By Mike Gibson
Fitting that a Temple University fencer has thrown down the gauntlet in response to Lewis Katz’s challenge.
Tell the New Jersey Nets’ majority owner and 1963 Temple grad how to increase fan support for Temple’s athletic teams, specifically basketball and football, and win $5,000 of Katz’s hard-earned cash.
Rachel Eschenbach (pictured, we think) is a Temple fencer and she won the prize for some excellent suggestions.
She formulated a point system, rewarding students for attendance at athletic events.
Excellent suggestions, but we’re not really sure if they are the right ones to put football fans in the seats.
Surely, there are even some better football-specific ideas out there.
In the spirit of what Rachel does for fun and sport, we say:
ON GUARD!!
TOUCHE!!
You take the sword now and keep brainstorming.
Just because Katz’s $5,000 is not available anymore doesn’t mean each one of us can’t make a meaningful contribution to put some fannies in the seats at Lincoln Financial Field this fall.
Football quarterback Colin Clancy won second place for suggesting a class and structuring it to brainstorm further ideas.
Another player, former football kicker Cap Poklemba, showed what just one man can do in drumming up both support and enthusiasm at football games by acting like a one-man raving lunatic. He single-handedly aroused a theretofore moribund fan base into a whooping, involved mob bent for blood in the final three home games of the season.
With apologies to Rachel Eschenbach, Poklemba demonstrated that one man can make a huge difference.
We are many men and, in Rachel’s case, women.
I’m taking Rachel’s sword and pointing it at you now.
“You da man.”
At least when it comes to meaningful ideas to transform an empty stadium into a full one.
Our brain power and kicking around of ideas can make a difference, like Rachel’s ideas undoubtedly will and like Cap’s enthusiasm undoutedly did.
Now it’s up to you.
Take a few hours or days and come back to this story and post your ideas in the comments section here. We’ll publish them as quick as possible and won’t pass any judgments, negative or positive.
Before football season tickets go on sale, we’ll pass all the suggestions on to both athletic director Bill Bradshaw and the hard-working guys in the ticket office.
Remember, nothing too crazy like offering $1,000 cash bonuses for successful field goals (although Cap could use the extra dough).
Something that would not cost much, but entice enough students, grads and Temple people to make the Linc a house of horrors for Owl foes.
Rachel took pen to paper and came away with 5K.
Her’s is a good idea, but just one.
This project needs many more.

By Mike Gibson
The old folks are fond of saying it.
Back in the day.
You know, back in the day we did this, back in the day we did that.
Well, back in the day the map of where the football players are was strikingly different than it appears now.
About 40 years or so ago, there was a heavy concentration of players in Pennsylvania and Texas and a smattering of players everywhere else.
The shift has occurred now.
Pennsylvania still has a lot of nice Division IA football players but even though the size of the state is roughly the same as Florida, that state has about three times as many players.
Why?
One reason is, duh, the weather.
Kids can do the kind of rigorous outdoor workouts there all season that maybe snow days or very cold days prohibit.
Another is spring ball.
Yes, Florida high schools have spring football.
They have another season perfecting their game while Pennsylvania football players are playing basketball, baseball or lacrosse.
It makes a difference. The latest charts available are from 2002, but the statewide patterns of NFL players and what state they played their high school ball in has been pretty much the same.
The warm-weather states of Florida and California are where the players are at.
In this class of 26 football players at Temple University, Al Golden has stayed true to his recruiting footprint of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, while grabbing a couple of players from Florida.
Here’s the breakdown:

You’ve got to like the approach.
Golden is getting players the big schools want, like Vaughn Carraway, James Nixon and Tony Cornelius, just to name a few. Still, he’s trusting his gut and film on players like Alex Jackson and Quentin White.
It’s a gut based on years of watching film.
Back in the day, Wayne Hardin had the same kind of gut recruiting for Temple University.
That turned out pretty good.
I trusted Hardin then and I’m going to trust Golden now.

