Saboor Karriem: Temple football’s spring sensation

This is the type of guy Temple would have never had a chance to recruit in the pre-portal era.

Shockingly, there is a flip side of the portal.

Not enough to overcome the other side, which is really bad, but enough to open some eyes.

Flip side, meet Saboor Karriem.

Saboor Karriem kicked USC’s ass last year with 10 tackles (7 solos) in a win over the No. 21-ranked team in the country. Maybe he can do the same to Matt Campbell’s first Penn State team.\

Remember that name. It’s pronounced SUH BOR KUH REEM and he’s going to make a lot of plays on the field for the 2026 Temple Owls.

Our motto on this website has always been and always will be judge players not by their potential but by what they have done.

That’s why we’re not big fans of the current quarterback room but are big fans of the running back room, offensive line and wide receiver room.

Now add at least one safety to that equation.

Karriem wowed the camp with at least one interception where he flew airborne, caught the ball, and landed with both feet inbounds closing on a ball he had no business getting to in the first place. That’s athleticism personified. A tremendously athletic play a Big 10 impact player would make and maybe not someone even an American Conference stalwart could do.

Karriem is the sensation of spring camp which started three weeks ago. On the day after he had that interception, he locked down an exceptional Temple wide receiver group.

He’s pretty much done the same thing all spring from a safety position.

As good as Karriem is, OwlsDaily.com’s Shawn Pastor has him listed as No. 2 on his mock safety depth chart behind last year’s starter, Avery Powell. That’s a good thing, not a bad one. Powell was game captain against Charlotte (a 48-14 win), intercepted Owen McCown in a 27-21 win over UTSA and tied for first in the nation (not the conference) in three fumbles recovered.

Something tells me a coach as accomplished as K.C. Keeler might find a way to get both on the field at the same time for Temple.

While Powell might have been the kind of guy Temple got in the past, Karriem is not and maybe that kind of talent infusion will make a difference.

Hell, we hope so.

Monday: Temple’s Kyle Schwarber

Leave a comment