Head Coach Willie Taggart announced on Monday that former Hilltopper Donte Pimpleton has been promoted to a full-time coach, and will handle wide receivers.

Pimpleton, who played both quarterback and receiver from WKU from 1998-2001, has been on the staff the last two season as an offensive assistant. Before coming back to the Hill, he served in a similar role at the University of Louisville.

“Donte will do a great job with our receivers,” said Taggart. “That’s an area in our program where we need to get better, and I think Donte is the guy that can get that done for us.“

A Louisville, Ky., native and graduate of Fern Creek High School, Pimpleton finished his career at WKU with 1,425 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. He also threw for a pair of scores in WKU’s run-first option offense, and caught 187 career passes for 265 yards and four scores. He earned honorable mention all-Gateway Football Conference honors following his senior season in 2001.

“I‘m thankful to Coach Taggart for giving me this opportunity. To be able to coach at the place I played is special,” said Pimpleton. “The good thing for me is that I‘ve been here for three years, so I know these receivers and we can hit the ground running. We have some talented guys that can make plays, and I’m excited to get to work with them every day.”

Pimpleton earned all-state honors at Fern Creek High School during his senior season. He set an FCHS record as a senior, throwing for 1,551 yards and 18 touchdowns, while also running for more than 700 yards.