Every once in a while, I check in with what Al Golden has to say on Twitter.
You can, too.
It’s permanently on the sidebar of this website, about halfway down the right side.
According to Al’s latest tweet, the coaching staff is in the film room right now.
Here it is:
“Spring practice is getting close,” Al said. “Only a couple of weeks for the staff to fine tune and evaluate the film from the fall to improve the team.”

Evidently, they haven’t come out because the last tweet was on Feb. 22 and that was four days before the last big snowfall and that seems like a long time ago.
Well, we’ve been studying the film, too.
We’ve got high definition DVDs of many of the games and this is what I would do to improve the team:
1) Have a real competition for starting quarterback. Take the red shirts off and allow the guys to get hit. Allow them to run the ball against a live defense. Let them throw the ball with a guy in their face.
If somebody gets hurt, so be it.
They’ll have all summer to get healthy.
We’re going to need to find a gamer at that position and you don’t find that person in a seven-on-seven passing drill. Mike McGann was the greatest seven-on-seven practice passer I ever saw at Temple, yet when he got into the game he had this annoying habit of throwing to guys who weren’t wearing Cherry or White jerseys.

You can’t have a turnover machine at that position or someone who can’t duck out of a pass rush and make positive yards.
The Owls need more than a “game manager” at that position this year. They need a “game changer.”
I think they’ll find one. God, I hope so.
At last count, they have Vaughn Charlton, Chester Stewart, Chris Coyer, Mike Gerardi at the top of the depth chart. They have other guys who have played the position in high school either already here or coming in, like Aaron Haas, Matt Falcone, Andre Coble, Connor Reilly.
2) Get the gang of 100 players in a circle and ask who snapped the ball in high school. Ask them to have their high school coaches send film of them snapping. Pick the best three and have a competition. If one, two or three are excellent or even good, make long-snapping a part of their daily routine (even five minutes). Long-snapping is a routine play at about 118 other Division IA schools. Let’s make it that way again at Temple.
3) Improve the pass rush. I’m a big fan of blitz packages that send more than one linebacker or safety on certain down-and-distance situations. Temple needs to turn up the heat on opposing quarterbacks. Adrian Robinson is the best pass-rusher in the league, but wouldn’t it be nice to consistently collapse the pocket with another “Adrian Robinson” coming from the other side.
If I’m Mark D’Onofrio, I’m seriously considering going to a
3-4 with Amara Kamara and Robinson returning to their natural outside linebacker positions and using Robinson as a “rush” linebacker, like the Giants did with Lawrence Taylor. Moving Robinson all over the field will make him harder to find.
I’d use Big Mo Wilkerson as one defensive end, Levi Brown as the nose guard and Kadeem Custis as the other defensive end and rotate guys in after that. Imagine, if you will, what a nightmare, say, Chris Whitney’s life would be if he had two 6-5 athletic guys coming at him from both DE positions and still had to account for Robinson’s presence? I’m liking it already. I want to see Whitney and every other quarterback who plays Temple hit the ground hard multiple times before being able to release the ball.
I’m hoping that is the plan Al Golden and staff have come up with between Feb. 22d and now.
The time to implement it would be in a few days when spring practice starts.

(some dates and times unofficial 🙂 )
Fri., Sept. 3: VILLANOVA Lincoln Financial Field, 5 p.m.

Thu., Sept. 9: *CENTRAL MICHIGAN Lincoln Financial Field, 7 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 18 CONNECTICUT Lincoln Financial Field, 12

