Category Archives: Montel Harris

10.15.12
by

The (not so) secret formula to beat Rutgers

The media blitz already has begun for this game with a crowd of at least 40K expected.

“We’ve got the best kicker in the country. That was the mindset. I was tempted to go for two (at the end of regulation) but  I thought, ‘Let’s go to overtime.’ In overtime, we were really starting to pound the ball in there and almost scored (a touchdown) but I had enough. I was afraid we were going to have a center/quarterback exchange problem so I was going to center the ball to the left and I thought the best kicker in college football has got to win the game for Temple right now. And that was our strategy. We’re lucky it worked out.”_ Steve Addazio

One of the requirements for a journalism degree when I was at Temple was to take Creative Writing 101.
The basic tenant of the course was that a good story always has a solid beginning, middle and end and all three are intertwined.
So it is with Temple University’s 2012 football team.
The beginning (a 41-10 beatdown of Villanova) was good. Villanova is a much better FCS team than most people give it credit for and the 5-2 Wildcats are coming off a 38-14 win at No. 3 Old Dominion in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,000. Right now, Villanova looks like it could put up about 100 on Howard and 40 on Tulane.
The Owls are 3-2 and 2-0 and that’s better than most prognosticators expected.
The middle and end of the story is yet to be determined.
The middle comes EXACTLY at halftime Saturday against Rutgers and how that plays out will go a long way toward determining what happens at the end.
No one know knows what will happen on Saturday, but the formula to beating Rutgers is pretty simple:

1) Get off to a good start. The Owls have had some trouble doing that largely due to their stubbornness about establishing the run against solid fronts. Maybe they can tweak the game plan to fix that (see No. 2).

2) Get away from the offensive philosophy of pound and ground. If you thought the Penn State and UConn defenses were good at stopping the run, Rutgers is better. The Owls can move the ball on the ground against Rutgers ONLY if they set it up with some well-designed short slant passes. They can take advantage of past tendencies by play-faking to Montel Harris to freeze the defense, particularly on first down (not third). Roll out terrific running and clutch throwing quarterback Chris Coyer, the New Mexico Bowl MVP. That moves him away from the rush and gives him an option to run (if it’s open) or pass (if the DBs) come up on run support.

Brandon McManus kicks the game-winner against UConn.

3) Get field goal kicker Brandon McManus, on the Lou Groza Watch list as placekicker of the year in BCS football, in field position to kick five FGs. He’s got a range of 55 yards and in, so that should not be too difficult. McManus has also kicked a 70-yarder (under a rush) in practice. Hopefully, the Owls can get him closer and more often Saturday. He is also on the Ray Guy Watch List as best punter in the nation and  the Ray Guy in him will do the Lou Groza in him a favor with his normal booming punts.
“We’ve got the best kicker in the country,” Steve Addazio said. “That was the mindset. I was tempted to go for two (at the end of regulation) but  I thought, ‘Let’s go to overtime.’ In overtime, we were really starting to pound the ball in there and almost scored (a touchdown) but I had enough. I was afraid we were going to have a center/quarterback exchange problem so I was going to center the ball to the left and I thought the best kicker in college football has got to win the game for Temple right now. And that was our strategy. We’re lucky it worked out.”

4) Show some “trickeration” for a change. That has not been on any past Temple game film and would probably work now. A throwback pass from Big 33 starting QB Jalen Fitzpatrick, now the Owls’ best WR, off a reverse (or double-reverse) to either Coyer, Romond Deloatch or Khalif Herbin would work against an over-pursuing defense.

That gets Temple 22 points.
Then the Temple defense just has to do about as good a job as Howard and Tulane did against RU.
Not much to ask since the Temple defense is about 100x better than Howard and Tulane.
It’s as simple as 1-2-3-4 and would be a heckuva middle to a great story, setting up a terrific ending.
It might even be a classic in the non-fiction section by New Year’s Day.

Tomorrow: Got a winner in town
Wednesday: TU-RU by the numbers
Thursday: Throwback Thursday (TU-RU theme)

10.10.12
by

Robert Burton Week at UConn

This was the talk of national radio and ESPN TV on Jan. 26, 2011.

