07.27.15
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Good Sign: Robby Anderson Sighting

Robby Anderson is on the far right, wearing his familiar No. 19.

Robby Anderson is on the far right, wearing his familiar No. 19.

Anyone who went to the Elmwood Park Zoo yesterday got a good sighting of a beast Penn State should fear the most and we’re not talking about a charging Rhino or an Alligator here.

Look who P.J.'s right-hand man is ....

Look who P.J.’s right-hand man is ….

We’re talking about Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson (and, yes, it is now officially Robby; more on that later). That has got to a be a good sign because Temple Summer Session II classes end on Friday and grades are released on Aug. 3. Temple head coach Matt Rhule said Anderson’s eligibility is tied to those Summer II grades. (His Summer I grades were more than acceptable.) This is not a case like Bernard Pierce in 2009, when the NCAA Clearinghouse waited until the week before the Villanova game to approve Pierce’s participation as a true freshman. In Pierce’s case, the NCAA was concerned about the Glen Mills’ course load, which was later approved. Pierce had 44 yards on six carries in his first college game. Had this issue been cleared up before then, he probably would have started and went for 100 plus.

robster

There is that best helmet in college football again with the buckle allowing the ‘][‘ to be clearly shown.

Penn State cannot cover him and I doubt it can even hope to contain him.

 

In Anderson’s case, his community college courses done in Florida were enough for him to be re-admitted to Temple and now his eligibility is tied to how he does here.

For Rhule to even allow Anderson to participate in a team function has to be a sign that the coach is satisfied with Anderson’s academic progress.

(Now to the spelling of Robby’s first name: Since he is now spelling it Robby, instead of Robbie, on his twitter account, that’s how we will spell it here henceforth and Temple Football Forever. Or at least until he changes his twitter account back to Robbie.)

Why is Anderson’s eligibility so important? Temple did not have a single game-changing offensive player Penn State could fear a year ago. Anderson is just such a player and his very presence in the Penn State game makes quarterback P.J. Walker a game-changing player and it makes running back Jahad Thomas a game-changing player and possibly SEC-talent-level tight end Colin Thompson a game-changing player. Heck, he makes Romond Deloatch more dangerous in the red zone. In my mind, Temple beats Penn State with him and it would be very difficult to win this game without him. Penn State cannot cover him I doubt it can even hope to contain him.

So, while Sept. 5 is the most important date in Temple football history, Aug. 3d is shaping up to be pretty darn important, too. Robby Anderson being at the Zoo made July 26th a good day for Temple football, just how good will be determined soon.

18 thoughts on “Good Sign: Robby Anderson Sighting”

  1. Nice article Mike. Anything about the kid from Pitt? Also, the kid from Hawaii should make more of an impact given that he’s got a full year under his belt.

    Reply

  2. we know what the defense is gonna do. the offense is the key and Robby is vital to it. Gonna be an exciting year. can’t wait until Sept. 5th

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  3. Hi Mike –

    this is an open email and a request to all Temple friends, family, and alumni in the DC metro area. We have formed a committee called the DC Angels to promote The Temple Athletic Program. Please join us at our inaugural event which will be a donation dinner in November held at the National Geographic Society HQs in downtown DC to coincide with the the Temple – North Carolina basketball game in Annapolis that weekend.

    The dinner will be held on a Friday night, and Temple Football plays UCF on Florida on Saturday. Many of us are planning to fly to Florida after the dinner. Coach Dunphy is scheduled to be our guest speaker, Thoebald will be in Florida.

    Kristian Graves is our POC from Temple Athletics coordinating the event. the NGS is a great DC venue for this type of function. Please contact Kristain Graves at tuf1448@temple.edu, or myself at kj101941@gmail.com if interested. We have decided to do whatever we can to move Temple Athletics to a Power Five Conference, beating PSU would surely help. We need Robby Anderson and for two freshman to crack the first team and play like champions

    Go Temple, Beat Penn St!

    best!
    kj

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    • fabulous idea. we had Chicago alumni on top of Wrigley yesterday and an active group in LA and I personally attended a meet and greet with the New York alumni a couple of years ago (I was in New York that day to audition for the Who Wants to be a Millionaire show) but the DC alumni (a couple of guys I know from Lot K and even more I met at the Eagle Bank Bowl) might be the most active and loyal group.

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  4. Probably a high school John is familiar with (I think Billy Cunningham’s alma mater):

    JAHSEN WINT (a strong Temple lean)
    College ChoicesScouting ReportLatest NewsStats
    Rivals Rating
    RANKINGS
    POSITION NATIONAL STATE
    NO RATING NO RATING NO RATING
    Rivals Rating About

    Athlete
    Brooklyn, New York
    Erasmus Hall Campus
    View Map
    Ht:5’11”
    Wt:182 lbs
    Shuttle:4.48
    Vertical:32 inches
    Class:2016 (High School)

    Reply

  5. Mike, I’m a if Robbie Anderson fan and if Adonis can play that certainly helps our cause but I don’t think it puts us over the top. Psu has much better special teams and our O-line needs to tighten up to give PJ time he didn’t have last year. Unless there’s a shift in the offensive scheme that gives PJ time and he finds a rythym I think we’re looking at covering the spread but losing he game…where have you gone john Rienstra?

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  6. Matt Rhule should have been throwing out the first pitch tonight, not James Franklin.

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    • they should wait until after 9/5. winner gets to throw out the first pitch.

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    • And what made it worse was the gushing by the announcers and the implication that they are the only D-1 team in Pa. I just hope we beat them, which would make the three hour car ride back to the sticks that much longer. There are no excuses this year given the talent the team suddenly has on offense even if the line is average.

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      • It all comes down to game planning and game day coaching. Let’s hope Coach Rhule has learned enough to get the job done. I want him to succeed.

  7. Nothing would please me more than coach Rhule succeeding. Coaching football is not rocket science. A little more protection in the pocket for P.J. in the form of a blocking fullback who has P.J.’s back, a guy who could lead the way for a tailback through the hole, then faking it into the tailgate’s belly and finding open receivers all over the place would work wonders not only for Matt’s rep but Temple. Love to see it happen.

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  8. this year is all about how well the offensive line can man-up, FGs, and game day adjustments… Temple has the talent on defense and weapons on offense to win no less than 8 games this year..,

    can our offensive line stay healthy, move people off the line of scrimmage, and protect PJ?

    can we make FGs inside the 40?

    and, can we make game day adjustments to put our players in the right formations and positions to excel?

    if this team plays disciplined football 8 wins and a bowl game are guaranteed.

    going into the season this is the most talented Temple Football Team in the last 25 years

    Reply

    • the only thing that would piss me off is that if we went back to that Tennessee-Chattanooga bullshit that we tried to pull off last year (empty backfields for P.J., leading to numerous sacks by blitzing linebackers). I think this Austin Jones kid is going to be a really good kicker. Not worried about him.

      Reply

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