Sat., Sept. 25 at Penn State University Park, Pa., 3:30

Sat., Oct. 2 at Army West Point, N.Y., 12

Sat., Oct. 9 *at Northern Illinois DeKalb, Ill., 1

Sat., Oct. 16 *BOWLING GREEN Lincoln Financial Field, 12

Sat., Oct. 23 *at Buffalo Buffalo, N.Y., 12

Sat., Oct. 30 *AKRON Lincoln Financial Field, 2

Sat., Nov. 6 *at Kent State Kent, Ohio, 1

Tues., Nov. 16 *OHIO Lincoln Financial Field 8 p.m. ESPN2

Tues., Nov. 23 *at Miami (Ohio) Oxford, Ohio 7 p.m. ESPN2

I don’t know about you, but I’ve given up on circling wins and losses on a schedule a long time ago.
It was about the season that Jeff Garcia replaced an injured Donovan McNabb and took the Eagles on a six-game winning streak.
That was the year the Birds were at Giants, at Redskins and at Cowboys all in consecutive weeks.
All the talking heads had the Eagles losing all three.
When McNabb got hurt, they all said it was over.
Wrong on all counts.
The Eagles won all three and did it without McNabb.
Who knows what the future holds for any team, although it appears the Owls are swifter, stronger, more talented and more experienced than any other team in their league.
I wouldn’t bet against them.
When this schedule came out, though, I thought this was the perfect for me schedule because:
1) I hate byes
2) It opens up with three straight home games.
After the way the team opened up last year against Villanova, don’t think that they aren’t excited about getting that bad memory out of their heads forever.
I think they will.
If they do, it sets up a well-attended next two games.
If they win those, the attendance momentum will just continue.
Picture, for example, the EagleBank Bowl experience in terms of a roaring loud crowd and a real homefield advantage and you’ll get what I’m talking about. At the EBB, I saw a loud, involved, Temple crowd. It stunned UCLA and it sure stunned a lot of us who had season tickets for the past 30 years.
A good start brings that kind of excitement back in a way nothing else can.
I’m selfish about the byes. I know they sometimes help heal an injured team, but I don’t see the use in them.
Kids are, what, between 18-22, and they should be able to play every week.
Plus, the Owls get 10 days between a couple of games so it shouldn’t hurt them too much.
I hate byes because that means a week without Temple football and my autumns have been consumed with the Owls.
That’s why this is the perfect schedule for me.
I get to talk, breathe, blog and live Temple football each week.
It’s a good schedule.
Bring it on, the sooner the better.

Tom Leonard’s cellphone photo of the TU side of the field.

Belated EagleBank Bowl Thoughts
EBB was without a doubt the most memorable TUFB experience in my 18 or so years following the program. My wife and I arrived in DC the night before the game. Hotel was in an excellent downtown location, although under renovation. Spent the night bopping in and out of restaurants and bars.

Numbers of folks dressed in in TU garb and cherry and white climbed as the evening went on. Woke up on gameday with a slight case of the Irish flu, but nonetheless happily pushed on to the Metro station en route to the Armory, where I stepped into a zone of TU pre-game energy of historic proportions. The band, video footage, combination of familiar and new faces, and overall level of downright giddiness for TUFB was delightful. I spoke with TU faculty and administrators, alumni and students, folks with family ties to TU, and some who had no affiliation with TU whatsoever–which I found particularly pleasing. A couple guys behind me in line were from James Madison U. They travelled to DC simply to behold an easily accessible bowl game, and touted that JMU had FBS aspirations. The indoor tailgate was an exceptional experience. Zero regrets. I even got a photo (soon to be framed, with no spousal objection) with the UCLA cheerleaders (ok, technically dance team or pep team or something, but it worked for me).

As gametime neared, I strategically applied the lasted techno heating elements into shoes and pockets; checked that tickets were in hand, and hastily gulped down the final Absolute and Cranberry (scotch was unavailable) of the afternoon while working towards the exit. The throngs of fans channeling into RFK was a beauty to behold.

There were a lot of TUFB fans at RFK. A lot. I was especially pleased to see so many unfamiliar, aged faces. These weren’t students or die hards, these were Temple folks who have perhaps exhibited sporadic interest here and there but hadn’t previously been uniformily motivated. Folks around me were looking in their program for names and asking about “that #22” and posing questions about next year’s QB, and such. Novice aside, they displayed the same excitement about TUFB as the rest of us. In a word, refreshing. Prior to the game, I was concerned that perhaps 6 or 7K faithful would show. AG referenced 16K. Not sure where got that figure, but he should know. 16K passes the test, at least my test. We have the coach and the talent, but I questioned the alumni. There is hope.

No reason to comment on the game. Nothing new to share. The experience, however, was novel. And worthy of comment.
Tom Leonard
long-time Temple football fan
“Hootsalotisme” on OwlsDaily.com

If you type in “how loaded is loaded” into a google search engine these days, the first result will be this very thoughtful and well-researched post by MH55 on Owlscoop.com.
Before this post goes into oblivion caused by Rivals.com’s limited serving capacity, we thought we would store it here.

MH55 got the idea, I presume, from the night of the bowl party.
Three or four of the boosters who had a chance to speak to Golden that night said that Golden used the words “we’re loaded” for next year and followed that up with big cat-eating-the-canary grin.
A knowledgeable Temple football fan knew that before Golden said so, but it’s nice to get some affirmation from the top guy.
MH55 did one better, loading up on names and positions.
It was one of two great posts on Temple football this offseason that deserve to be preserved for posterity.
The other was written by Tom Leonard, Hootsalotisme, on the OwlsDaily.com board about the EagleBank Bowl experience.

Here’s MH55’s in its entirely (quotes around MH55’s words):
“I still haven’t heard Al Golden actually say “We’re Loaded” but it sure looks that way when you consider experience, size and talent. Its still hard to believe the caliber of talent AG has amassed when one considers how desperate we were when he took the job and he’s operating in a battlezone of BCS Schools. Here’s the roster w games played in (XX)

Defensive Line:
Eli Joseph (36)
Kamara (35)
Robinson (25)
Blueford (24)
Wilkerson (24)
Morkeith Brown (21)
Custis (10)
Frenk (1)
Nwasike
Wise

Red Shirts

Levi Brown
Shahid Paulhill
Kamal Johnson
Geoffrey Prather
Tyreek Spain

Recruits
Caray wrestling, honors star, ARob heir
Daniels-keeping talent local
Hush-Sopranos 1st team all state
Newman-PaPreps Predicts Pro
Weaver-will play on TV in summer all star game

Linebackers
P Joseph (27)
Martin (25)
Whitehead (13)
Namude (12)
Q White (10)
M Green (12)
St Johnson

Red Shirts
Caponegro
Onukwuesi
Beatty
Van Norton
Zach Kane (U Mia X)

Recruits
Adewole-Chose Best MAC Offer
Benson-All SEPA LB
N Smith-NJ Friend says a future star

Defensive Backs
Jarrett (37)
Liverpool (37)
Griffin (23)
Gildea (12)
Kroboth (11)
Mo Jones (12)
Falcone (12)
K Johnson (8)
J Williams (2)

Red Shirts
Terrell (2)
Deonte Parker
Byron Parker
M Gould

Recruits
Burns _ Only had 2 BCS Offers
Goods _ Track Star
Robey _ Speed merchant begins the Norristown pipeline

Quarterbacks

Charlton (28)
Stewart (20)
Gerardi (1)

Red Shirts
Coyer
Bryan Morris

Recruits
Reilly-Baseball, Brains and Big Plays

Running Backs

Pierce (12)
Brown (11)

Red Shirts
A Smith (6)

Recruits
Myron Ross-Could be a stud

TE
Balasavage (20)
Rodriguez (13)
Pekarski (1)

Red Shirts
Booth
A Jackson
Parthemore
L Turner
Brookhart
Recruits

T Johnson-Probably lucky to be at Temple Since he didnt Receive any BCS Offers possibly because he committed to Temple or maybe he’s just a mediocre player that we shouldn’t even mention

Wide Receivers
D Green (37)
Crudup (33)
Campbell (31)
Nixon (25)
Jones (25)
Hutchinson (18)
Bynum (14)
Carraway (9)
Hammond (1)
Baker

Red Shirt
Anthony Parker Boyd (North Car X)
Ryan Alderman
R Streater JuCo

Recruits
Belt-our Andre Rison?
Coble-No to Tobacco Road
Miller-Superb Athlete
Shine-Cali Find
Silvera-BE Capable Temple Ready

Offensive Line
Morris (32)
Madison (28)
Dennis (27)
Tribue (25)
Sean Boyle (25)
Palumbo (22)
Caputo (19)
Brown (17)
Pat Boyle (17)
Schonnbruner (9)
Whittingham (4)
Yuan (1)

Red Shirts
Martin Wallace (Northeastern X) 6’6 295
Scott Roorda 6’3 318
Cody Bohler 6’7 305
Evan Regas 6’4 313
Sean Pearson 6’5 312
Daryl Pringle 6’6 315

Recruits
Centapiempo 6’7 315 Just started FB for Kicks
Grant 6’6 340-Fork Union Crusher
Metz 6’5 310-1st local OL/ BCS Talent to choose TU
Walton 6’4 320-One Bad Ass Chef”

