One outsider’s view of the Temple top 10

I don’t get the “7-6 record” in 2024 at the top of these stats. I wish it wasn’t 3-9.

In this age of no good reason, reason sometimes lacks logic.

An outsider takes a look at Temple football and gives his top 10 players and an insider, like me, looks at the same roster and comes up with another 10.

Take the outsiders with a grain of salt, though.

The guy in the above video puts Evan Simon at the top of his 10 but makes only a passing (no pun intended) mention of a newcomer who was the starting quarterback at Oregon State last year.

Gevani McCoy started nine games at quarterback for Oregon State. When was the last time Temple recruited a guy like that?

No bigger Evan Simon fan than me but I think Gevani McCoy has a real good chance to beat him out.

Do I think he does?

Let the field decide that.

Here’s my top 10 Temple players this year, knowing that it could (and probably will) be a different list at the end of the year:

  1. Gevani McCoy–You don’t bring in a starter from a recent P5 program to put him on the bench and he more fits the kind of the kind of pass-first, tuck-the-ball-away and run if nothing is there offense new head coach K.C. Keeler wants to run.
  2. Simon–A terrific player and a team leader who loves Temple and his teammates love him. I will never forget in a 52-6 blowout loss to Tulane, Simon fumbled the ball and crawled on all fours for five yards to cover a meaningless fumble. His teammates appreciated that. Hell, for someone who invested nearly four hours in watching that disaster, I appreciate that as a Temple fan. If McCoy–who allowed himself to be sacked 15 times last year in nine games–goes down, I have no doubt Simon can lead the Owls to a bowl game. Heck, if he beats McCoy out in the summer, I have no doubt Keeler will do the right thing for Temple and start Simon.
  3. Demereck Morris–This solid DT, a single-digit guy, transferred to Oklahoma State and decided that the grass isn’t always greener than the artificial ones at Chodoff Field.
  4. Antonio Jones–This wide receiver is tough as nails and, although listed as backup on the depth chart now, he doesn’t drop passes and can be a big play threat.
  5. Grayson Mains–This center from South Carolina was the anchor of the offensive line last year and should benefit from better coaching.
  6. John Adams–Should start opposite Jones as wide receiver. Showed his explosiveness in a 59-34 loss vs. USTA two years ago when he caught two touchdown passes and amassed 157 yards. Blocked a punt for a TD with his long arms that should have won the UConn game last year if the idiot in charge had called for a Sam Cunningham leap with Terrez Worthy instead of a tush push with a 160-pound backup quarterback.
  7. Worthy--Speaking of that, Keeler brought in Jay Ducker, who was the leading rusher at both Memphis and Sam Houston State before coming to Temple. More importantly to me, Worthy SHOULD have been the starter at Temple last year if Stan Drayton didn’t have a brain cramp and start E.J. Wilson in the first three games. Keeler’s only objection with Ducker’s great spring camp was his lack of finishing speed. Worthy has that.
  8. Ryder Kusch–The Canadian tight end was the star of spring practice for Temple, joining another foreign player (Peter Clarke, UK) as pleasant surprises. Both are immune to the transfer portal and the NIL since they can’t benefit from it so they will be here for the long haul
  9. Daniel Evert–also a tight end, Evert made a beautiful move in the middle of the field for a long touchdown against Army. If you want to jumpstart the old Temple-type running game, put Kusch and Evert in a two-tight end set and have more blockers at the point of attack than defenders.
  10. Ty Davis--Delaware’s best linebacker of last year is ready to step up and become Temple’s of this year.

2 thoughts on “One outsider’s view of the Temple top 10

    1. McCoy or Simon
    2. Carl Hardin
    3. Jay Ducker
    4. Demerick Morris
    5. Kevin Terry
    6. Jalen Stewart
    7. Ben Osueke
    8. Eric Stuart
    9. CamRon Stewart
    10. John Adams
    • Yes. I would have put him there except all his field goals are in practice. If he hits, say, 10 of his first 14 in actual games, definitely deserves to be there. Guys like Jones, Simon, Worthy, etc. have done great things in real games.

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