By Mike Gibson
Inside of the Edberg-Olson Hall Football Complex, Al Golden was talking about the 26 guys who just signed to become football players at Temple University.
It’s a great class, perhaps the best of three good ones Golden brought to North Broad Street.
In the middle of it all, Golden took time to look outside.
“I’m looking right now and there’s 70-75 guys out there right now,” he said. “This is their day off.”
The calendar says spring ball begins in March.
Reality said it began the Monday after the Western Michigan game.
Go to the E-O on any day and you’ll see plenty of Owls working out on their own.
The media came to learn about the new class, but mostly what they saw was the culture changing outside.
Joe Jones is part of that culture. He’s a three-star running back who’s rehabbing an injury.
Don’t count him out of the competition for starting running back.
“Joey Jones is someone everyone in this room has a lot of respect for,” Golden said. “He’s a great kid. He’s done a great job in the classroom. He wants to be here. You can’t say enough about that.”
Golden is slowly molding his team with 18 high school team captains among the current 26 on top of the 20-plus Golden signed in the first two classes.
“I really say this is our second recruiting class,” Golden said. “It’s hard to say that we had a first recruiting class. We had six weeks.”
It’s obvious that Golden is building a house of brick. It’s becoming so nice he might want to live in it awhile once it’s done.
“I am here,” he said, when asked about speculation about him. “My heart’s here. My family’s here. This is where I want to be. Let’s not put the carraige before the horse here. We won four games. Four and a half.
“I voted with my feet. What do you say to that?”
So, too, did the 70-75 guys practicing right outside.
This might have been a day to discuss the new guys but core guys were right outside on that field.
Don’t forget those guys, too.

By Mike Gibson
It’s this time of year that Al Golden checks the plug in fax machine at the Edberg-Olson Hall Football Complex and makes sure the tray is filled with paper.
Heck, if necessary, he’ll bring in a backup fax machine or two just in case.
Fortunately, all the other work has been done and the fax machine should be humming on Wednesday with commitments in the form of signed letters-of-intents from your newest Temple Owls.
If there’s a theme this season, it’s that playmakers make plays and there is an abundance of playmakers in this current class.
These are the guys likely to fax their letter-of-intents Wednesday. The good news is that they are have a long history of making winning football plays. The better news that, with the exception of one or two players at the MOST, all of these guys will be in uniform by summer practice.
It is by OBJECTIVE accounts, especially the one published by Scout.com, the No. 1 class by a lot in the Mid-American Conference.
That’s the third straight year Golden has pulled in a class rated No. 1 by either Scout.com, Rivals.com, collegefootballnews.com, all three (last year), just both or just one.
If you don’t think that’s going to translate into results on the field of play sooner than later, you are just not paying attention.
Or you are an Ostrich.
Many thanks to Scout.com, Rivals.com and informed fans like tchaump for helping us crosscheck this list with what’s available off reliable internet sources.
It may not be exact, but it’s darn close and in no particular order:
Adrian Robinson, LB, Harrisburg _ A three-star linebacker who the premier recruiting expert on the Scout.com network, Matt Alkare, says, “I’ve seen this kid play several times and he’s a big-time stud.” Has already academically qualified. Could become an immediate starter at either outside or inside linebacker.
Tony Cornelius, RB, Boca Raton, Fla. _ An Iowa de-commit who committed to Temple and a second-team All-State running back (large schools) in Florida. An immediate factor in the Owls’ starting backfield.
Alex Jackson, DE, Dunnellon, Fla. _ A 6-foot-4, 225-pound end who one Palm Beach Post writer told us reminds him of “a young Reggie White.” Nuff said.
Anthony Rapley, TE, Georgia _ Was a first-team all-state tight end in Georgia.
Ahkeem Smith, RB, Bethlehem Liberty _ Scored 15 touchdowns for Liberty and rushed for over 1,000 yards. A two-time Allentown Morning Call all-area first team selection.
Deven Baker, WR, Bound Brook, N.J. _ How this excellent wide receiver escaped the clutches of his hometown Rutgers’ squad is RU’s loss and Temple’s gain.
Cedric Hammond, WR, Washington, D.C. _ One of the best wide receivers in Washington, D.C., Hammond developed a reputation for great hands.
Vaughn Carraway, WR, Laureldale, Pa. _ First three-star wide receiver ever to turn down Michigan to accept a Temple offer. Carraway will get a chance to show his considerable skills here. Will push for a starting job as a freshman. Already academically qualified.
Kevin Kroboth, athlete, Nazareth High _ Playing for a traditionally losing program, the coaches there had to use Kroboth at a variety of positions from safety to wide receiver to punt returner to quarterback, his most recent position. Temple coaches will use him the same way to fill an area of most need.
Shahid Pauhill, DE, North Catholic _ Think Michael Strahan and you get the kind of game this North Catholic Falcon has.
Josh Williams, DE, Arizona Western _ Is already a Temple student and ready to play spring ball. That gives him a leg, or two, up on the rest of the class.
James Nixon, RB, Connecticut (via North Bridgton, Maine) _ A Connecticut signee out of high school, was rated the top running back out of that state as a high school senior. He could be the sleeper of this class only because a lot of fans don’t know how good he is. From our reports, he’s every bit as explosive a running back as Smith and Cornelius are. Could end up a starter. Academically qualified already.
Malcolm Williams, RB, Reading _ Played the same type of “wing T” quarterback position at Reading High that Boston College recruit Eric Reynolds sometimes ran snaps out of at Central Bucks South. Didn’t have the RB snaps Reynolds did, hence his less impressive stats. Don’t let that fool you, though. Reports we get from the Reading Eagle guys are that he’s every bit the RB Reynolds is.
Steve Caputo, OL, Unionville _ Big and strong with impressive speed and bench press numbers, Caputo is a beast with a brain. Turned down solid Syracuse offer to come to Temple and could probably start right now if the Owls played a game tomorrow.
Wayne Tribue, OL, Central York _ Comes from the same high school that produced former Owl quaterback Matty Baker and with Caputo-type street cred.
Muhammad Wilkerson, DE, Hargrave (Va.) _ Played his prep ball for Hargrave Military Academy, but was a top high school player at Linden. Tremendous explosiveness off the ball. Not only one of the best football players in the state of New Jersey as a senior, but one of the top basketball players as well. Big Mo should immediately become a part of the most fiercesome four-man DE rotation in the MAC. Think what the Giants did to Tom Brady and just times it by four.
Tahir Whitehead, S, West Side, Newark (N.J.) _ A fierce hitter at safety, he will fit right in with assistant head coach Mark D’Onofrio’s attacking defensive schemes. West Side experienced a “mini-Temple” like rebirth, going from 1-9 to 7-3. Whitehead was a big part of that resurgence.
Jeffrey Legree, QB, Fort Hamilton, Bronx (N.Y.) _ A quarterback with an outstanding skill set, speed and elusiveness and a strong arm, Legree is working hard to get qualified. If he does, great. If he doesn’t, there’s a chance he’ll go the prep route. Either way, he figures to be in the Owls’ quarterback plans once he qualifies.
Ryan Murray, OL, Bok _ A 6-6, 335 lineman with great physical tools, played for former Owl quarterback, Tom DeFelice, in South Philly. Should provide depth on the line.
Marlin Terrell, DB, Coppell, Tex. _ High school football is a religion in Texas and Terrell made enough plays on film to wow the Temple coaches. Anyone who has seen the film on this kid, as I have, knows he’s a very special player. If Daryl Robinson gets moved to lock-down left corner, this guy can easily lock down the other side.
Geoffrey Prather, LB, Archbishop Carroll _ A perennial all-league and all-Delco linebacker who has the speed to play safety, if needed, for the Owls.
Others (that we could not find film or enough written reports to make an informed evaluation) include Maurice Jones, athlete, Belleville, N.J.; and Sean and Pat Boyle (Calvert Hall brothers and offensive linemen), Quinten White, a linebacker from Cardinal Dougherty and Lawrence Turner, a linebacker from Newport News, Va.
If we left anyone out, we apologize.
There’s about 24 hours left to sort this all out for good.

By Mike Gibson
Tony “Soul Train” Cornelius plans to major in business.
It looks like he already has the concept of risk/reward mastered.
If only Eric Reynolds were so smart.
Cornelius announced today that he has de-committed from his verbal to Iowa to attend Temple.
There are at least two reasons why this stands out Cornelius’ first excellent business decision.
One, Temple has the top-ranked undergradute business school in the nation, The Fox School of Business.
You think of Penn and you think of Wharton, which is the top post-grad school.
You think of Temple and you think of Fox.
Second, risk/reward.
Temple wants to move one of last year’s featured backs, Daryl Robinson, to lock-down corner.
That opens a spot.
If Cornelius is the player we think he is and the player he thinks he is, there’s a good chance that he’ll grab it. The position of tailback is essentially open, between two Florida guys, Boca Raton’s Cornelius and South Broward’s Joe Jones and Bethlehem Liberty’s Ahkeem Smith. Maybe holdovers Jason Harper and Robinson.
That’s it.
The risk is negative and the reward is positive.
Take a look at the video and judge for yourself.
We like the daytime clip that shows him on the left side outrunning two guys who have angles on him. It’s hard enough to outrun a guy in a Florida high school game.
It’s almost impossible to do it when one guy has an angle on you.
It is impossible when two of them do, but Cornelius proves the impossible is possible in the above clip.
If you don’t believe me, look for yourself. Even if you do believe me, look for yourself.
The music isn’t NFL films quality but the football is.
Now that Cornelius has the concept of risk reward mastered, we’ll package him with a nickname: Soul Train.
The Iowa Hawkeye website reports that Soul Train creator Don Cornelius is Tony’s grandfather, but we haven’t been able to confirm that elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the nickname is good enough to stick.
Soul Train. It befits the way he transports the football.
I like that.
Hopefully, he will, too, in time.

