Category Archives: Steve Addazio

09.12.11
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Temple vs. PSU: Already a Buzz

There’s a buzz about Temple vs. Penn State this year that I don’t ever remember in my Temple vs. Penn State lifetime and that’s half of Joe Paterno’s years.
I really feel the stars are perfectly aligned for a Temple win over Penn State this time.
I’ve never felt this strongly before.



Here’s to you, Mr. Robinson.

We’ll go into those details later in the week but suffice it to say that Temple has a healthy NFL first-round draft pick and a stone-cold stud carrying the ball (Penn State doesn’t), Temple has a defensive coordinator who was 12-0 as a DC on a BCS bowl team (Penn State doesn’t), Temple has a relatively youthful head coach who is a master motivator (and Penn State doesn’t) and Temple has an offensive coordinator who developed Tom Brady and Tim Tebow (and Penn State doesn’t).
Apparently, the Buzz extends to people named Buzz.
Not just any Buzz, mind you, the most famous person in the world named Buzz, Pulitizer Prize winning author Buzz Bissinger who correctly predicts a Temple victory over Penn State here. You’ve got to figure someone who writes about football with that kind of insight and lives in Pennsylvania knows a little about the state  of the two programs at this time.
Temple also has a massive offensive line that averages 6-5, 320 (and PSU doesn’t) and a Big 33 MVP (Adrian Robinson) and Penn State does not.
What will Temple have on Saturday that Penn State doesn’t have?
A win that day, 24-20.
The stars are perfectly aligned.

09.09.11
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MAC blogger roundtable: Week 2

It’s not even one-tenth into the Mid-American Conference season and, so far, all indicatons are that this is going to be a very good year.
Last year, New Hampshire beat Ball State on the road.
This year, Toledo hammered New Hampshire, 58-22, at home and Ball State beat rival Indiana.

Last year, Temple and Villanova were tooth and nail until the final seconds.
This year, Temple built a 42-0 lead and won, 42-7.
Eastern Michigan won and Western Michigan played well at The Big House.
Ohio scored 44 points with a win in New Mexico.
Miami played Missouri tough.
If this trend continues, that can be only good for MAC fans.
This week, it was my turn to host the MAC Blogger Roundtable.
What follows is five questions and we’ll pick the responses of Bull Run’s Tim Riordan (because he answered first) here, followed by the other MAC bloggers’ responses listed below.

My questions, followed by Tim’s answers and then followed by links to the answers from the other MAC bloggers. It’s the middle of the night Friday morning, so I’m posting the responses I’ve received to this point while watching the all-night coverage of the disastrous flooding in Eastern Pennsylvania on the local tube.

TFF: 9-1 against the spread
TFF was 9-1 against the spread in Week 1 and 8-2 straight up.
Our only loss against the spread was Missouri’s 17-6 win over Miami (we had Missouri cover the 17). We also picked the Ball State upset of Indiana against the spread, but not straight up.
We realize we set a high standard, but we’re going after it in Week 2.
Our picks:
Temple 38, Akron 7 _ Owls easily cover the 14 despite the fact that Akron doesn’t wear Villanova across the chests.
Western Michigan 43, Nicholls State 12 (no line, so no comment).
Ohio 44, Gardner-Webb 7 _ Gardner-Freakin’-Webb beat Arkon by a point last year. It will find out that Ohio is not Akron fast (NL).
Bowling Green 35, Morgan State 7 (no line).
Ball State 21, University of South Florida 20 (in a ballsy move, I’m going for an upset of the minus 23 line and a straight up win for the David Lettermans).
Lousiania Lafeyette 24, