Western Illinois University Athletics

Joshua Caraway returns for his third year as the special teams coordinator, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator for Leatherneck football.

In 2025, the Leatherneck tight ends flourished under Caraway’s guidance. Seniors Alex Williams and Brandon Lanier accounted for 38 total receptions, 433 yards, and 11 touchdowns for the year. Williams earned 2 nd Team OVC-Big South All-Conference honors for leading the entire conference in receiving touchdowns (8). On special teams, Caraway’s block units pushed the Necks to victory while ranking #11 in the nation in blocked punts and #16 in blocked kicks.

As Recruiting Coordinator, Caraway led an effort to post back-to-back top 25 FCS Transfer Portal Classes in 2025 and 2026 (Sports Illustrated). In addition, the Leathernecks were able to secure the #1 recruiting class in the OVC-Big South in 2025 (247 Sports). True freshman members of that #1 recruiting class included quarterback Cason Carswell and linebacker Justin Buckner—who won Offensive Freshman of the Year and Defensive All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2025, respectively.

In his first year on staff, WIU football won more games in 2024 than the team had won in the last five years combined. The Leatherneck offense led both the conference and nation in multiple categories. WIU finished the season ranking #1 in the conference in total offense, offensive touchdowns, first downs, 3 rd down conversion, passing offense, and passing efficiency.

The Leathernecks ranked nationally in passing offense (6th) and first downs (9th). On special teams, Kicker Antonio Chadha finished the season as the #2 point-scorer in the league while he and running back Cameron Smith were able to earn spots on the Phil Steele OVC-Big South All-Conference team as special teams players.

Before Western, Caraway brought seven years of championship FBS coaching experience to Macomb.

In 2023, Caraway spent one year at Liberty University as the special teams analyst. Caraway helped bring Flames football to unprecedented heights during their inaugural season within Conference USA. Liberty entered bowl season with a perfect 13-0 record and was one of four undefeated teams in the country, joining Florida State, Washington and eventual national champion Michigan. Caraway helped the Flames to an unblemished 8-0 regular season record in CUSA and a 49-35 win over New Mexico State in the CUSA Football Championship game.
     
The team’s success positioned the Flames to receive their first-ever invitation to play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Liberty squared off against No. 8 Oregon in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on January 1 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ.

Under Caraway’s leadership, kicker Nick Brown set a school record with 65 extra points, while Conference USA all-conference first team kick return specialist Aaron Bedgood ranked No. 35 in the country in combined kick returns (463 yards). Liberty’s defense on special teams was tough in 2023. The Flames ranked No. 7 in the country in kickoff return defense (allowing 15.24 yards per return) and No. 21 in punt return defense (allowing 4.50 yards per return).

Prior to coming to Liberty in 2023, Caraway served on the staff at Coastal Carolina for six seasons as the special teams analyst and as an offensive assistant (2017-22) while he helped foster the rapid growth of the Coastal Carolina football program at the FBS level and in the Sun Belt Conference.

Caraway aided the Chanticleers in achieving first-place finishes in the Sun Belt Conference in 2020 and 2022 (tied for first in East) and a 31-6 record over his last three seasons at CCU. He helped Coastal Carolina secure its first three FBS bowl game appearances at the 2020 and 2021 Cure Bowl and at the 2022 Birmingham Bowl—including the Coastal’s first bowl win in program history over Northern Illinois, 47-41, in the 2021 Tailgreeter Cure Bowl.

The Chanticleer special teams units thrived during Caraway’s six years at the Beach. In 2021 alone, Coastal was 1 st in the nation in blocked punts (4), 5 th in the nation in blocked kicks (5), and 1 st in the nation in punt return defense (0.00 yards per return). Wide Receiver Jaivon Heiligh earned 3 rd Team All-Conference honors as a return specialist.

Other special teams accolades during his tenure in Conway include ranking 7 th in the nation for punt returns in 2019 (15.25 yards per return) and 15 th in the nation for blocked kicks in 2020 (2) while also mentoring Sunbelt All-Conference honorees such as CJ Marable (1 st Team, All Purpose, 2019) and Massimo Biscardi (2 nd Team, Kicker, 2020 / 3rd Team, 2018).

Offensively, Caraway helped the Chants go from 5-7 in 2019 to 11-1 in 2020, 11-2 in 2021 and 9-4 in 2022. In each of his last four seasons, the offense has also ranked in the top-10 nationally in all of FBS in multiple statistical categories. 
     
In 2021, the Coastal offense outscored all their opponents 532-281 on the season, including totaling 100-plus points in each quarter on the year.
     
Coastal Carolina was one of only four teams to rank in the top 25 in both total offense (5th) and total defense (25th), one of only seven teams nationally to rank in the top 30 in both most first downs on offense (25th) and fewest first downs allowed on defense (27th), and one of only eight teams to rank in the top-25 in both scoring offense (5th) and scoring defense (25th).
         
The offense also finished the season ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (40.9 ppg) and was one of only five FBS schools to average over 40 points per game on the season.

During Caraway’s time at Coastal, the Chanticleers were ranked in the top 25 Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls for a total of 22 consecutive weeks from Oct. 18, 2020, through Nov. 7, 2021. The Chanticleers were also ranked as high as No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings in 2020, which set a Sun Belt record. With their back-to-back double-digit wins total in 2020 (11-1) and 2021 (11-2), Coastal Carolina was one of six teams at the FBS level to post back-to-back double-digit win seasons during the two-year span. The Chanticleers (22-3) were one of 10 teams to win 20-plus games over the same period: Alabama (26-2), Louisiana (23-2), Cincinnati (22-2), Coastal Carolina (22-3), Notre Dame (21-4), BYU (21-4), Georgia (22-3), Oklahoma (20-4), Oklahoma State (20-5), and Clemson (20-5).
      
In 2020, the Chanticleers won the program’s first-ever Sun Belt Conference title, posted an 11-1 overall mark, including an 8-0 Sun Belt Conference record, and played in the program’s first- ever FBS postseason bowl game.

The Chanticleers posted two wins over ranked FBS opponents, the first two such victories in program history, four wins over top 50 opponents. They were ranked as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 11 in the Amway Coaches Poll, both Sun Belt Conference records.
     
The 2020 season marked Coastal Carolina’s first-ever undefeated regular season and the first time that the Chanticleers were ranked in either the Associated Press Top 25 Poll or the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.

Before his time coaching at the division one ranks, Caraway began coaching collegiately at NAIA Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska. Working as a graduate assistant, Caraway coached the defensive line and assisted with special teams. Caraway helped oversee a turnaround at Midland that catapulted the Warriors from a 1-10 campaign in 2015 to a 6-4 finish in 2016.

Caraway began his coaching career as a high school football coach in Tennessee. His first year of coaching was in 2011 at Chester County High School in Henderson, TN, before a three-year stint at Brighton High School in Brighton, TN, from 2012-2014.

Caraway, who was a prep three-time state champion at Maryville High School in Maryville, TN, earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Secondary Education and English from Freed-Hardeman University in 2011 before earning his master’s in Educational Leadership from Midland University in 2016.

Caraway is married to the former Sara Maki, and they currently reside in Macomb with their dog,Tuna.
     
Caraway at a Glance
Coaching Experience:
2024 - Current – Western Illinois (ST Coordinator | TE | Recruiting Coordinator)
2023 – Liberty (Special Teams Analyst)
2017-22 – Coastal Carolina (Special Teams Analyst | Offensive Analyst)
2015-16 – Midland University (Graduate Assistant)
2012-14 – Brighton High School (TN) (Assistant Coach)
2011 – Chester County High School (TN) (Assistant Coach