 

Game time is 1 p.m. Saturday.

In the crowd of about 35,000 fans at the Temple vs. UConn game on Saturday, there will be one person who can’t lose.
His name is Robert Burton.
You won’t see them, though, unless you have a pretty good set of binoculars that can peer through some stained glass or the ESPN3 telecast catches a glimpse of him because Burton will be in one of those fancy heated club boxes.

Our prediction on this game, published on June 4 in this blog (before
Montel Harris got here).

UConn or Temple is going to lose, that’s a given, but Burton will be a winner either way.
That’s because if UConn wins, Burton will get to see his favorite school win an important college football game at Homecoming.
If UConn loses, he’ll get to say “I told you so” and probably will be trying to suppress a smug grin behind the stained glass. Largely because Hathaway left, Burton has since patched up his well-publicized differences with UConn.

Connecticut v Temple

Temple

Burton was the guy who donated $3 million for his name to be given to the Robert Burton Football Complex, then wanted it back after UConn athletic director Jeff Hathaway hired Paul Pasqualoni instead of Steve Addazio.

The Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Club parking lot, at
Silver Lane and Simmons Road, is where visitors usually tailigate at UConn
but the official TU alumni tailgate will be at the Gray Lot across the street.

Now Addazio is at Temple and Pasqualoni is at UConn.
That’s why this week is Robert Burton Week and Saturday is unofficially Robert Burton Day at Rentschler Field.
It didn’t matter that Temple already hired Daz in the days before Randy Edsall resigned, Burton wanted UConn to go after him anyway.
I’ve got to give Hathaway a lot of credit for showing some ethics in picking the best available person and not raiding a fellow institution of hiring learning’s most recent hire.
At the same time, it looks like Temple made the better hire in that the Owls’ stock appears rising while the Huskies seem be going in the opposite direction.
The Owls can further solidify that general consensus with a solid win on Saturday.
In all games, there are winners and losers.
In this one, on this day, at least there is one person who could be both.

Rentschler Field forecast for Saturday.
09.26.12
by

Daz hearing the call for a rolling pocket

By the time Homecoming comes, the Temple offense could be revamped.

On this website, I have a site meter installed at the bottom.
It helps me get a pulse of what posts people are reading and where they are reading them from. Not surprisingly, the No. 1 place where people read “Temple Football Forever” is from temple.edu web addresses. Now this could be students from the tech center, professors in their offices, administrators, players and even coaches.
I don’t care.

‘Get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand a little quicker so we are not sitting there in the pocket too long. Move the pocket. We are going to address those things.’
_ Steve Addazio

I think it’s great that the Temple community is taking interest in the football team in general and in this website in particular.
That’s one of the reasons why I found this quote to be particularly revealing by Temple head football coach Steve Addazio today from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “So we’ve got to grow there,” Addazio said of the passing game. “Maybe more quick game. Get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand a little quicker so we are not sitting there in the pocket too long. Move the pocket. We are going to address those things.”
The three most important words there are “move the pocket” in my mind.
To me, the key message of my Monday post was “move the pocket.”
The post about that very issue appeared here Monday. Addazio addressed it at the Tuesday media gathering.
Hmm.
Listen, I think there’s a less than one percent chance Steve Addazio read my post and stole my idea, but I’m glad that he figured it out on his own, which I suspect.
Heck, even Stevie Wonder, let alone Stevie Addazio, could see how moving the pocket would help this Temple team as currently constituted.

Heck, even Stevie Wonder, let alone Stevie Addazio, could see how moving the pocket would help this Temple team as currently constituted

