08.09.26
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Keeler’s statement about Kromah is telling

The more one hears K.C. Keeler talk, the more impressed you have to be with the guy. That goes both for his opening day press conference a week ago and his talk with Temple grad Zach Gelb (above).

Take the saga of defensive lineman Sekou Kromah, who committed to Rutgers on Sunday.

Temple got Evan Simon (12) from Rutgers and now is sending Sekou Kromah (58) to Rutgers.

Owlsdaily.com editor Shawn Pastor asked the question a week ago and the Temple coach didn’t dance around it, saying it would be his preference that Kromah lands at another place because the “process happened too late” and “we really don’t have a spot for him” and the Temple defensive line was so much better than it was a year ago that he didn’t see a role for Kromah.

“I can’t believe the job our recruiting staff did recruiting defensive linemen,” Keeler said. “We feel there are 10 that can start for us. That’s how good we feel about our defensive line. That defensive line will be the surprise of our conference.”

The implication was clear. What Temple has now along the defensive line is significantly better than last year and Kromah was part of that inferior line last year. Keeler didn’t want to interrupt the chemistry among those 10 “starters.”

That said, Keeler also noted that if Kromah didn’t find a spot, the Owls would be obligated to take him back in some capacity and would probably do so.

Well, both Kromah and Keeler got what they wanted with him landing at a P4 school and you can only wish the best for Kromah in this matter.

Selfishly, as a Temple fan, I wanted him to come back because you can’t have too much depth on both the offensive and defensive lines and at worst Kromah would have supplied that depth piece. At best, he would battle to earn his starting job back.

Interesting that Evan Simon, who was a backup at Rutgers, shined as a starter here and John Stone, who came from Rutgers, was called one of the two best offensive lineman with the Owls now (the other being returning center Grayson Mains). Sam Brown is running with the first team as the featured back and that’s impressive because the Owls have a couple of returning players with plenty of time.

So effectively, at least this year, the Owls have “traded” Sekou Kromah to Rutgers for John Stone and Sam Brown.

You have to like that deal, giving up a backup DT for a starting guard and a starting running back.

That’s all on paper. What happens on the field in a real game is way more important and we will see that in a few weeks.

Friday: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

2 thoughts on “Keeler’s statement about Kromah is telling”

  1. A healthy Kromah would have been a force multiplier for the D-line. Bottom line is Temple didn’t have the NIL to match a P4 offer.

    Let’s not be fooled. Keeler believes the D-line to be much improved. Maybe so, but compared to what? The D-line last year was league average at best. This year’s version has been going against an O-line in practice. Practice, not a game, but practice. This new D-line needs game tape. Kromah had good game tape.

    Temple will start one the lightest pair of offensive tackles in the American. The Temple tackles are lighter than the FCS 2024 Montana St starting tackles. Yes, the D-line has been manhandling a pair of light tackles in practice. It’s a leap to say they are going to be one of the biggest surprises in the American.

    Reply

    • “Trust but verify.” It’s not only what Reagan said to Gorbachev in Iceland but how I view any development with Temple football. We’ve already had some verification. This offensive line, the same one that blocked Navy for over 500 yards of total offense, had virtual standoffs last spring and last summer with the defensive line. Now Keeler’s biggest worry is that they can’t block his own defensive line. Did the OL regress? Doubt it. So the only logical conclusion is the DL was significantly upgraded. Based on that, I’m going to trust Keeler here.

      Reply

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