Andy Hendel - Chris Symington - Tom Sims
David Elson - Cap Boso - Willie Taggart - Roscoe Echols
Jim Harbaugh - Bill Edwards

Defensive Coordinator (Inside Linebackers)

Andy Hendel joined the Hilltopper staff in 1996 and has directed a tremendously improved Hilltopper defense that ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in both rushing defense (eighth) and total defense (24th) last fall. Before coming to the Hill, he was an assistant at St. John Fisher College.

Hendel has played and coached the game on three levels — high school, college and professional. In the last two of his five seasons at St. John Fisher, he was the defensive coordinator and worked with the defensive backs. His '94 Cardinal defense posted the best numbers in New York and ranked among the nation's Division III leaders. He also worked with the linebackers (1991-93) and special teams (1992-93) there.

He began his coaching career in 1988 as a volunteer at Irondequoit and Webster High Schools in Rochester. The following two years ('89-90), he was the defensive coordinator at WHS.

A product of Irondequoit High in Rochester, he walked-on at North Carolina State in 1979. He earned a scholarship as a sophomore and earned three letters at linebacker. As a senior, he was named to a "Walk-On All-America Team" and he was honored with N.C. State's Hardy Award for courage and consistent performance above his abilities. As a junior, he had 163 tackles and ran up 110 his senior year, playing beside future New Orleans Saints All-Pro Vaughn Johnson.

Hendel played professional football with the Jacksonville Bulls of the USFL (1984-85) where he was on the league's All-Rookie Team in '84. Then, he spent the '86 and '87 seasons with the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. He was Miami's special teams captain and leading tackler in 1986.

As a high school athlete, he was twice named All-County as a quarterback and free safety. And, he was also a two-time All-County pick in lacrosse.

The 37-year-old Hendel holds a bachelor's degree in animal science and technology from N.C. State (1983). He has done graduate work at both SUNY-Brockport and St. John Fisher. He and his wife, Dina, a medical secretary and fitness instructor, have two children — an 9-year-old son, Spencer, and a 8-year-old daughter, Andee.

CHRIS SYMINGTON

Offensive Line

Chris Symington, a veteran of nine seasons in collegiate coaching, came to Western in 1996 after spending the '95 season as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Northwood University in Michigan.

His two Western teams have ranked among the most productive in I-AA football, leading the nation in rushing offense last fall after ranking third in that category in '96. The '97 Toppers were third in scoring offense and sixth in total offense.

His Northwood offense ranked second in the Midwest Intercollegiate Conference and fifth in the nation in rushing in'95.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Colorado (1989-90). Those two Buffalo teams won Big Eight titles plus an Orange Bowl victory and, along with it, the national championship in 1990.

He then spent four years (1991-94) at Vanderbilt, the first three as offensive line coach (VU ranked among the top four in the SEC in rushing offense each year) and the last as defensive line coach (setting a Vandy record for sacks).

Symington began his college career at Washburn University, where he was All-Conference as a rookie tackle in 1984. He then transferred to Colorado and lettered three times. He helped Colorado post the nation's most improved record in 1985 (7-5-0, after going 1-10-0 in '84). He was team MVP in the Freedom Bowl and won Lineman-of-the-Week honors four times.

As a junior he helped Colorado win a berth in the Bluebonnet Bowl. In 1987, he was honorable mention All-Big Eight. In 1988, he signed as a free agent with Tampa Bay of the NFL.

He earned All-State and All-County honors at Greenwich (Conn.) High School in 1981, helping that team win the state championship as a senior. He attended Milford Academy Prep School for a year before entering college.

Symington holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Colorado (1988). He and his wife, Marti, have three daughters, Jessica (15), Blair (10) and Mary Grace (1); two sons, Adam (17) and Jackson (5); and a black lab, Alley (3).

TOM SIMS

Defensive Line

Tom Sims began his collegiate coaching career when he came to WKU to join the Hilltopper coaching staff in the summer of 1997 after a seven-year career in the National Football League. He was a sixth round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 1990 after completing his college career at Pittsburgh.

His efforts with the Hilltopper defensive line in his first year on the Hill were key factors in Western's 1997 success.

