Author Archives: Mike Gibson

02.05.14
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Temple 2014 Recruiting Class

Click on bios to read more about the players below ...

Click on bios to read more about the players below … and then the back arrow on your browser to view the next player.

Back when Temple played UCLA, I had an Epiphany.
Watching that game on that brutally cold afternoon, one thought kept occurring to me over and over.
“Geez, their talent level is so much better than ours.”
Because no matter how hard Temple huffed and puffed, things seemed to come relatively easy to the UCLA players even in an environment far away from the friendly Southern California beaches.
Yes, Temple had a 21-10 lead at halftime and, yes, Temple’s top player (Bernard Pierce) left the game with that darn sensitive hamstring of his, but the players UCLA had kept coming in waves.
Hopefully, I thought then, Temple’s talent level will do the same to another overachieving team someday.
Today might have been one of those days.
The Owls filled areas of need in pass rushers and defensive backs. Pass rushing seems to come easy to the Michael Dogbes and Jacob Martins of the world. The same can be said for defending the pass for the top DBs the Owls recruited. The Owls got one four-star offensive lineman, Aaron Ruff of Philadelphia’s Imhotep Prep.
The day Matt Rhule was hired as Temple head coach Donald Hunt of the Philadelphia Tribune asked Rhule if he was going to sign the city kids and Rhule remembered that today at the press conference. Hunt asked the first question. It was about Ruff.
“I could not wait to see you and say I signed Aaron Ruff from the city,” Rhule said. “Not every kid in the city is going to want to come to Temple but I want every young man to feel that Temple is a good place for them.”
Also, for the third-straight year, Temple signed a Newark Star-Ledger New Jersey State player of the year. This year, it’s Dogbe, a 247-pound defensive lineman who benches 415 pounds.
Coaches coach, but players win games and now the Owls have the players.
Hopefully soon, it will be enough to win big bowl games.

Temple Football 2014 Recruiting Class

  1. Cequan Jefferson | DB | Richmond, Va. – Bio
  2. Shahid Lovett | DB | Vineland, N.J. – Bio
  3. Derrek Thomas | WR | Albany, N.Y. –Bio
  4. Alex Wells | DB | Baltimore, Md.- Bio
  5. Michael Dogbe | DE | Morris Plains, N.J. – Bio
  6. James McHale | OL | Dunmore, Pa. – Bio
  7. Ventell Bryant  | WR | Tampa, Fla. – Bio
  8. Shamir Bearfield | DB | Jersey City, N.J. – Bio
  9. Lenny Williams | QB | McKees Rocks, Pa. – Bio
  10. David Hood | RB | Galloway, N.J. – Bio
  11. Aaron Ruff | OL | Philadelphia, Pa. – Bio
  12. Frank Nutile | QB | Ramsey, N.J. – Bio
  13. Sean Chandler | DB | Camden, N.J. – Bio
  14. Freddie Booth-Lloyd | DL | Cocoa, Fla. – Bio
  15. Anthony Davis | DB | Monroeville,Pa. – Bio
  16. Jaelin Robinson | OL | New Haven, Conn. – Bio
  17. Derrick Ingram | WR | Tampa, Fla. – Bio
  18. Brodrick Yancy | WR | Bradenton, Fla. – Bio
  19. Brenon Thrift | DL | Monroeville, Pa. – Bio
  20. Jyquis Thomas  |DB | Plant City, Fla. – Bio
  21. Jacob Martin | DL | Aurora, Colo. – Bio
  22. Delvon Randall | WR | Monroeville, Pa. – Bio
  23. Jared Folks | LB | Harrisburg, Pa. – Bio
  24. Matt Eaton | WR | Pascagoula, Miss. – Bio
  25. Khiry Lucas | DB | Cleveland, Miss. – Bio
02.04.14
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The company you keep

Rivals.com's list of Temple commits (above and below)

Rivals.com’s list of Temple commits (above and below)

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You are pretty much judged by the company you keep.

So it is with the Temple recruiting class of 2014.

By all accounts, it will be a good class. Will it be ranked  by any of the three services (Rivals, Scout or 247) as high as No. 55?