My only question is why the Owls didn’t use this approach the first three games. It seemed like they were pounding their heads against a brick wall with this run-first approach.
No matter, the kind of head-pounding that resulted in so many headaches for Owl fans could be over if Daz is serious.
The Owls have a terrific weapon in New Mexico Bowl MVP Chris Coyer, who is a good pocket passer with protection, even under pressure in the pocket. The QB who runs like a tailback could be deadly, though, if you roll him out to his left where he could buy time to see the field and strike fear of his running the ball in the defense.
If DBs come up in run support, Coyer could dump the ball over their heads for big gains to guys like Jalen Fitzpatrick and Deon Miller, let alone an occasional safety valve pass to Montel Harris or Matty Brown.
If the defense blitzes, Coyer can direct Wyatt Benson as the protection. I have not seen a better blocking fullback at Temple since Shelley Poole led Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer through the hole.
Fitpatrick, Harris and Brown are terrific playmakers in space, as is Coyer.
Running Harris and Brown up the middle, where there’s not much space, doesn’t play to their strengths.
The best way for the Owls to move the sticks, maintain possession, turn the scoreboard into an adding machine and keep their defense off the field is to run the offense through Coyer. The beauty of this tweak is that it also plays to the strengths of backups Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome. Coyer rolls left, Juice and Kevin roll right.
Whatever, I’m glad the braintrust at the E-O recognizes this and are using these two weeks to work on it.
I can’t wait until they, err, roll it out Oct. 6.

09.23.12
by

No anger, just disappointment


Close-but-no-cigar was typified by how close TU got to sacking McGloin on a 4th and 5 TD pass.

I thought the coaches had a great gameplan. My only question was punting on 4th and 4 late in the third quarter, down 14-3. Kick it into the end zone and you gain only 20  yards of field position. To  me, the correct call was to get a swing pass out there on the sideline near the sticks for four yards and keep the drive going. That’s the logical call and I don’t see giving up that down in exchange for 20 yards of field position. I didn’t see it when the call was made and I didn’t see it after PSU went 80 yards for a 21-3 lead. That’s being Temple Timid, not Temple TUFF.

 UNIVERSITY PARK _ After Temple’s 36-27 loss to Maryland, the predominant feeling from this corner was anger.
Anger, as in, “How can you not blitz the crap out of a true freshman QB who threw three blitz-induced picks against William and Mary?”
That loss was on the coaches.
Now, sitting here getting free wifi in McDonald’s after a 24-13 loss to Penn State, the overwhelming emotion is disappointment.
This one is on the players.
I thought the coaches had a great game plan. My only question was punting on 4th and 4 late in the third quarter, down 14-3. Kick it into the end zone and you gain only 20  yards of field position. To  me, the correct call was to get a swing pass out there on the sideline near the sticks for four yards and keep the drive going. That’s the logical call and I don’t see giving up that down in exchange for 20 yards of field position. I didn’t see it when the call was made and I didn’t see it after PSU went 80 yards for a 21-3 lead. That’s being Temple Timid, not Temple TUFF.
But the plays left on the field before that were the game-changers.
As the only Temple fan sitting in my section (thanks to a free ticket from a PSU supporter and friend) from near the top row of Beaver Stadium, I could see both Cody Booth and Jalen Fitzpatrick CLEARLY being missed on sure-fire touchdown passes.
Had the Owls hit those seemingly easy pitch and catches, the game might have been different. No bigger Chris Coyer supporter than I, but it looked like he missed the Fitzpatrick pass altogether.
On the other one, it looked as if Cody Booth stopped in the pass pattern did not go where the ball was designed to be thrown.

Owlscoop.com’s take on the game plan.