By Mike Gibson
What do Vaughn Carraway and Mike Palys have in common?
They are game-breakers and trailblazers.
Both turned down schools that have a name over a school that has a life and a substance.
Both could have gone anywhere.
Both chose Temple.
Chances are you already know that Carraway committed to Temple University today and that he is the No. 19 prospect in all of the state of Pennsylvania.
A brief refresher course on Palys, though, might be in order.
Palys was the first player who had a solid “offer” and not “interest” on the table from Penn State and picked Temple instead in 1984.
He was lured by the enthusiasm of a young coach named Bruce Arians.
Carraway, too, chose to blaze a trail today when he picked Temple University. At one time, he had a solid offer on the table from Michigan.
Like Palys with Penn State and Walter Washington with Nebraska, Carraway is believed to be the first player to ever pick Temple over Michigan.
Like Palys, a young coach, this time Al Golden, convinced him that Temple was the best place to be.
He joins a stellar group of recent recruits who chose to be a part of something special, the resurgence of Temple football and help bring big-time college football to a major Eastern city like Philadelphia.
All Carraway has to do is keep doing what he’s done to get here, work hard, and Temple quarterback Adam DiMichele will get him the ball.
He will get noticed playing in this big city, in its large media market before a fan base starved for a winning team.
Thanks to guys like Carraway, of Muhlenberg High near Reading, this class is shaping up as the best class since Arians lured this group to North Broad Street on Feb. 8, 1984:

• Mike Hinnant _ Of Springarn in Washington D.C., the tight end chose Temple over Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia.
• Auturo Weldon _ Also of Springarn, Weldon picked the Owls over Syracuse and West Virginia.
• Craig King _ a high school All-American lineman from Clifton, N.Y., who picked Temple over Texas A&M.
• Joe Greenwood _ Defensive back from Johnstown who picked the Owls over West Virginia, Pitt and Maryland.
• Mike Palys _From North Pocono High, Palys was the son of former Phillies centerfielder Stan Palys and he caught a pair of long touchdown passes from Matty Baker, both on flea-flickers, in a 45-28 win over Boston College in 1988. Was also a great punt returner for the Owls and a terrific baseball player for Temple.

We bring up that class because they and Arians proved it can be done at Temple.
Now Golden is proving the same thing with a whole other generation of players at a school Arians would not recognize in terms of buildings or facilities.
Carraway is just the latest recruit, but he’s a trailblazer much like Palys and Washington were.
If you need more convincing on how big this is for both the Owls and their fans, here are some stories on Carraway:
The Vaughn Carraway Chronicles
Rivals recruiting rankings _ It includes a list of the top 40 players in the fertile state of Pennsylvania and Carraway is listed in the upper half.
The Pittsburgh Preseason Report _ Which confirms the official Michigan offer and ranks him at No. 21 going into the season.
Kicking to Carraway is a bad mistake, you bleepin’ dope _ How Carraway’s clutch punt return helped keep Muhlenberg unbeaten.
Carraway’s 108-yard interception return _ It turns out throwing in his direction is also a bad mistake, IF you happen to be wearing any color not Cherry or White (except at the Penn State game this fall).
Welcome, Vaughn Carraway, and congratulations for making the best decision of your young life, a wise choice that is going to set you up for an outstanding future.
By the way, Mike Palys is now Dr. Michael D. Palys, a very successful and wealthy doctor in Boston, a periodontist on the staff at Harvard University.

Nobody at Rivals.com is claiming to be No. 2.