It should be noted that the above words from the first quote to the last quote were all MH55’s. He was speaking sacastically about TE recruit Tyler Johnson, a rebuff to a small minority of Temple fans who think anybody who doesn’t have a boatload of BCS offers isn’t any good.
EBB experience continues at the Linc:
Get your season tickets now

By Mike Gibson
If you listen to coach Al Golden, and I try to do that every chance I get, whether it’s on signing day or Fan Fest or Cherry and White day, whenever, you will become conversant in what I call Goldenspeak.
“Core values” … you’ll hear that a lot.
“Going forward” … that’s another favorite catch phrase of his, so is “it’s all part of the process.”
There are a few more, but I won’t write a Golden/English Dictionary here.
The point being that before all of that, Golden came up with a phrase he thought enough of to put on the wall at Edberg-Olson Hall.
“Hunting a MAC title with local talent.”
It’s become a core value, if you will, of the program, err, going forward. So much so that it has appeared in the school’s football media guide the past few years.
What you won’t hear Golden say is that he’s going after this Holy Grail, this MAC title, with BCS-level talent.

“Let’s face it, guys, Temple is a Big East team playing in the MAC. Their talent level made us look like a high school team.”
_ Akron fan’s post on ZipsNation.org
after Temple’s 56-17 win last year

If Hunting for a Title with Local talent is the program’s self-proclaimed headline, then “by the way, we’re playing with BCS-level players in a non-BCS league” has to be some kind of subhead.
I know it’s not as catchy, but it’s true.
It’s like the guy wrote on the Akron message board, ZipsNation.org, after Temple thumped Akron, 56-17, last year.
“Let’s face it, guys,” the long-time Akron fan said, “Temple is a Big East team playing in the MAC. Their talent level made us look like a high school team.”
The implication was clear and so were the on-field results.
While Akron might beat out Kent State or a player, Temple is beating out Vanderbilt.
While Kent State might beat out Ohio for a player, Temple is beating out Maryland and Michigan State.
You only need to stop at the A’s, B’s and C’s of the signing brochure to find that out.
I did a story for the Philadelphia Inquirer today on a couple of basketball players from Friends’ Central, who received offers from Temple and other big-time schools. Before that goes into the paper, you have to fact-check those claims against the Scout.com database. Soout.com will say “yes’ if a player has been offered and “no” if he has not. It’s a pretty cut-and-dried system, the best there is.
I thought about that while thumbing through the pages of the 2010 signing class brochure the other day.
I followed the same routine Temple’s football signees and the claims made in the brochure, with only one or two exceptions, were verified by Scout.com’s system. That’s pretty good when talking about 27 incoming freshmen.
Niyi Adewole, a linebacker from Upper Darby, had an offer from Vanderbilt, as did Myron Ross, a running back from Wissahickon.
Antonio Belt, a wide receiver from Forestville, Md., “selected Temple over Maryland and Michigan State.”
Wyatt Benson, a linebacker from Haverford School, picked Temple over “Stanford and Pitt.”
Brian Burns, a defensive back and former next-door neighor to Benson in Southwest Philly, “selected Temple over West Virginia and Rutgers.”
Taray Carey, a defensive end from Whitehall, picked Temple over UConn and Boston College.
Those are just the A’s, B’s and C’s. It’s like that all the way down to defensive tackle Dante Weaver, who the brochure says picked Temple over Rutgers and Maryland.
Lsst year, the Owls signed a quarterback, Chris Coyer (pictured), on the night Ohio State extended him a conditional verbal offer (you visit us, we will offer). Temple was on Coyer for months and OSU arrived on the scene in the last day.
Coyer said, basically, “thanks, guys, but no thanks I made my mind up. I’m going to Temple.”
Now, after a year of fine-tuning, the Coyer quarterback Stealth Fighter is shined and polished and ready to leave the E-O hanger to wreck havoc on the rest of the MAC.
He could have gone to Ohio State, much like many of his teammates could have gone to more recognized schools.
Good schools with good football programs.
They could have gone anywhere.
They chose Temple.
Bill Cosby, who made that commercial famous some 20 years ago, should be proud.
So should every Temple fan.