Probably not, but we won’t know for sure until 3 or 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon when all of the faxes with the LOIs will be received at the E-O.

signingdaysnip

Click over the black image above for a TV link to coverage of the faxes coming in starting at 7 a.m.

Fifty-five is a magical number, because that’s how high Steve Addazio’s 2012 recruiting class was ranked and that was the highest-ever in the history of Temple. Addazio was able to put that class together even after a few great  recruiting classes by Al Golden, who had three straight recruiting classes ranked No. 1 in the MAC.

Of course, current head coach Matt Rhule was part of putting together those classes and now he appears to have put together a good one.

More than whether the class is ranked No. 55 or better is really not as important as how many guys Temple signed who were “offered by” BCS schools and not “received interest by.” When the bios start coming in, that’s a thing to pay special attention to before judging.

If Temple beats out a guy who was offered by say, Stony Brook and Kent State, that’s not as impressive as  Penn State and Rutgers.

If Temple gets a late commit who turned down a Sun Belt school to take a Temple scholarship, that’s not as impressive as Temple beating out a Big 12 school (as it did when a West Virginia commit flipped at the last minute two years ago).

There will be those who say “trust the coaches” but I say “trust, by verify.” If more successful coaches than 2-10 coaches like our recruits, I will be impressed.

Let’s hope that’s the case once the faxes start rolling in and Temple gets guys who can play anywhere. We should know by this time Wednesday night.

01.22.14
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McNair Would Be A Great Addition to Rhule’s staff

Todd McNair, coaching the Cleveland Browns, has Temple running through his blood.

Todd McNair, coaching the Cleveland Browns, has Temple running through his blood.

A little over a year ago, then Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw walked into a room full of Temple football players and told them their head coach at the time, Steve Addazio, was leaving for Boston College.

Partly out of courtesy, partly out of curiosity, Bradshaw asked the team what they thought he should do.  The players shouted out one thing: “Hire Matt Rhule.” Bradshaw had other ideas, even mentioning to several fans that it was his desire this time to get a guy with winning head coaching experience.

Paul Darragh finished his first season as head coach at Bloomsburg with a 10-2 record.

Paul Darragh finished his first season as head coach at Bloomsburg with a 10-2 record.

As it turned out, though, what the players had to say carried an awful lot of weight when Bradshaw was weeding through the interview process. Like a couple of years before, Rhule interviewed well and was liked by more than just the players. The parents also liked him, as did some key administrators who remembered Rhule’s time as an assistant coach for both Addazio and the guy before him, Al Golden.

In the end, Rhule’s knowledge of the program and the kids and that support won Bradshaw over. That, and the fact at least one other key target was coaching his team in a bowl game and did not want to give that up to get to Temple early enough to secure a shaky recruiting class.

Rhule had a rough first year, going 2-10, but he has secured a couple of decent recruiting classes and one of the only things left for him to do is to hire a guy or two with Temple connections as a key position coach. It’s one thing to have Temple-made guys like former quarterback Adam DiMichele and former safety Kevin Kroboth as grad assistants, but it might be helpful to get a guy from Temple as a position coach as well.

I think the next step for a guy like Matt Rhule is to hire an assistant coach with Temple ties to a winning past, a guy like Paul Darragh or Todd McNair. Darragh finished the season as a 10-2 head coach at Bloomsburg University and McNair was one the offensive coordinator for powerhouse USC under Pete Carroll. McNair, a NFL running back, was also an assistant coach with the Cleveland Browns. Other coaches with Temple backgrounds include (but are not limited to) Dick Beck, the North Penn High School head coach and Rich Drayton, the Central High School head coach.

Even the Florida Gators once feared Todd McNair.

Even the Florida Gators once feared Todd McNair.

I thought about Todd the other day when  he posted that he was happy with the addition of Elijah Robinson to the Temple staff. I thought, “Why not Todd?” Todd is a great guy and a great coach who has a National Championship under his belt at USC and, while at Temple, played in a game against defending national champion BYU in front of 52,945 at Veterans Stadium. (Temple lost that game, 26-24.)