Since Jalen complained to the ref about being held, I think that might have been the case on his play, too.
 Still, I think Chris could have adjusted those throws for two scores.
Adam DiMichele makes both of those throws for scores. He didn’t care about timing patterns. Of course, on the other hand, Chester Stewart throws both balls into the first row, so I guess everything is relative.
That’s easy for me to say because I wasn’t being rushed by 6-foot-5, 300-pound linemen, but those are plays a big-time team makes in a big-time setting.
Temple isn’t a big-time team. At least not yet.
 It really ticks me off that the first Temple win over Penn State will come with an asterisk, but it’s going to happen in Philadelphia on Aug. 30, 2014.
The asterisk, of course, will be Temple having 10 more scholarships than Penn State in each of the next two seasons leading up to that game.
Temple will have a talent and depth edge so pronounced that I would be surprised Penn State gives Temple the kind of game the Owls have given PSU the last three years.
 On Saturday, though, it was just another case of close, but no cigar against PSU.
 I like cigars.
Temple could have given their fans a puff of a primo Havana cigar on Saturday.
Instead, we’ll have to settle for one of those cheap 7-11 cigars in 2014 and that’s a long way away.
That’s the bad news out of Saturday.
Other bad news came from our former MAC brethren against Big 10 teams. While Temple was losing at Penn State, Central Michigan was getting it done at Iowa and lowly Eastern Michigan was throwing a scare into Michigan State.
If them, why not Temple?
 The good news is that these are fixable problems. The defense is not a SEC-level defense, but it certainly is good enough to excel in the Big East.
Here’s the offensive fix: Have Romond Deloatch, Jalen Fitzpatrick, Deon Miller and Ryan Alderman in the receiving rotation. Forget everybody else for now. Get those guys up to speed. I know Deloatch stepped out of bounds on his great catch, but that is a minor problem that’s fixable in practice for a true freshman. He fights for the ball and catches it. I like that. I know Alderman had a drop, but that was his only drop in a three-year career at Temple that I can recall. He’s a great third-and-eight option. Fitzpatrick can make explosive plays downfield and he won’t drop the ball, either.
 Get the ball “in space” to Montel Harris and Matty Brown more. Shovel passes, screens, pitchouts. Those guys are deadly in space, not so much between the tackles.
If you want to run it up the middle, give it to fullback Wyatt Benson.
I think Penn State will prove to be the best team on the Temple schedule not named Louisville and the Lions might even be better than Louisville.
 More good news came from the mighty Big East on Saturday:
South Florida lost at Ball State (in the same stadium Temple beat Ball State, 42-0, last year).
“That’s the kind of team we’d like to be in four years,” Ball State coach Dave Lembo said of Temple after that loss last year. Since then, Ball State has beaten a Big 10 team and South Florida.
Heck, Ball State is the kind of team I’d like Temple to be in two weeks, too. Temple hasn’t fallen that fast in a year, has it? I don’t think so but they’ll have to prove it to me on Oct. 6.
Also, Western Michigan beat UConn.
Again.
Yeah, that transition from the MAC is really going to be tough for the Owls.
They have the blueprint for the fixes and two weeks to do it against South Florida. If Ball State can do it, so can they. There can be no excuses next time. Get ‘er done.
Now for the long ride home for both me and them.

09.20.12
by

Early forecast for Saturday: Temple sunshine

While the rain won’t be coming into Philadelphia until dinner time, it should be at Penn State by kickoff.

The early forecast is for rain on Saturday during Temple’s game at Penn State.
They might as well call it Temple sunshine.
Before the season, Penn State lost its top running back, Silas Redd, to a USC transfer.
Early reports this week indicate his top two replacements, Derek Day and Bill Belton, are banged up and might not play.

Bill O’Brien answers a question about the availability of top tailbacks Derek Day and Bill Belton.

Conversely, Temple lost its top tailback, Bernard Pierce, to the NFL draft but replaced him with an arguably better version of Pierce in Montel Harris. Also, Matty Brown, not Pierce, was Temple’s No. 1 all-purpose runner last year.
Unlike two Penn State tailbacks, Harris and Brown are 100 percent healthy and ready to go Saturday (ABC-TV, Channel 6).
As good as Pierce was, not even the biggest Pierce fan (err, me) is ready to say that Pierce would have been the second-leading all-time rusher in the ACC had he played in that conference.
Harris was and would have been the all-time leader had he remained at Boston College for his senior season.
History shows rain tends to dramatically reduce scoring and teams that can run the ball and have a good field goal kicker have a major advantage.
Temple can run the ball and its field goal kicker, Brandon McManus, is a darn sight better than Penn State’s (Sam Ficken). McManus is also a great punter and field position could be especially important under adverse weather conditions.
One of the most infamous times Penn State played a home game in a pouring rain and mud at Beaver Stadium, Navy posted a big upset win, 7-6, in 1974, one year after Penn State beat Navy in Annapolis, 39-0. In the rain, maybe it is a 10-7, 6-3 game and not in a 24-21 range. The last time Temple played in a steady rain was a 12-6 overtime loss to UConn during Hurricane Hanna.
I’ve never placed a bet on a Temple game and probably never will (it hurts enough to lose straight up and covering in a loss doesn’t make me feel any better), but it’s something to consider for those so inclined.
The under looks very appealing, Still, I’ll take any Temple win over cashing in at the payout window.