There’s that old saying, “statistics are for losers.”
That’s grounded largely in truth, but not always.
I’ve always said there are two stats that will separate a winner from a loser:
1) Turnovers;
2) Sacks.
Win the second battle and that team is more likely to win the first.
That’s why I am heartened most by two of the recent signees in the Temple recruiting class of 2010.
Aaron Hush of Piscataway, N.J. and Jaimen Newman of Matoaca, Va.
Hush you probably know about. He was the Bridgewater Courier-News’ defensive player of the year, then took a prep year at Fork Union. His specialty is rushing the passer.
You’ve probably not heard so much about Newman, who flew under the recruiting radar far enough away from Virginia to glide into North Philadelphia.
It’s usually impossible for someone 6-4, 254 to fly under a radar, but this could be a first.
In people like Newman, Hush and Taray Carey (Whitehall), I’m confident the Owls will find someone who can help MAC defensive player-of-the-year Adrian Robinson collapse the pocket. One of those guys will step in and free Amara Kamara to go back to his more natural position of linebacker.
Bring mayhem to the football in September, err, hem. That collapses the pocket, creates a nervous quarterback, who either fumbles or throws the ball up for grabs.
Then I’ll be able to show you what kind of stats are for winners.

Nice to see Andre picked the best-looking hat.

Highlights of Brian Burns (above) and Niyi Adewole (below).

By Mike Gibson
When I think about recruiting and how big the story has become on a national level, I’m reminded of the kid I used to be in the back seat of my dad’s car on the way to vacation in Wildwood, N.J.
“Are we there yet?” I would say every 10 miles or so while riding along a winding Route 47.
Recruiting is a little like that, especially at Temple University these days.
It’s a long and winding road, just like Route 47 was, with some bumps along the way.
Like the first day of vacation, there’s a lot of anticipation with Signing Day but you know the trip will be worth it when Al Golden gets you there.
The only bump so far this year came when Florida and head coach Urban Myer stole Tyler Murphy from Golden and Temple.
I love college football, but you’ve got to admit it is corrupt to its core because the power conferences can and always do steal recruits and coaches from the non-power conferences. There’s no protection for the non-BCS schools. College football today is like the Wild Wild West with the one major difference is the bad guys have all the guns.
How are the little guys ever going to succeed against that brutal backdrop?

Signing Day 2010
Wednesday, Feb. 3
3:00 PM: Press Conference
4:00-5:00 PM: Reception
5:00-5:45 PM: Recruit Highlights
Student Center, room 200
13th and Montgomery streets
Main Campus
$10 per person includes light hor d’ouevres.

It’s why what happened at Boise State and what is happening at Temple has been and will be a very special story, a lot more special than what can happen at a place like Florida or Alabama.
America likes teams and people who overcome all the odds. America loves the underdog, the rags-to-riches story, and one is being written at Temple today.
It’s tough, but it’s possible, and when it’s done inside a corrupt system, it is all the sweeter.
If you believe in Karma, Urban Myer will get his (bad) day and Temple will get its (good) day.
For today, we’ll concentrate on the non-transfers. Temple has one coming in from Michigan, one from Hofstra and one from Northeastern. We want to write about those guys later this week, so we’ll concentrate on this list, courtesy of Owlscoop.com.
The following guys will help Temple get to the college football moutaintop:

Committed but unsigned:

Niyi Adewole LB 6-3 220 – Upper Darby, PA _ Adewole had a teammate at Upper Darby, a linebacker named Amara Kamara. Adewole will have a teammate at Temple this season, a linebacker named Amara Kamara (cousin of the other Amara Kamara). Two teams. Two Amara Kamaras. Two different people. If Adewole is the player Temple’s Amara Kamara is, he will be a good one. This story tells you more about Niyi Adewole the person.
Antonio Belt WR 6-1 190 _ Forestville, MD _ The latest to commit to Temple, Belt is an accomplished wide receiver who received high marks for his hands, speed and RAC (run-after-catch) ability at a number of five-star camps. “My trip (to Temple) was really good,” said Belt. “They showed me a lot of love and all the coaches kept it real and honest with me. I really love the campus there.”
Wyatt Benson LB 6-0 215 – Haverford, PA _ Tremendous player and student from Haverford School, Benson has the distinction of being the first player in this class to commit. He was a first-team All-Inquirer choice at linebacker.
Brian Burns DB 6-0 170 4.52 Upper Marlboro, MD _ Burns has a tremendous upside with his ability to hit in the open field. Think Jacquain Jarrett.
Taray Carey DE 6-5 210 4.6 Whitehall, PA _ A nonstop motor characterizes this talent, who has the speed and athleticism to get in the quarterback’s face and the height to knock the ball down when he doesn’t. He’s a terrific wrestler, who will use the moves he learned on the mat to pin a few offensive linemen.

