Most national observers will tell you what Temple head football coach Stan Drayton did in replenishing the roster amounted to a Hail Mary.

Maybe that’s a good way to describe the state of the program which desperately needed an infusion of not only talent but big bodies.

Now we know who can deliver the pre-game prayer.

It’s the same guy who, in my mind, was almost as responsible for double-digit winning seasons in 2015 and 2016 as P.J. Walker, Tyler Matakevich and Matt Rhule.

Nick Sharga.

Sharga was named to the Priesthood last week. Looks like Nick will remain relatively close by as he will be stationed at Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, on Franklin Street in North Philly.

While the starting fullback for the Owls, Sharga opened gaping holes for both Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead and epitomized Temple TUFF. He also played half the game at defense (linebacker) in a 34-12 win over Memphis.

At Rhule’s Baylor press conference, he gave much of the credit for Temple’s success to Sharga, saying “we ditched the spread offense and went with an old pro style offense because we had an NFL fullback.”

Rhule said the Owls were successful using that system not just because of Sharga but because it was a scheme that chewed up the clock, and kept the ball out of the hands of the other offense. He also said that it was a perfect system for Temple because with a fullback and two tight ends no one else in college football was doing that and it was just as difficult to get ready for a Temple game week as it was for big-time teams getting ready for a triple-option service academy team.

Sometimes, something as simple as a scheme can be a great equalizer when there is a talent imbalance.

Temple benefited from that scheme and won a lot of games.

We can only pray the lightbulb comes on in the E-O again and the Owls’ braintrust realizes now what the coaches in that same building realized then.

Now we have the perfect guy to lead us in prayer.