On the day major league baseball resumed after the all-star break, Steve Addazio stepped up to the recruiting plate and hit another home run yesterday when he nabbed Camden Catholic’s Jarred Alwan as Recruit No. 9.
The three-star linebacker with tremendous speed and lateral quickness comes to Temple with All-American credentials.
As a sophomore, Alwan was named to the Air Force All-American team.
The 6-1, 222-pound senior turned down offers (not interest) from West Virginia and Boston College, among others, according to John DiCarlo of Owlscoop.com.

Jarred Alwan

Just to give you an example of his speed, Alwan clocked a 4.57 at the Penn State camp, which is ridiculously fast for a linebacker. As a comparison, at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, Temple running back Bernard Pierce clocked a 4.59. Pierce was the Pennsylvania state 100-meter champion as a senior at Glen Mills.
Alwan was scheduled to make an official visit to West Virginia this week, which he canceled to call Addazio and tell him that he was going to become an Owl instead.
He was the No. 22-ranked player at any position in the state of New Jersey by Rivals.com.
Predictably, Rutgers’ fans will now try to tell you they backed off of him at the last minute.
Right, Baghdad Bob.
And, in a couple of years, a running back wearing Scarlet will probably be “backing off” of him on the way to a 20-yard loss in another Temple win.
Alwan started his career on this side of the river as a linebacker and fullback at St. Joseph’s Prep.
After his freshman year, tedsilary.com rated him the No. 5 prospect overall among Catholic League players after his freshman season starting for the powerhouse Hawks.
Huck Palmer, who handles those rankings for Silary, had Alwan rated above many other players who have signed to go to BCS schools.
Of the nine Temple verbals so far, six are from New Jersey.

Stars of this video who signed NFL contracts were:
Adam DiMichele – Philadelphia Eagles; Muhammad Wilkerson – New York Jets; Andre Neblett – Carolina Panthers; Eli Joseph – Green Bay Packers; Wayne Tribue – Denver Broncos; Peanut Joseph – Green Bay Packers; Alex Joseph – Green Bay Packers; Amara Kamara – Kansas City Chiefs; Pat Boyle – Detroit Lions; Terrance Knighton – Jacksonville Jaguars; Mike Campbell – New York Jets; Alex Derenthal – New York Giants; Stephen Johnson – New Orleans Saints; Bruce Francis – NFL Tryout; Jabari Ferguson – NFL Tryout; Chester Stewart – Baltimore Ravens; Vaughn Charlton – Pittsburgh Steelers; Tahir Whitehead – Detroit Lions; Junior Galette – New Orleans Saints; Adrian Robinson – Pittsburgh Steelers; Morkeith Brown – Tampa Bay Bucs; Brian Sanford – Cleveland Browns; Jaiquawn Jarrett – Philadelphia Eagles; Dominique Harris – Buffalo Bills; Travis Shelton – Denver Broncos; Andre Douglas – Dallas Cowboys; Darius Morris – Houston Texans; Derek Dennis – Miami Dolphins; Colin Madison – Baltimore Ravens; Devin Tyler – Baltimore Ravens; Kee Ayre Griffin – NFL Tryout; Marquise Liverpool – Detroit Lions; Evan Rodriguez – Chicago Bears; Steve Maneri – Kansas City Chiefs; Matt Balasavage – Baltimore Ravens; Wilbert Brinson – NFL Tryout; Jamal Schulters – NFL Tryout; Kevin Kroboth – NFL Tryout; James Nixon – Arizona Cardinals Source: Fran Duffy, Philadelphia Eagles

Surrounding all of the talk about conference shifts, championship playoffs and recruiting rankings, we sometimes forget that football is a fun game.
At least it is supposed to be.
Fun to play.
Fun to watch.
Having spent a few years of my young life living on the campus of Temple University, I know nothing brings young people together like being in that kind of environment, living in a vibrant, world-class, city like Philadelphia.
I’ve always felt this “danger” thing about living on campus was way overblown. In my time, if you went West of 17th Street and East of 10th, that was a pretty stupid thing to do. Inside that box, which is a large thriving campus covered by 150 well-armed, well-trained police officers, I’ve never felt safer. I walked home from The Temple News every night at about 4 a.m. (we put out a daily tabloid back then) and had several of those guys say “hi, Mike” on my walk back to Johnson Hall.
The people who say Temple is a dangerous place just never spent as much time on the campus as I have.
I can honestly say I had a lot fun in my time at Temple, all the while getting my work done.
 I don’t know if I could say the same thing living in a boring, dull, town like Piscataway, Storrs, Cincinnati or State College.
Who am I kidding?
I know I couldn’t.
I once walked into Wayne Hardin’s office for an interview and asked him about fun.
 “Football is fun if you win,” Hardin said.
Al Golden did a lot of great things at Temple.
Probably the greatest thing was that he used that Masters in Sports Psychology to figure out a way to bond the players.
 Golden made football practice at Temple fun for the most part.
His teams had fun winning and practicing to win. Golden’s team often played wiffleball before a practice and had some kooky crazy games.