Sims played three seasons with the Chiefs (1990-92) and two (1993-94) with the Indianapolis Colts. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent in 1995 and then returned to the Chiefs for the '96 season.

He played the first two years of his college football at Western Michigan for then Bronco Head Coach Jack Harbaugh and followed Harbaugh to Pitt in 1987. Sims started at one defensive tackle slot for the Panthers in both '88 and '89, recording 142 career tackles, 12.5 sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries. Posted 93 stops and a sack in his first two years at WMU.

Sims earned three letters in football at Cass Tech in Detroit, where he was a first-team All-City pick as a quarterback. He also lettered in track and basketball in high school.

A native of Philadelphia, Sims earned his bachelor's degree in business from Pittsburgh in 1990. He and his wife, Ryna, have a five-year-old daughter, Sydney.

DAVID ELSON

Defensive Backs

David Elson joined the Western staff in 1996 after spending the 1994 and 1995 seasons as a graduate assistant on the staff at Southern Illinois. His efforts with the Hilltopper defensive unit have been key factors in WKU's successes the past two years.

He assisted in the Saluki program that rebounded from a 1-10-0 mark in 1994 to post one of the best turnaround records in I-AA football last season (5-6-0). In his first season at SIU, he worked with the defensive backs and last fall he assisted with the tight ends and receivers.

Elson went to Carbondale from Butler University, where he was a three-year lettermen for the Bulldogs. He was a member of the 1991Bulldog squad that went 9-2-0 and earned a berth in the NCAA-II championship playoffs.

Then, he started at strong safety in both 1992 (team was 8-2-0) and 1993, winning his team's Tenacity Award both seasons. His team won conference championships both his sophomore and junior seasons.

He played his high school football at Cathedral High in Indianapolis where he was a two-year starter at strong safety, serving as team co-captain and winning All-City honors as a senior (1988). His sophomore club won the Indiana state 3-A championship.

Elson holds a bachelor's degree in education from Butler (1994) and a master's, also in education, from Southern Illinois (1995).

He and his wife, Kathy, are the parents of a two-year-old daughter, Lauren.

CAP BOSO

Offensive Coordinator

Cap Boso came to Western staff last spring and works with the WKU quarterbacks and fullbacks.

He came to the Hill from Southern Illinois where he spent three seasons, working with the SIU running backs in 1995. He was special teams coordinator and tight ends/tackles coach in '96; and, he directed the SIU offensive line in 1997.

A 35-year-old native of Kansas City, Mo., he played six years (1986-91) as a tight end in the National Football League with the St. Louis Cardinals ('86) and the Chicago Bears ('87-91). He was a teammate of WKU volunteer assistant Jim Harbaugh (now a quarterback with the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL) in Chicago.

He began his coaching career as an aide at Butler in 1992, working with the Bulldog running backs and helping BU win a conference title. Two of his running backs that season won All-Pioneer League honors. Among the standouts for the Bulldogs that fall was strong safety David Elson, also now on the Topper coaching staff. Boso then worked in the real estate business before returning to the coaching at SIU in 1995.

He played his college football at Illinois where he was a two-time (1984 and '85) All-Big Ten selection. The winner of his school's George Legg Award for Athletic Academic Excellence, he graduated from Illinois in 1986 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology.

Boso played both football and baseball at Bishop Chatard High in Indianapolis. A two-year letterwinner on the gridiron, he was a receiver/linebacker and earned both All-State and All-City honors. A catcher in baseball, he lettered three times, winning All-City laurels as a senior.

Through the years, Boso has been active in a number of charitable organizations, including Special Olympics, the "Just Say No" drug awareness program for students and the "PLUS" campaign promoting literacy.

He is married to the former Cathy McKeeman, also an Indianapolis native.

Wide Receivers

Willie Taggart joins the Western coaching staff after completing one of the great careers in college football as the Hilltopper quarterback the past four seasons. The top rushing quarterback in Division I history with 3,997 yards (also a WKU standard for all runners), he also ranks as the leading scorer ever on the Hill (280 points). He was a finalist for the prestigious Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top offensive player in I-AA football, each of the past two years, finishing fourth in the balloting in `97 and seventh as a senior last fall. An All-American as a senior, he was the 1998 I-AA Independents' (a group of 16 schools) Offensive Player-of-the-Year. He was only the third WKU athlete in the past half-century to hold down the quarterback slot for the Hilltoppers four straight years. He holds 11 Western school records for rushing and scoring.

