"Iron sharpening iron, that is our mantra. If we go out there and we play hard for each other, that is a very unselfish act…"

🎥 Chasing Greatness: 2nd Quarter – Unselfish#TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/UpXAwbfm55

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) May 12, 2022

“You’re out of touch
I’m out of time
But I’m out of my head when you’re not around”

_ Temple grads Darryl Hall and John Oates in a 1984 No. 1 hit.

With the untimely departure of Lew Katz in an airplane crash and Bill Cosby in a scandal, Temple grad John Oates is probably the richest person alive who has publicly stated he cares about Temple football.

In a 2015 interview, Oates–who lives in Colorado and is reportedly worth $30 million–said he “watches every Temple game on TV” and is “thrilled with how far the program has come since I went there.”

Katz, who loved Temple football more than any rich guy ever, amassed a personal fortune of $467,000,000 before he died. Cosby’s last fortune estimate was made in the 2008 Time Magazine piece when “America’s Dad” had $365 million in his checking account. Katz’s son, Drew, is on the Temple Board of Trustees but doesn’t share the same enthusiasm for Temple football his dad did.

That leaves Oates.

Had to think about John, who was basically the lyric writer in the famous music duo, when researching Stan Drayton’s post-Cherry and White game promise about bringing in “a couple of quarterbacks” to compete for the job with current starter D’wan Mathis.

“I’m out of time but I’m out of my head when you’re not around.”

Back in mid-April, had to be thinking about Florida portal guy Emory Jones and Pitt portal guy Davis Beville looking for a team where they could start right away.

They were available for Temple then. They are not now. Jones signed with Arizona State and Beville went to Oklahoma, where he might be the starting quarterback at Temple in 2024.

Temple?

Holding an empty bag so far.

What, exactly, did Drayton mean when he said “I’m bringing in a couple of guys” to compete for the starting job?

Even if you concede one of those guys was incoming freshman Elijah Warner, son of the current richest Temple football dad (Kurt, who, like Oates, has $30 million stashed away) that leaves us short a guy.

Listen, I like Mathis. I love his skill set.

I don’t like his history of fragility nor do I like what Temple currently has behind him.

Without insulting those kids by name, they are Villanova-level backups, not Temple-level starters.

Surely, Drayton must realize this.

That begs the question: What does Drayton have in mind?

We will find out soon or not at all. It’s the next big story on the Temple football horizon and it needs to be written.

We are running out of time and they (or he) is not around.

I’m not out of my head yet but will be if he’s not around on September 2.