This team looks like it is having fun all the time.

They even sang together as the above video demonstrates.
In singing Buttercup, beautifully produced by then Temple (and now Philadelphia Eagles) video coordinator Fran Duffy, you can see on the face of each Owl how much fun they had.
Golden is seen making a cameo, shaking his head from side to side at the 1:06 mark.
They proved that the team that sings together wins together.
I love this kind of stuff.
Taking the time to do that helped bond the team, but did not take away from their ultimate goal. Thirty-five players in that video signed contracts with NFL teams. Not one signed a contract as a professional singer.
Even the producer of this video, Fran Duffy, signed an NFL contract.

Nobody tells funnier jokes than coach Addazio.

Current video coordinator Ben Cauthen and assistant Dave “Owlified” Gerson are also terrific as successors to Duffy and “Our Very Own” Scotty Hartkorn but I think even they would be hard-pressed to match the video.
I suggested D.J. Khalid’s “All I Do is Win” but I don’t think Daz likes rap.
Steve Addazio has picked up where Golden left off, not just in the winning department but in the fun department as well.
Former Temple and current Oakland Raiders’ receiver Rod Streater said as much after the Owls beat Wyoming, 37-15, in the New Mexico Bowl.
“He’s the realist (sic) coach who ever lived,” said Streater, who played for both Addazio and Golden.
The photo of Addazio laughing with the team afterward is Exhibit A in the bond Daz forms with his teams.
 “No coach can motivate like he can,” Tim Tebow said.
College football is a big business for sure.
 At Temple, though, it can be a lot of fun as well. Probably more than any other place.
Recruits are noticing and that can be nothing but a good thing.

“I’m a quarterback. All I want to do is score points, get first downs on every drive and win. That’s all we have to do as a team is to take it one play at a time.” _ Kevin Newsome

The dictionary defines conundrum as a particularly perplexing problem.
When I think of Kevin Newsome’s arrival on campus this week, I see a solution to the conundrum.
The problem is that Newsome might not consider it a conundrum at all.
The conundrum as I see it is that Newsome is a great athlete who probably is best-suited to help the Temple’s football team right away on defense, particularly at outside linebacker or strong safety.
Newsome might be the third-best quarterback on the current Temple football team. That’s how I see it.
You don’t displace a bowl game MVP in the first Temple bowl win in over 30 years. It’s just not happening.
Chris Coyer is the starter and probably possesses a better skill set in passing and running and taking care of the football (he threw no interceptions last year) and Newsome had a ball security history while playing backup QB at Penn State in 2009.
Clinton “Juice” Granger had a great spring and has that under his belt and has a tremendous head start over Newsome.
Problem is that Newsome sees himself as a quarterback and he was quoted as much in an article that appeared a couple of weeks ago.
So the conundrum is this: Sit on the sidelines and waste all that talent or do something to help the Temple football team immediately, which is play defense (possibly at strong safety or outside linebacker).
As good a quarterback as he was in high school, my Virginia prep fans say he was an even better defensive player.
If he was that good, he can be brought up to speed as a Temple starter for Chuck Heater in a month or so.
Newsome reminds me of former Temple great quarterback Brian Broomell. He was recruited as a QB and not ready to play the position right away, so Broomell starred on defense for Temple at strong safety as a true freshman in an era where true freshman rarely played (they don’t play all that often now, but did so less then).
Temple needed Broomell to play quarterback as a senior and all he did was lead the nation in passing efficiency and Temple to 10 wins. I really think that team should have been 12-0, except for close losses to Pitt and Penn State but that’s a story for another day.
Maybe someday Temple will need Newsome to play quarterback.
Not now.
I hope he understands the conundrum. Tweet!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);

Jihaad Pretlow’s junior year highlights at Blair Academy.

It’s been a year and two months since I’ve last walked inside the Edberg-Olson Football Complex, now a $17 million football practice facility on the main campus of Temple University.
I was impressed by a lot of things, but one sign caught my fancy:
“What you do outside of here, you do to everyone inside of here.”
Gosh, even though that’s an Al Golden sign, I hope that’s still hanging prominently and they make everyone jump up and touch it on the way out, even the 5-5 Matt Brown (I know he’s got the vertical leap to do it).
Judging by the first recruits of Steve Addazio’s 2013 class, there is something special happening at Temple University and I hope some alleged knuckleheaded behavior that we’ve heard about in recent weeks doesn’t ruin it for everybody inside.

