The biggest difference between some of the positions listed on the Temple football roster this spring versus last year at this time is the return of the nose guard designation.

It’s been awhile and it might have something to do with the realization among the Temple brain trust that sending more bodies up the middle against the service academies takes away the fullback and forces action from sideline to sideline.

Matt Rhule learned that lesson the hard way in the 2016 opener as Phil Snow played a conventional 4-3 defense against Army and the Cadets were able to come away with a 28-16 win as the fullback ran at will up the middle.

To Rhule’s credit, he improvised and adjusted a dozen games later. Averee Robinson–a three-time Pennsylvania State champion heavyweight wrestler–took the nose in a 5-2 defense and dominated the Navy center. The Middies gave up the fullback that game and strung the pitches from sideline to sideline, where Temple’s superior and quicker athletes (including Hasson Riddick and Sean Chandler) were able to shut that down as well in a 34-10 championship win.

What were listed as DTs last year on the roster (there is no official depth chart listed yet) are now NGs and that’s a sign that the Owls are serious about beating the academies. Or at least more serious.

There are plenty of issue on the defensive line still. Among them who is going to be as effective a rush end as Cam Stewart? Who is going to replace Khalil Poteat, Sultan Badmas and Sekou Kromah?

In the opening spring press conference, head coach K.C. Keeler said that the Owls were able to “retain all of our starters” and he felt that Temple was the only team in the G5 able to do that. What he left out, though, was the fact that Kromah was a starter who left because he ran out of eligibility (and the oft-injured Badmus and Poteat were impact backups).

Now the Owls have to look for impact guys to replace them and there are question marks all over the place.

One of the exclamation points is that it looks like the Owls will go to a 5-2 with two DTs, a NG and two DEs which should help them up front against the service academies. The Owls have three nose guards vying for the starting job in the middle and those are Joseph Auzenne (6-1, 295), Penn State transfer Kaleb Artis (6-4, 315) and Troy Cunningham (6-3, 265). Auzenne has the most experience but his season high for tackles came in the Georgia Tech game (only three). Artis sat out the 2025 season with an injury and Cunningham waited until the last game of the season (North Texas) to see game action.

Other interiors include redshirt sophomore Russell Sykes is listed as a DT. He’s got the requisite size (6-3, 260) but he’s light on experience. He only had one sack and six tackles in the 2025 season.

Not a whole lot of real game experience except for the rush ends like All-Patriot League DE Jaylon Joseph (Lafayette) and Sam Houston State transfer JaMair Diaz, who was once DII Player of the Year at Glenville State. On paper, those might be upgrades over Poteat and Stewart.

Might.

The maddening thing is that we won’t know for sure this spring or even in the summer because between now and then it’s the good guys vs. the good guys.

As with a lot of positions on the 2026 Owls, we will have to wait until the real games are played.