Tyson Helton

Tyson Helton (born June 20, 1977) is an American college football coach and former quarterback. He is the head football coach for Western Kentucky University, a position he has held since 2019. He played college football at Houston from 1996 to 1999. and his older brother Clay Helton is the current head coach at Georgia Southern. Due to his father's career as a collegiate football coach, Helton was exposed to football from an early age. He played college football at Houston, where he played mostly as a backup. He joined the coaching ranks immediately upon graduation from college, working initially for June Jones as an assistant at Hawaii. He gradually worked his way through the ranks at various NCAA Division I schools before being named head coach at Western Kentucky in 2019.

Playing career A native of Gainesville, Florida, Helton played quarterback at Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas. He played college football at Houston from 1996 to 1999, during his father's tenure as the Cougars' head coach. As a backup quarterback, Helton completed 44 of 109 passes for 454 yards, 1 touchdown and 6 INTs during his career. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business in 1999.

Coaching career Helton began coaching as a graduate assistant at Hawaii under head coach June Jones in 2000, working primarily with special teams. The following season, he was hired as the Warriors' special teams coach. During this season, Hawaii led the nation in kickoff return yardage, averaging an NCAA record 30.3 yards per return. Chad Owens, who was among the players Helton coached on special teams, set school records for all-purpose yardage.

In November 2018, Helton was hired as the head football coach at Western Kentucky University.

Personal Helton and his wife, April, have four children: Shelby, Presley, and twins, Cole and Clay.

Head coaching record