The early recruiting list, according to Owlscoop.com

We won’t mention any names now because these are just two kids out of 105 and no one has been proven guilty yet.
Just suffice it to say, if you are a Temple football player, look at that sign and take it to heart. For four years, keep your nose clean, listen to your coaches and generally don’t be a pain in the ass.
You will be rewarded once you graduate.
Just ask Muhammad “Highly Praised” Wilkerson or Bernard “The Franchise” Pierce or Rod Streater, among others. They will lead you down the right path.
Ironically, the Golden Rule is to do under others as you would have done unto you. That’s the regular Golden Rule, not the Al Golden Rule.

I like the way lock-down corner Anthony Robey thinks.

With that in mind, we hope the new Temple football players in the Class of 2013 are listening to this kind of advice because Steve Addazio is in the process of building a formidable football power in Philadelphia.
I wouldn’t get caught up in the star system because, even though cousins Jihaad Pretlow and P.J. Walker are rated only two stars now, they have five-star talent in my mind. Take a look at the Pretlow video above. If that’s not the re-incarnation of Bernard Pierce or Paul Palmer, I don’t know what is. Pretlow makes fast cornerbacks look like linemen. Walker is a better version of Juice Granger and Juice Granger is very, very good right now.
Nik D’Avanzo and Tyler Haddock have big-time pass-rushing ability. Offensive lineman Matt Barone has “Temple TUFF” stamped on his farhead, figuratively at least.
I always thought there were two keys to winning at any level of football:
1) Protect your quarterback;
2) Put the other quarterback on his ass.
Addazio seems to be building his program with those two tenants in mind.
He’s going for mobile quarterbacks who, if the protection breaks down, can make defenses pay with their feet.
He’s also going for fast linemen who can chase down those quarterbacks, preferably far behind the line of scrimmage.
Stir in a spread offense and a Chuck Heater defense, kickers like Brandon McManus and Jim Cooper Jr., return men like Jalen Fitzpatrick and Khalif Herbin, mix, and you have a championship cake baking, with a Cherry on top of White icing.
Let’s go eat, as Hunter Pence might say.

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“I’ve been to all of the stadiums in the country and I can say without hesitation and reservation that there is not a nicer, more spectacular, stadium in the country than Lincoln Financial Field.” _ Philadelphia Eagles’ announcer Merrill Reese

When you get as old as I am today, with (except in the rarest of cases) more years in back of you than in front of you, the things that make you happy aren’t necessarily the same as those 20 or so years ago.
That’s why Steve Addazio’s birthday gift to me today made me smile.
The verbal of Matt Barone wasn’t necessarily a gift intended for me, but something I’ve been harping on for the past few years or so. If Temple wants to play football with the big (BCS) boys, it better start stealing recruits from BCS schools. So I will take the gift in a nice package with a Temple T on top.
Al Golden did that when he “stole” Kee-Ayre Griffin from Boston College and Kadeem Custis and Evan Rodriguez (a transfer) from West Virginia and Big 33 MVP Adrian Robinson from Pitt, among others.
I’s OK to target projects, but that must be tempered by winning recruiting battles. It’s not really stealing because the verbals are open to everyone until signing day.
I think a verbal should be able to sign early, but that’s a problem for the NCAA to solve.
Temple is in a very good position to do exactly what Addazio did today. It plays in the nicest stadium in the country, the $521 million palace called Lincoln Financial Field.
 “I’ve been to all of the stadiums in the country,” said Eagles’ announcer Merrill Reese, “and I can say without hesitation and reservation that there is not a nicer, more spectacular, stadium in the country than Lincoln Financial Field.”
If Merrill says that, I believe him.
“We can now say that nobody plays in a stadium nicer than ours,” Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw said.
I agree with Bill, too.
It’s on us, the 270,000 living Temple alumni and the 39,000 full-time students, to make it even nicer by filling it.
Winning Big East championships will go a long way to solving that long-vexing problem.
Temple is within EASY driving distance of 46 percent of the nation’s population, giving parents a real affordable option to see their sons play even if they want to send them away and also giving Temple a deep pool of talent to draw from.
The on-campus facilities have been upgraded.
Peter J. Liacouras’ dream of a “Temple Town” has been realized, with 13,500 students soon to be living on campus in a safe setting.
Temple, unlike most other BCS schools, plays in a vibrant, exciting, world-class, city and, according to most surveys, a great majority of students prefer an urban college experience these days over a rural one (unlike 20 years ago). Also unlike 20 years ago, these students are active in supporting Temple’s football team, with over 10,000 traveling via the subway to the Villanova game and 12,500 showing up loud and proud against Penn State.
So the stars are aligning in Temple’s favor.
It is time for Temple to do big things. That light talked about for the new $10 million practice facility addition could be symbolic as well as it will be real.
Fortunately, some coveted recruits are beginning to be drawn to the Temple light.