The Taggart File: Born — Aug. 27, 1976, Bradenton, Fla.; High School — Manatee `94; HS Athletics — Football, QB, 3 letters (All-State, All-Conference); Track, 1 letter; College — WKU '98 (BS); College Athletics — Football, QB, 4 letters (All-America, I-AA Independent Offensive Player-of-the-Year, 2-time Walter Payton Award finalist; Coaching Experience — WKU, assistant (1999- ).

Running Backs

Roscoe Echols returned to his alma mater this summer to work with the Hilltopper runnings backs.

He rejoined Western football after spending the past two seasons as the offensive backfield coach at Southeast Missouri. Prior to that, he spent a season (1996) as offensive backfield and receivers coach at St. Joseph's (Ind.).

Echols' served as a student assistant coach on the Hilltopper staff while completing work on his degree in the `93 season and then put in two seasons (`94-95) as an aide on the staff at Warren East High School.

A 1988 All-Stater at Bowling Green High School, he was a standout athlete for the Toppers, lettering on special teams and in the defensive backfield as a sophomore (`90). Then, he moved to tailback and ran for a team-high 963 yards (and 4 TDs) as a junior. He added 708 yards (and 7 TDs) to his resume his senior season (`92).

The Echols File: Born — Sept. 19, 1970, St. Louis, Mo.; High School — Bowling Green `89; HS Letters — Football 4, Baseball 2, Track 2; College — WKU (BA) `94; Coaching Experience — WKU (student assistant) 1993, Warren East HS (assistant) 1994-95, St. Joseph's (Ind.) (assistant) 1996, Southeast Missouri (assistant) 1997-98, WKU (assistant) 1999- .

JIM HARBAUGH

Volunteer Assistant

All-Pro quarterback Jim Harbaugh has had a vested interest in Hilltopper football since his father took over the WKU coaching reins in 1989.

And, the younger Harbaugh has, on a
volunteer basis, been an active member of the Western coaching staff since earning NCAA coaching certification in 1993.

A veteran of 11 seasons in the NFL, Harbaugh posted an NFL-high 100.7 passing rating for Indianapolis in 1995, earning a berth in the Pro Bowl. He was only the second Colt (and 15th NFL athlete) in history to record a 100+ rating.

Harbaugh was also named the Pro Football Weekly NFL Comeback Player-of-the-Year and the UPI AFC Offensive Player-of-the-Year for his efforts in '95.

He will continue his professional football career this fall with the Baltimore Ravens.

His career NFL numbers include: a 59% pass completion percentage (1,769-2,989) for 20,272 yards and 99 TDs, along with 2,465 rushing yards (5.2 yards per carry) for 18 more scores.

Harbaugh was an All-Big Ten quarterback at Michigan where he led the nation in passing efficiency as a junior and ranked second in the country in that category as a senior. He was also an Academic All-Big Ten pick.

The first-round selection of the Chicago Bears in the 1987 NFL draft, Harbaugh played seven seasons (1987-93) in Chicago and four at Indianapolis (1994-97) before being traded to Baltimore on Feb. 14, 1998.

He and his wife, Miah, have two sons, Jay (9) and Jim, Jr. (2).

BILL EDWARDS

Head Trainer

Bill Edwards has been a part of the athletic scene at his alma mater for the past 28 years. He was named the Hilltopper head trainer in 1983 after spending six years as an assistant on the Western Kentucky staff. He had previously worked as a student trainer on the Topper staff for four years and then added another year as a graduate assistant.

An active member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, he coordinates the sports medicine program for all Western sports.

His family ties with Hilltopper athletics go back two generations. His grandfather, B.J. White, earned both football (1923-26) and basketball (1924-25) letters on the Hill; and, his stepfather, Bill Kinslow, was a football letterman at Western in 1954.

Edwards, who holds both bachelor's (1974) and master's (1976) degrees from Western, also teaches in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation.

He and his wife, Jennie, have two daughters, seven-year-old Faith and four-year-old Rachel.

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