Doesn’t look like he’s got the requisite vertical leap required of a Temple punter …

Andrew Cerett K 6-5 240 – Huntingdon, PA _ More of a punter than a placekicker, Cerett’s measureables (44-yard average. 5.2 seconds of hang time) give him stats Temple punters haven’t seen since Casey Murphy. Plus, he’s never violated a team rule. Doesn’t look like he’s got the requisite vertical leap required of a Temple punter, but maybe spring ball will produce a reliable long snapper.
Desmond “Andre” Coble ATH 5-10, 180 4.4 Richmond, VA _ Could be used anywhere on the field, as a kickoff returner, defensive back or Wildcat quarterback. Tremendous acceleration in space.
Sean Daniels RB/LB/DE 6-3 220 – Highland, N.J. _ Rushed for over 1,400 yards as a senior at Highland but is versatile enough to play any of three positions at Temple. A punishing inside runner who had 242 yards in Highland’s Thanksgiving Day win over Clearview, Daniels will excel anywhere Golden needs him.
Marquise Goods DB 5-11 175 – Orange, NJ _ Marquies will deliver the Goods to wide receivers and tight ends coming over the middle. He had an incredible 95 tackles last year from his cornerback position, so he’s not afraid to hit people.
Elijah Grant OL 6-6 340 – Fork Union, VA _ Fits the mold of the current Owl offensive linemen in that he has the size to dominate right away. From Fork Union, via Piscataway (N.J.) High.
Aaron Hush DE 6-4 250 – Fork Union, VA _ Was the Bridgewater Courier-News’ defensive Player of the Year his senior year at Piscataway High. His 18 1/2 sacks demonstrates an unstoppable motor. Gotta love the headline possibilities using the name Hush.
Tyler Johnson TE 6-7 240 4.71 Wanaque, NJ _ The second signee in this class, Johnson has excellent hands and the ablity to contribute to a talented tight end group right away. He was the second player, after Benson, to commit.
Adam Metz OL 6-5 295 – Hummelstown, PA _ All you need to know about Adam is that he was named to the Big 33 team. The Big 33 picks only the best of the best. Another Big 33 player, guard Wayne Tribue, started as a true freshman.
Deon Miller WR 6-6 200 4.7 Fork Union, VA _ Think Plaxico Burress, not only in size, but in his abliity to catch the ball in traffic. Matt Rhule always wanted to dust off the fade pass in the red zone. Miller gives him that chance.
Connor Reilly QB 6-4 180 – Fairfax, VA _ Don’t let the boyish face fool you. Reilly produced measurables in touchdowns and yards that a Temple quarterback coming in hasn’t had since Adam DiMichele broke all the record books at Sto-Rox. According to the Washington Post, he was 171 completions in 318 attempts for 2,279 yards and 18 touchdowns in his senior year. That’s Reilly. Really. Those are more yards and touchdown passes throw for a senior year than Chris Coyer, Chester Stewart and Vaughn Charlton had in their senior seasons. To be fair, though, Coyer had to share time at QB his senior year and those undoubtedly skewed his numbers.
Anthony Robey DB 5-9 172 4.4 Norristown, PA _ Extremely fast, the 4.4 is not a misprint. Don’t be deceived by the height. His coverage ability makes up for it.
Myron Ross RB 6-1 205 4.5 Ambler, PA _ Also in the 4.4, 4.5 range, Myron can help the Owls in a variety of ways and his versatility is his major asset. He can return kicks, run from scrimmage, catch passes and play defensive back.
Darryl Shine WR 5-10 175 4.45 Fullerton, CA _ All the reports from California indicate the Owls got a real star, who is capable of starting right away.
Gerald Silvera WR 6-0 180 – West Orange, NJ _ Rutgers’ fans I know tell me Temple is getting a real under-the-radar prospect in Silvera. More of a possession receiver than a deep breakaway threat but, given all the drops the Owls had last fall, wouldn’t you rather have a possession receiver?
Nate Smith LB 6-0 220 – Highland Park, NJ _ My personal favorite in this class is Nate Smith because I’ve seen the film and I believe in the same way I believed when I first saw the Glen Mills’ film featuring Bernard Pierce. How did that turn out? A sportswriter I know who covered his team tells me “he has five times the talent of his brother” and his brother was an NFL tight end named L.J. Smith. That same sportswriter also covered L.J. in high school so he has a solid basis to make that comparison. I’ve haven’t seen a Temple football player since Kevin Harvey (Paulsboro) make Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd, but Nate did.
Hershey Walton OL 6-4 320 – Reading, PA _ Comes from the same town as 6-7, 300-pound Owl Darryl Pringle, who picked the game up late. Walton is a more polished version of Pringle.
Dante Weaver DT 6-2 320 – New Brunswick, NJ _ The only three-star OL prospect snagged by Golden. It’s nice to know that other groups of recruiters have Weaver rated high on their board which probably means he’ll be more ready to play right away.

