Could this be THE guy? Err, no

Close but no cigar.

That’s the best analogy I can come up with. Over the last few years, missed some of my buddies who used to be regulars at the tailgate when I walked over to their area and was told by a few people that they would skip this game or that game because they were watching it at a cigar shop.

Hmm.

Don’t blame them.

This was a solid group who tailgated every winning year at every home game in one corner of Lot K. No better fans of a team on the planet than those guys, mostly a group who played for Wayne Hardin in the late 1970s.

They were beaten down by 1-6, 3-9, 3-9, and 3-9 as were many of the most loyal Temple fans.

The cigar analogy applies this week as well.

Kajiya Hollawayne committed to Temple and that represents the closest quarterback skill set that the football Owls need right now.

Temple needs a quarterback who can both run and pass and a Power 4 recruit, at one time, Hollawayne was just that.

Close, but no cigar. Which probably mean half the tailgates this fall will be at the cigar shop, not Lot K.

The no cigar part is that Hollawayne has given up on the quarterback position and has designs on the next level as a wide receiver. Like most talented guys, he has a shot at that but receiving is not the position most in need at Temple right now.

Quarterback is.

Toledo and Liberty are getting their money’s worth. Temple is not.

Guys like Dante Wright and Zae Baines are two of the best receivers in the AAC right now and while Hollawayne adds a nice supplemental piece to that room, the major need is a guy who could once do what Hollawayne did–see the field, create some space for the wide receivers by his ability to scramble and make explosive plays in the downfield passing game.

The plan right now is for Hollawayne to be a wide receiver but the simple fact is that Temple doesn’t have a quarterback in the building now who did at the QUARTERBACK position what Hollawayne once did. Put it this way: Do you trust a guy who was recruited by Rutgers over a guy who was recruited by UCLA at the same position?

I don’t.

I’ll take a Chip Kelly quarterback recruit over a Greg Schiano one any day of the week.

Yet I do trust Hollawayne’s decision to convert to wide receiver which can only mean one thing.

Temple has no more than three months to find a guy with a Hollawayne skill set to play the quarterback position.

Or all of those great receivers will be waving their hands looking for a ball that won’t be coming their way.

Monday: Grasping at a short straw

4 thoughts on “Could this be THE guy? Err, no

  1. Mike, How about break down that chart a little more? Drayton and his staff lack of recruiting skill is evident and we are all well aware of his acceptance of his DC’s abysmal performance. I’m blown away that we have the biggest football budget in the AAC and are only $2M shy of Syracuse spend. I’ve been hearing for a long time our lack of funding has been our big issue. Am I not understanding the chart correctly?

    • The school is running on auto pilot until we get a new President. They have all that football money budgeted. When he/she puts his reading glasses on and checks out the balance sheet, the program could be in trouble. Winning cures all and that doesn’t appear imminent.

  2. What should TU do with the E-O complex? Bring back baseball, or men’s lacrosse?

    Neither!

    TU Athletics should use dropping football as an opportunity to reset and build. Drop football AND a women’s sport. Make the budget stronger.

    Turn E-O into a soccer center of excellence.

  3. Spending on football at Temple is ridiculous especially considering the lousy results. It’s the reason Temple dropped quite a few sports every other school fields (and don’t try to convince me otherwise). If we were winning and in bowl games consistently I might feel differently – but Temple’s overall athletic program is anemic compared to almost every other school, in Philly, in the AAC, nationwide – even small schools.

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