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Brandon Doughty, heading into his final year as the captain of the explosive Western Kentucky offense, is finally getting some national attention. The 6'3", 216-pound quarterback from Davie, Florida is coming off a record-setting year with Western Kentucky: Doughty led the nation in passing yards and touchdown passes during a season that saw Western Kentucky win its first bowl game as an FBS member. He threw for over 550 yards in a game TWICE during the regular season and had five games where he threw for at least five touchdowns. He's also got some pretty nice titles to go along with those numbers:
- 2014 Conference USA MVP
- 2014 Sammy Baugh Award Winner
- 2014 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Offensive MVP
- 2014 All-Conference USA Second Team
- 2014 All-Conference USA Second Team (Phil Steele)
- 2014 All-Bowl Team (NFL.com)
- 2014 All-Bowl Team (CBS Sports)
It doesn't stop there, either. Brandon Doughty was just named Conference USA's Preseason Player of the Year. He was named a counselor for the Manning Passing Academy and was recently named to the 2015 Maxwell Award Watch List. Many consider Doughty's Hilltoppers a heavy favorite in Conference USA. With all of these expectations looming, how can Brandon Doughty possibly try to live up to them?
He won't. He will play spectacular football, give much credit to his teammates, and thank God -- as he has done in nearly every media interview. Wash, rinse, repeat. That's who Brandon Doughty is. Is he also the Conference USA MVP and the winner of the Sammy Baugh Award? Most definitely. But he's much more than that, and he plays for more than that. That's part of what makes the Hilltoppers "the most entertaining team in college football."
Western Kentucky will open its 2015 season at Vanderbilt on Thursday, September 3rd in what will be the nation's first look at Brandon Doughty in his senior campaign. Here's to another season with moments like this: