last week against Delaware, he had a career-high five catches for 50 yards plus three carries for 15 yards.
“You talk about there’s always a pathway to play,” WKU coach Tyson Helton said. “I talk to the team about that all the time. You never know when your number’s called. Jaden in the first game had an unfortunate fumble down there in the red zone against Nevada. He’s been chomping at the bit to get another opportunity, goes out there last week and does a really good job for us. So you know, he’s able to continue to get an opportunity to go.”
McGill took that message to heart, even as the weeks started to stack without an carries or targets on offense.
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“I wasn’t getting those touches early on in the year,” McGill said. “I think everybody wants to play early on. I didn’t get the opportunity, but I didn’t let it affect me in practice and my preparation. And just knowing that an opportunity can come and when a chance comes, I just have to seize it. Last week I was able to do that.”
Adjusting to the reduced workload was a challenge for McGill, a Chicago native now in his second season with the Hilltoppers. Before WKU, McGill had a successful debut at the FCS level at Tennessee State, where the 6-foot-, 210-pound running back tallied 133 carries for 628 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 12 catches for 78 yards.
McGill had an outstanding two-year run at the junior college level at College of DuPage, where he was named a First Team All-American and the NJCAA Division III Offensive Player of the Year in 2023. He totaled 687 yards and 12 touchdowns on 132 carries in 12 games during that 2023 season, and added 14 catches for 174 yards and two scores. He was the Division III junior college scoring leader with his 84 points.
McGill also led the nation in kick return yardage with 484 yards, and he had a pair of 98-yard touchdown returns in the NJCAA Division III title game. He was the NJCAA Division III Most Outstanding Player in the championship game with his three total touchdowns.
In his first season at College of DuPage in 2022, he saw action in nine games and posted 399 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries, helping his team to the NJCAA Division III title.
McGill played in only four games during his first season at WKU in 2025. He finished that year with 16 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown, plus a 12-yard catch – with most of that production coming in the season-opening win against North Alabama.
This year, he’s played in all eight games and in the last two weeks the chances it make an impact have grown.
“Yeah, it’s definitely been a test like with the transfer portal, balancing JUCO,” McGill said. “I think that it’s just definitely molded me into the person who I am today. Just trying to put in work and get on the field, get opportunities. Every place that I’ve been at has been giving me a that chance to really just grow as a player and also off the field.”
Helton said McGill stayed ready, and that preparation showed up with production on the field the last two weeks.
“I’m really glad that he’s with us,” Helton said. “He’s a guy that’s a good man, No. 1, works extremely hard. He’s what you want to have on your football team and he’ll continue to do what he needs to do to help this football team.”
McGill will get his next chance to contribute on Saturday at Middle Tennessee, a longtime rivalry spanning several conferences. Both teams come into Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. contest in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with 2-2 records in Conference USA play, two back of co-leaders Liberty and Jax State with four CUSA games left to play.
Both teams desperately need the win to stay in the conference race.
“This is the rivalry,” McGill said. “We know the standard of how this game usually goes for us. Definitely knowing where our season is right now and how much like the next game means to us – and on top of that with it being Middle Tennessee State – it just brings it up a notch for sure.
“ … The game will be super fun, just knowing they’re going to give us their all. We’re going to give them our all because we’re not done.”
About Jeff Nations
Sports Editor, Bowling Green Daily News
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