Relentless 😤#TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/5Wuyxjrbyn

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) August 16, 2024

Nobody other than staff or players and coaches and maybe some University of Pennsylvania facility personnel were allowed at Temple football’s latest scrimmage at Franklin Field.

So getting information out of there was almost impossible.

Fortunately, Temple offers videos and some snippets of what happened last week during practice both on Owlsports.com and its twitter feed so we’re able to read some things between the lines roughly a dozen days before the first game at Oklahoma (7 p.m., ESPN).

One, there might not be single digits--Head coach Stan Drayton said he’s not ready to give out single digits and doesn’t say when he will be.

In some past years, it’s been strictly a vote of the players but former head coach Rod Carey changed that tradition to a vote of the coaches.

Drayton says this will be determined by a hybrid of player and coaching voting but not until the coaches are comfortable with the process. So far, he’s not and one of the reasons he wants to see the Owls under game conditions so the next logical step would be to hand out the single digits after the Oklahoma game.

Two, he will wait to determine the starting quarterback–It appears it’s down to Evan Simon and Forrest Brock, but Simon reportedly went 7-for-7 with a touchdown pass at Franklin Field so maybe it’s his job to lose. Logically, he started some games at Rutgers–and even had a 300-yard passing game in the Big 10–so he didn’t transfer here to sit again.

Three, the offensive line appears to be the strength of the team–It certainly has the best position coach in Chris Wiesehan and brought in some big bodies but the biggest clue is that there are no injuries along the line and depth and size seems to be the best it has been since the 2019 season.

Four, a lot of running backs could be in the rotation–When interviewed last week, RB coach and Temple veteran Tyree Foreman said Joquez Smith “had to be taken off the field” in passing situations but “that is no longer the case.” Smith has made the next step but Foreman hasn’t named a starter just yet saying that four players–including FIU transfer E.J. Wilson and Maryland transfer Antwain Littleton–are also in the mix. He calls Lackawanna JC transfer Terrez Worthy a “home-run hitter.” Worthy, a former Big 33 MVP, was the leading rusher in all of JUCO football last year.

Five, the pass rush is 100 percent improved–Injuries and the coaching staff’s failure to use all of their scholarships last year made the Owls move linebackers to the line and that didn’t work out. The Owls made a concerted effort to use their resources for big linemen and, as a result, the pass rush has been a highlight. Look for Tre Thomas and Diwan Black to get a lot of sacks.

Will it be enough to beat Oklahoma?

Err, no.

Will it be enough to be competitive in the more important AAC games?

That’s to be determined.

Friday: Likely scenarios

Monday: Game Week