08.23.12
by

Bernard Who?

Villanova (and Rutgers and South Florida, among others) have never seen anything like Montel Harris.

What can be said about Montel Harris that hasn’t already been said?
We all know the facts, that Harris was the second-leading rusher in the HISTORY of the ACC, that he was LAST YEAR’S runaway choice for Preseason Player of the Year in that same conference, that he once ran for 252 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-28 win over North Carolina State and had 22 games of over 100 yards against ACC teams such as Florida State, Virginia Tech and Miami.
Much bigger-time teams than even the ones he will be facing in the Big East.

David Wilson and Luke Kuechly were first-round NFL picks.
Danny O’Brien is the starting QB at Wisconsin. Few considered
them nearly as good as Montel Harris in the ACC media poll.

All I was interested in finding out Tuesday during a media sitdown with the new Temple running back (and quite possibly this year’s Big East Player of the Year) was finding out if Montel Harris was 100 percent because, if he is, he will make people forget Bernard Pierce.
No bigger Bernard Pierce fan than me but, as good as Pierce was (and still is), a healthy Harris is better.
There’s a lot of empirical evidence out there to suggest that. Harris had more yards in a much higher level of football playing roughly the same number of games as Pierce did.
Harris says he’s 100 percent. I believe him.
If that holds up, people might be saying Bernard Who if not by September, then certainly by October.
He says he’s fine and so does head coach Steve Addazio and the cuts he made on the field on Tuesday said so the loudest.
“I’m feeling 100 percent,” Harris said. “The knee is good. It was the left knee, but most people aren’t able to tell.”
When I first saw the many video highlights of Harris, his running style reminded me a lot of not Pierce, but Matt Brown, the other half of Temple’s 1-2 running punch. Harris is bigger and heavier. Brown might be a tad faster. Both are tough and both can make runners miss and make what Addazio calls “explosive plays” downfield. Throw in a great running quarterback like Chris Coyer and a spread offense that opens the field up and a few bulbs could break this year on the Lincoln Financial Field scoreboard.
“I’m a balanced runner able to make things happen in the open field but also able to break tackles,” Harris said.
Even though Harris ran into some trouble at Boston College, I think he will be a solid citizen at Temple.
“I’m just here to say I’m here to play football and I’m a great football player and I have great character off the field,” Harris said.
Everyone at the E-O has known that for the past month or so.
In eight days, the seamless transition from BP to MH could become just an unquestioned upgrade to Temple’s fans.

08.21.12
by

Newsome: ‘I’m a Temple Owl until the day I die’

“When I was at Penn State ….  I would always look at when we played Temple. They would always get close to us, and I used to see just the fight in these guys, knowing they were the underdogs, and they kept fighting with the big dogs. I thought that was very impressive, really impressive, with their fight. And that was a big deal as to why I came here.” _ Kevin Newsome

Kevin Newsome spoke to the media for the first time after practice on Tuesday and I have to say that I was very impressed. Not only did Newsome come up with the quote of the summer camp “I’m a Temple Owl until the day I die” he opened the door for the possibility of playing on defense and special teams to help the Owls. Go to the 1:50 mark on the time stamp for the exact quote.
Another great quote was this one:

“When I was at Penn State ….  I would always look at when we played Temple. They would always get close to us, and I used to see just the fight in these guys, knowing they were the underdogs, and they kept fighting with the big dogs. I thought that was very impressive, really impressive, with their fight. And that was a big deal as to why I came here.”
I always thought Newsome would make a great starting OLB or  safety for the Owls and I still think that.
Newsome was 240 pounds three months ago and has now slimmed down to 215, which would probably make him a better safety candidate than a linebacker.