Future Owl Rod Streater is No. 81 in highlights.

Axel Ofori:
“I visit Temple this weekend,” said Ofori. “I am really looking forward to the trip. If everything goes well I should leave with an offer and it is one that I want.
….
“I just want to be at a place where I can compete and play. That is the fit I am looking for. It doesn’t have to be a certain level but it has to be a certain type of place. … I am not ruling out anybody.
….
“I am expecting to really like Temple and if they like me and offer than my recruiting could be done. I feel that strongly about the school.”
From Scout.com, Jan. 20, 2010

By Mike Gibson
They say there are three seasons in college football.
Spring practice, the fall season itself and recruiting season.
I have a hunch that we are in the middle of the most important season, the recruiting one.
My thinking is that if you do well in this season, the one between the end of the bowl game and Feb. 3, success will naturally follow in the other two seasons.
It ends on Feb. 3 when the faxes with the signed letter-of-intents arrive at Edberg-Olson Hall, but this is the stretch drive, the playoffs if you will.
Axel Ofori was one of a handful of guys who made their visits to Temple this weekend.
I don’t know Axel Ofori from Axel Foley, but I like him already.
I like any defensive back who runs a 4.4-40 because you can’t have too much speed back there on the last line of defense.
What I like most about him, though, is the attitude on top of his talent.
Or, as they say here in Philly, his Attytude.
There might be bigger stars in this class of commits so far. I write might because you never know until they get here. Judging by the film, though, Nate Smith (RB/LB) of Highland Park (N.J.) could be one of the cornerstones. WR Deon Miller (coming in via last year’s class this year) could help right away, too.
Still, to me, it’s not as much about what they have done it’s what they say before they get here.
Every year, someone has said something that jumped off the page to me.
Last year, it was an offensive lineman from Immaculata High (N.J.), Cody Bohler, who called the guys on the Temple team “the greatest bunch of guys I’ve ever met.”
This year, it’s Axel Ofori.
Gotta love his quotes from a couple of days ago on Scout.com about Temple University, the Temple football program and how much he likes the school.
Axel Ofori was in town this weekend on an official visit to Temple hoping to receive a scholarship.

One of the hallmarks of Al Golden’s stay here is that he does things the right way and the kids can sense he’s genuine.
He won’t go after other people’s commits and usually does a good enough job holding onto his own.
If Ofori gets the offer and does commit, he will be the 20st of this class. Already 19 have committed.
By my count, there are about five scholarships left.
Whoever gets one of those four, should accept.
They will get a chance to play right away for a guy who does things the right way at a school about to win championships and make the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Think about it for a second.
Golden already has told boosters that Temple is “loaded” next season. The Owls return six first-team All-MAC performers.
With just a little help with the pass rush and passing game and secondary coverage (heck, maybe long-snapping), it’s not a stretch to think this team can’t take the next step.
What’s the next step?
Take down national FCS champ Villanova before 45,000 people in the opening game and then repeat a similar run through the MAC all the while adding wins over Penn State and UConn.
Do that and Temple makes the cover of Sports Illustrated and becomes the No. 1 “feel good” story in the nation.
Some of these recruits will write that story next season, just like the one true freshman Bernard Pierce help pen last season. That one was a nice little story that had what Golden called an “unimaginable” ending.
This story could be a lot more compelling with a much happier end.
I can’t wait to read the Axel Ofori quotes in that one.