WKU QB Doughty a big test for Vanderbilt defense

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Several months ago, Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason appointed himself the defensive coordinator of his Commodores football team.

We're going to find out quickly if the head coach hired the right guy.

The Commodores host Western Kentucky and Hilltoppers quarterback Brandon Doughty, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year, in their opener on Thursday (7 p.m., SEC Network).

"When you look at what he put on tape, that offense broke over 50 school records last year," Mason said. "They are really good at what they do, and he (Doughty) is definitely the catalyst for that offense."

That's over-simplifying Doughty's capabilities.

Doughty led all NCAA FBS quarterbacks in touchdown passes (49) and passing yardage (4,830) a year ago. He passed for 297 or more yards in 11 of 13 games, passing for more than 500 twice. He threw eight touchdown passes against Marshall, six against Bowling Green and had at least two in all but one game.

By comparison, Vanderbilt's four quarterbacks combined for 13 touchdown passes. And Vanderbilt never threw for more than 291 yards in a game.

While the Commodores have spent fall camp deciding which sophomore - Johnny McCrary or Wade Freebeck - will start at quarterback on Thursday, the Hilltoppers have known their starting quarterback since last December when the NCAA granted Doughty a sixth year of eligibility.

Doughty, now 23, was redshirted in 2010 and played in parts of just four games in 2011-12 because of injuries.

When current coach Jeff Brohm was named the Hilltoppers' offensive coordinator on Bobby Petrino's staff prior to the 2013 season, Doughty's career hit the reset button. Brohm and Doughty already had a previous connection. Brohm had tried to recruit Doughty in 2010 when he was an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic and Doughty was a standout at North Broward Prep in Davie, Fla.

"When Coach Brohm came here, it was unbelievable," Doughty said. "It was kind of like, 'Holy cow,' I almost got emotional."

Brohm was uncertain, however, if Doughty was the right fit.

"Early on, we didn't know he would be the starter," Brohm said. "He had to compete and earn the starting job. He had had some injuries and some things hadn't gone his way."

He won the job in fall camp.

Doughty said he spent many hours on  and off the field learning Brohm's offensive system. He said he would stay up until 4 a.m. reciting plays and going over scripts with his then-girlfriend, now-fiancee Sydney Sisler.

"I had this little white board that I had, studying X's and O's and drawing things out," he said. "I would give the plays numbers and I'd ask her to give me a number and I'd tell her the play  I really toned in to our offense and really toned in to what we were trying to do. And I re-confirmed it with Coach Brohm."

The late-night homework helped. The season-opening game in 2013 was against Kentucky, played in Nashville at LP Field. He completed 27 of 34 passes for 271 yards in the Hilltoppers' 35-26 win. And although he set a school record for passing yardage (2,857) in 2013, neither he nor the WKU coaches were satisfied with his touchdown-interception (14-14) ratio.

"We had to eliminate his turnovers," said Brohm, who was promoted to head coach after the 2013 season. "A lot of it had to be with his willingness to extend the play. Sometimes when he got uncomfortable, he would throw the ball into coverage and  force things when they weren't there."

After Brohm's promotion, the Hilltoppers hired Tyson Helton to be the offensive coordinator and to work specifically with the quarterbacks.

"Brandon's an extremely accurate passer, so we try to develop passing routes that are suitable for him," Helton said. "He's a very good vertical passer, so we like to take shots with him. There's not a lot of quarterbacks who have that ability, most lose accuracy when the ball travels farther down the field, but he doesn't."

The Brohm-Helton-Doughty trio enabled the Hilltoppers to become the most prolific passing attack in college football in 2014. In the season-opening game, Doughty completed 46 of 56 passes for 569 yards and six touchdowns in a 59-31 win over Bowling Green.

In the 13-game schedule, he had just one dud - a 14 of 35 outing with four interceptions against Louisiana Tech.

"He looked at that and said, 'You know what, I had a really bad game,' and he focused on what he did wrong and fixed it," Helton said.

Doughty threw just two interceptions over the final five games while tossing 24 touchdowns, including eight in a 67-66 overtime win against Marshall and five in a bowl victory over Central Michigan.

After choosing against entering the 2014 NFL draft, Doughty spent the summer working to get even better. He attended the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La., a camp reserved for college's elite quarterbacks who have aspirations of playing in the NFL. He worked out with Penn State's Christian Hackenberg and Southern California's Cody Kesler, regarded as two of college football's best quarterbacks.

That brings us to Thursday's opener.

"We're going to have to play at a very high level because (Mason) does so many unorthodox things," Doughty said.

Reach Dave Ammenheuser at 615-259-8352 and on Twitter @NashSportsEd. 

DOUGHTY'S RECORDS

Brandon Doughty has set dozens of Western Kentucky passing records, including:

* Touchdown passes in a career (63)

* Completion percentage in a career (66.8, 635 of 951).

* Passing yards in a season (4,830)

* Completions in a season (375)

* Touchdown passes in a season (49)

* Completions in a game (46)

* Passing yards in a game (593)

* Touchdown passes in a game (8)

WESTERN KENTUCKY AT VANDERBILT

When: 7 p.m. Thursday

TV/radio: SEC Network/560-AM, 95.9 FM