By Mike Gibson
Temple football fans can say with metaphysical certainty one thing:
“We’re No. 1.”
They are not only the No. 1 fans in the MAC, in terms of average official attendance figures, but their team is No. 1 in another important category for three straight years.
Football recruiting.
Both Scout.com and Rivals.com have Temple ranked No. 1 in the MAC in recruiting at this late date in the process.
With only a couple of weeks left, it’s almost impossible for Temple to lose it’s No. 1 ranking among MAC teams.
Scout.com has the Owls No. 64; Rivals has the Owls No. 72.
Most observers feel the criteria Scout.com uses make it the more credible of the two recruiting services.
That marks the third straight year Al Golden has used his powers of persuasiveness and his sports psychology degree to convince top athletes to pick Temple.
Many of them could have gone anywhere.
Many are picking Temple.
Good students. Intelligent people.
Smart kids, especially, because they have chosen to be part of and write what will be the No. 1 story in college sports next season: The resurgence of Temple football.
What’s interesting is who the Owls are ahead of in the Scout.com database:
UConn (65), Vanderbilt (68) and Oregon State (71).

By Mike Gibson
After Temple played Penn State a lot tougher than the 31-0 score indicated, there were mostly two topics of discussion in the parking lot afterward.
“Man, I can’t believe we left 28 points on the field and, damn, did you see the sweatshirt Al Golden was wearing?”
I knew I couldn’t do anything about the touchdowns Alex Joseph and Omar McDonough-Hales and Matt Balasavage let go through their hands or great touchdown catch that D’yonne Crudup made but was taken from the Owls by the refs but I could do something about the sweatshirt so I filed that in the back of my mind.
About a month later, I couldn’t make the football banquet but I talked to about 20 people to get their impressions.
To a man, they said something to this effect:
“I can’t believe Al Golden only spoke for five minutes but, damn, you should have seen that video.”
It took me awhile but now I have the sweatshirt and the video and they both look good.
The video is so good, done by a young man named Fran Duffy (not to be confused to hoop coach Fran DUNPHY), I would do it a disservice if I tried to describe it here.
It keeps Temple football in season for me all year long.
The sweatshirt?
I can’t describe it, either, but, damn, it looks good.
It’s the best Temple sweatshirt I’ve ever seen.
You, too, can have both.
For the sweatshirt, please email Patti Hagel at patti.hagel@temple.edu.
She’ll tell you that it’s $55 and the money goes to the Al and Kelly Golden Fund for Breast Cancer Awareness. If you want it mailed to you, it’s an extra $10-15 or you can arrange to pick it up.
For the video, please send a check for $20 to Fran Duffy at francis.duffy@temple.edu and he’ll hook you up with a DVD.
Make both checks out to “Temple University.”

Send email to Patti Hagel for sweatshirt

Send email to Fran Duffy for video

By Mike Gibson
After his fliratation with UCLA, I don’t know if I will ever look at Al Golden quite the same way again.
I never thought Al would be here forever, but I definitely bought into his commitment to build the university a house of brick, not straw.
That was the way Greg Schiano built the program at Rutgers, not going the quick fix like grabbing five or six JUCO All-Americans to make a quick impression.
It was, in my mind, the right way to build the program at Temple.
When he turned down Boston College last year, I thought, ‘Way to go, Al, that’s the way to get it done. We can’t build that brick house if you listen to every Tom, Dick and Harry on the street asking you to build them one, too.’ ”
Ty Pennington doesn’t listen to other sob stories when he’s committed to helping one down-and-out family. He builds the damn house first, then goes on to the next sob story.
I was stunned beyond belief that he would go after a UCLA job when only one wall was up at Temple. I don’t begrudge Golden a chance at bettering his status in life, it’s just that he not only signed at Temple to do a job but he gave his solemn promise that he would get it done.
Then I thought of something John Chaney once said.
“Once you tell me you don’t love me, it’s over,” Chaney said on March 24, 1992, talking about Rick Brunson when he transferred to Boston College for two months, took a job there, before having a change of heart and transferring back to Temple.
It ended well for the Owls then.
Hopefully, this story will end that way, too.
The way I feel about Temple football is that if you tell Temple football you don’t love it, then it’s over. It’s that important to me this house gets fixed.
I know exactly where John Chaney was coming from.
Well, it wasn’t over for Chaney and Brunson then and it probably won’t be over for Al Golden and all of his current disenfranchised fans, either.
But he’s going to have to show me a lot in the next month or so.
Eric Reynolds was, at least in my mind, a three-star running back that got away.
It would be nice to replace him with a three-star running back, say, an Albert Gray of Florida.
Keeping 99 percent of the current recruits, guys like Steve Caputo of Unionville, also would be another step.
When Kobe Bryant betrayed from his wife, he regained her “trust” with a $14 million ring.
I don’t need the ring.
I need a running back, a kicker and no decommits to feel the Al Golden love again.