Whether head coach Steve Addazio or defensive coordinator Chuck Heater think that is more important.
Everything I’ve been hearing from Addazio so far is that Newsome is in a battle with Juice Granger for the No. 2 quarterback spot. If Addazio thinks it is more important to have three athletic and solid QBs, then Newsome will remain in the QB rotation.
Newsome was Darryl Clark’s backup at Penn State for the entire 2009 season.
Whatever Daz says about this, I agree with but seeing Newsome holding the clipboard as No. 3 QB when he can be a playmaker on defense right away would be frustrating from my standpoint as a fan and maybe Kevin’s as a player.
There’s no law against Newsome playing defense for the Owls this year and moving back to the other side of the ball if needed. Brian Broomell started on defense as a true freshman at safety, then moved over to quarterback by the time he was a senior and led the nation in passing efficiency.

Temple’s Fan Fest is Wednesday
(8/22) from 5-7
at Xfinity Live (outside section).
It’s free but $15 to park due to
Phillies game that night.

I don’t think Kevin would have brought up defense or special teams if he wasn’t being considered for one or both.
We’ll find out in less than two weeks.

Tomorrow: 2011 ACC Preseason Player of Year Montel Harris

07.09.12
by

BC fans nearly unanimous in support of Harris

Montel Harris gets carried off the field after beating Clemson. This could be
him hoisted by the Owls after beating Cincinnati for Big East title at LFF.

“Is it wrong that I will be kind of rooting for Temple this year? I want to see Day, Harris and Rogers succeed.”  _ A.J. Black, contributing writer, BC Interruption

The news that Montel Harris is officially at Temple and participating in pre-season workouts made at least two people happy.
Steve Addazio and Ted Brown.
Addazio, you know about.

Bernard Pierce vs. Montel Harris
(both played 3 full CF years)
Pierce: 663 carries, 3,570 yards
Harris: 787 carries, 3,735 yards

The Temple head coach not only had the most successful first season of any coach in the school’s history, but he also followed that up with the highest-ranked recruiting class in Temple history, better than any of the Al Golden classes.
Even more notable than recruiting, Temple finished the 2011 season ON THE FIELD ranked higher in the Sagarin ratings than all but one of the current Big East teams (Cincinnati).
Sagarin (USA Today) had Temple finishing the 2011 season ranked No. 30 in the country, with only Cincinnati (No. 28) ahead of it and the Owls finishing ahead of Rutgers (37), South Florida (47), Louisville (64), Pitt (68), UConn (73) and Syracuse (83). Realtime RPI.com had Temple ranked No. 37, behind only Cincinnati (24) and Rutgers (30). Louisville was 53, Pitt 64, ‘Cuse (83, again) and UConn 89.
So much for Temple taking a step back without Al Golden.
Brown, you don’t know about unless you are an old-time North Carolina State football fan. Brown will now keep his spot as the ACC’s all-time leading rusher. Had Harris stayed at Boston College, he almost certainly would not have. Harris was just 828 yards short of the record when he left the Chestnut Hill (Mass.) school in March.
The circumstances surrounding his dismissal are foggy at best but there almost unanimous support of this young man on the most popular Boston College football fan website. More important than that, his two closest position coaches at BC, Temple offensive gurus Ryan Day and Kevin Rogers, have vouched for him. That’s all I need to know.
 You can make a strong argument that Harris is the best rusher in ACC history.

Harris graces cover of TSN in 2010.

On a Big East message board, one fan wrote that “this gives Temple a legit rusher.”
 Au contrare, my friend. It gives Temple THREE (3) legit rushers.
Remember, Matty Brown, not Bernard Pierce, was Temple’s No. 1 all-purpose rusher last year. Pierce was a third-round NFL draft choice.
Quarterback Chris Coyer, unbeaten as a starter, ran for a 69-yard touchdown against Ball State and an 80-yard touchdown against Villanova. Oh yes, Coyer, an excellent passer as well, gained 184 yards RUSHING against a bowl-winning Ohio team.
On this website, Brown was the runaway winner of a poll asking “Which running back most epitomizes the term Temple TUFF?” and beat out Pierce, Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer, Mark Bright and others by a large margin.
Brown won’t give up his No. 1 spot easily.
My feeling all along that this is all good for Brown and Harris and Temple. If, as expected, Harris is 100 percent, he will slide into Pierce’s spot and get the 27 touchdowns and 1,789 yards Pierce had last season.
If he’s 85-90 percent, he will slide into Brown’s spot of last season and pick up Matt’s 916 yards and six touchdowns.
It’s all good for Steve Addazio, Temple football, Montel Harris, Matt Brown and, especially, Ted Brown.