Had a nice talk on Tuesday night in New York City with Steve Addazio, my friend, Ross, and another gentleman whose name escapes me who I now owe $1.
That’s a story for a later date, though.
I won’t say what Steve told me because he asked me not to and, if anything I’ve proven over the last nearly half century of living, it’s that I’m a man of my word.
I’m not even telling my dog what Steve said.
I can tell you what I told Steve, though.
I told him that there’s this perception out there that because Temple lost five starters on defense it is not going to be good. I said that perception is wrong because I counted 11 guys coming back who started games for Temple in the last two years.
I also said there’s a perception Temple is not going to be as good on offense because of losses at center and tight end, but  that’s  wrong, too, because the 2009 starter, Sean Boyle, returns at center and the 2010 starter, Alex Jackson, returns at tight end.
Temple could be better at those offensive positions, as it could at a number of positions all over the feld.
That’s what I said.
That’s what I believe.
So I caution those who read “previews” of The Temple Owls and predict a last- or near-last-place finish in the Big East to not get upset.
They are looking at hard numbers and making predictions based on numbers, not the stories behind the numbers. Those closer to the program know better.
Lately, my friend, Kevin, interviewed me for his College Football Zealots preview.

When Temple does better than expected this year, at least he will know why beforehand.
I’m not sure if the rest of the college football world will.

Big East welcomes Temple with this sign on March 12.

Ever since a guy named John Carpenter won a million dollars on a TV quiz show, I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind I’d like to get a chance to do the same.
I’m somewhat of a trivia whiz, even in matters outside of Temple football, and I’ve been determined to get a swing at those questions for awhile.
So I go up to New York once or twice every summer.
Carpenter won it in the classiest manor possible, using his final “phone-a-friend” lifeline to call his father on the $1 million question.
“Dad, I don’t need your help,” Carpenter said, “I’m just calling to tell you I’m going to win the million dollars.”
Then he correctly gave the answer as “Richard Nixon” and the confetti fell and Carpenter was presented with his $1 million check.
That’s a nice chunk of change for 30 minutes of work.
So with that in mind, I signed up for a June 12 New York City tryout for the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” TV show about a month ago.
Dumb luck, a few days ago I received an invitation in the mail to attend a June 12 Temple New York City alumni event featuring athletic director Bill Bradshaw and coaches Steve Addazio, Fran Dunphy and Tanya Cordoza.
Since the tryout was 5 p.m. at 66th and Columbus and the event was 6 p.m. 61 blocks away at 557 Broadway, I could not miss out on the opportunity.
I hopped on the D train at 59th and Columbus, got off at the Broadway/Lafayette station and was at the function in no time.
When I told Bradshaw about the juxtaposition yesterday, he said, “You are going to give us a cut of that money, right?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
Then Bill made one request.
“Don’t quote the coaches.”
“I’m good,” I said.
And I am.

For some reason, Hawaii’s 1979 sked came up in the conversation on Tuesday night.

These kind of functions are like a family dinner. What’s said at the dinner table doesn’t go outside.
It doesn’t mean a lot of interesting things aren’t said. It’s just that it is all in-house and that’s the way it should be.
Coaches should be quoted in pre-game press conference settings and after-game press conferences.
They should feel free to say whatever they want inside the Temple family setting without getting acid reflux afterward or suffering a sleepless night because of worrying about what they said.
Still, the coaches and Bradshaw gave Temple the best branding it has had in New York City since that sign appeared above Times Square EXACTLY three months ago (March 12) welcoming Temple to the Big East.
The Temple alumni had a great time and the coaches were great and neither is an exaggeration.
The fans talked about everything from the score of the 1979 Temple vs. Hawaii game to 2011 Maryland bus trip.
Back to the first part of the afternoon.
I got about 27 of the 30 questions right. I was foiled by a question on the Kardashian sisters and the percentage of checkers on a checkerboard square along with the definition of an Italian word (I don’t speak Italian, unfortunately). I’ve since googled answers and will take the test again in a month armed with that knowledge.
Now back to the Temple function.
I can tell one tale out of school, though.
If you have an extra $50,000 lying around underneath your mattress, please send it to Bradshaw with a note saying, “this is for the Temple football light (singular, not plural).”
He’ll know what your talking about. So will everyone else who attended. It’ll be worth the money.
If you don’t have it, I’ll try to scrape it up in a half-hour’s work in a few months.
Unless they feed me a different question about the Kardashian sisters.