Why not indeed? He would be a great role model for the present-day Temple kids.

You can never have too many good coaches on the staff, especially guys with “Temple-made” stamped on their farheads.

01.05.14
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Penn State will get a great coach in Al Golden

While a James Franklin hire will be better for Temple fans, Penn State fans should not fret over landing Al Golden.

While a James Franklin hire will be better for Temple fans, Penn State fans should not fret over landing Al Golden.

When his coaching career is over,  Al Golden is going to sit down in front of his laptop and type the story of his life.

Like another coach who served time at Temple University, he’s already got the title of his book:  Deserve Victory. When John Chaney coached basketball at the school, one of his favorite phrases was “Winning Is An Attitude” and that turned out to be a best-selling book about Chaney, who found his way into college basketball’s Hall of Fame.

Sometime on Monday, Al Golden is likely (though not certain) to be named head  football coach at Penn State and even though he was a Nittany Lion football captain, very few Penn State fans know a lot about Al Golden. Temple fans, of which I count myself among the few and proud, do know a lot about him because his life was an open book for his five years of transforming the football program at that school.

Golden carried a binder around with him for all of those five years and, on the front cover, were the words: Deserve Victory. In its pages, were detailed notes on how to build a winning football program,  from hiring a staff to recruiting to dealing with the fans and the media and minute details on how both spring and summer practices are organized. There was even a part in there on the importance of summer football camps.

As a Temple football fan, I got to know Al Golden during those five years and, while no man is perfect, Penn State could get no better man to lead its football program. His attention to detail is impeccable. When he walks into a recruit’s home, he usually closes the deal and he’s coached at two places where the home stadium is usually half-full. That won’t exist at Penn State.

Does he have flaws? Sure. He’s not a great game day  coach, but there are very few of those around anyway. The current Temple head coach makes him look like Albert Einstein on game day.  If Penn State announces Al Golden as its next head coach in a press conference on Monday afternoon, it will be getting a very good head coach with a lot of great chapters left to write.

Take it from a Temple fan who saw his work up close and personal for five very good years.

01.02.14
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Recruiting: Embrace it or Fail

Arguably, the jewel of this recruiting class is cornerback Anthony Davis of Gateway and probably not arguable is that cornerback is the one position where Temple needs immediate help.

Say what you will about Matt Rhule and we haven’t been shy about saying a few thousand words about him over the last few months, the facts of life in college sports start with a head coach who excels in recruiting.

Sure, you need a little bit on the ball on game day but, if you have better players, you are usually going to make the better plays.

247Sports' AAC recruiting rankings.

247Sports’ AAC recruiting rankings.

Back to Rhule, though. The guy’s most positive trait is that he’s embraced recruiting pretty much like Al Golden did and that’s a very good development for Temple football going forward. Kids like him and he seems to like hopping aboard airplanes and trains to solidify relationships. He’s also good on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter and that’s just part of the recruiting game these days. For all of those reasons, I think Rhule will hold together a pretty good recruiting class and have Temple ranked No. 3 or  No. 4 in the AAC in recruiting this season. That’s outstanding coming off a 2-10 season because a belief system that would have been there for 10-2 doesn’t exist at 2-10. At 2-10, you are asking kids to come to your school based on blind faith.

One of the reasons Bill O’Brien left Penn State was that I don’t think a whole lot of guys who spend extended time in the NFL have a zeal for recruiting. Reading between the lines of O’Brien’s comments today, it looks like he saw it as a necessary but not exciting part of the job. O’Brien also seemed miffed with the “Joe Paterno” faction of the Penn State fans.

Now he just has to concentrate on football and I think he will do a good job as head coach of the Texans.

Matt Rhule has got to get better on game day and I thought one step in that direction would have been hiring part-time CBS Sports Analyst Tom Bradley to be his new full-time defensive coordinator. That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, but Penn State defensive line coach (and great recruiter) Larry Johnson is out there and probably will be looking for a job soon and Temple so happens to have an opening for a defensive line coach. (Unless, of course, Johnson goes to the pros.)

Seems like a no-brainer to me but a lot of things seemed like no-brainers this season that turned into brainers.