05.02.12
by

ACC’s 2d-leading all-time rusher coming to TU?

First, Temple recruited Montrell Dobbs as a possible long-term replacement for Bernard Pierce. Now, Montel Harris seems to be at least a POSSIBLE short-term solution, according to CBS and BC Interruption.
 Everybody knows the REAL replacement for Pierce is our very own Matty Brown, who was Temple’s No. 1 all-purpose back last season. If Harris, as rumored, comes to Temple he will be eligible to play immediately since he will likely be graduating from Boston College in a couple of weeks, the so-called Russell Wilson Rule.

Tweet by Bruce Feldman on Tuesday.

Wilson graduated from North Carolina State and was able to finish his career at Wisconsin. Dobbs is sitting out a year and is positioning himself an interesting No. 1 fight between himself, Jalen Fitzpatrick (who could be a slot receiver), Khalif Herbin (who also could play slot), Brandon Peoples and Jamie Gilmore for the top spot on the 2013 Owls. Maybe one or more of those guys could be redshirted if Harris arrives on campus.
So Temple should be able to make a smooth transition from the Brown/Pierce Era to an equally impressive stable of tailbacks.
The difference between Montel and Montrell is that Montel will be able to play right away.
IF Harris comes to Temple, somebody is giving him very good advice. If he enters the NFL supplemental draft coming off a knee injury, he has virtually no chance to make an NFL roster. If he enters the NFL draft coming off a strong senior year at Temple, he’s got a good chance to do it as a first-round draft choice.
Pierce would have had the same opportunity if he had followed Steve Addazio’s advice to remain at Temple one more season.
 IF Harris comes, and that’s still a big if as of this minute, he will come with Pierce-like credentials. In fact, Harris is the second-leading all-time rusher in the history of Boston College and that’s impressive in itself. He would have entered this season as a prohibitive favorite to break Ted Brown’s ACC career rushing record that stood since 1979. Harris came into the 2011 season as the ACC’s preseason Player of the Year, but obtained a medical redshirt after hurting his knee in the first game.

If he doesn’t come, Temple will be fine at tailback. If one of the incoming freshman don’t pan out, Jalen Fitzpatrick can be an impact player at that position, just like Brown has been. Temple has more depth at that position than in the kicking game, put it that way.
Harris was kicked off err, asked to leave, the Boston College team for unspecified reasons, but if he comes here he would do so with the blessing of two top BC assistants who are now at Temple, quarterbacks’ coach Kevin Rogers and offensive coordinator Ryan Day. Obviously, they know the kid and, if they vouch for him, Steve Addazio would likely give him another chance.

IF Harris comes to Temple, somebody is giving him very good advice. If he enters the NFL supplemental draft coming off a knee injury, he has virtually no chance to make an NFL roster. If he enters the NFL draft coming off a strong senior year at Temple, he’s got a good chance to do it as a first-round draft choice.

Matt Brown, in my mind, would share the No. 1 tailback spot in the same way he shared it with Pierce. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement for both and one that figures to be a mutually beneficial one for Temple as well.
Heck, it’s not as if a tailback has never been injured.
 Between Paul Palmer, Pierce, Brown and guys like Todd McNair and Stacey Mack (and now both Montel and Montrell as well as Peoples and Gilmore), you could make a case for Temple being Tailback U.
With a distinctive Capital T.
Interesting footnote on this story. In the Owlsports.com Cherry and White game notes, it said “Matt Brown is wearing No. 2 for the spring game. His number in the fall is yet to be determined.” I wondered out loud why they didn’t just announce he was wearing No. 2 henceforth and, err, Temple football forever.
Harris wears No. 2.
Mystery solved.
Maybe.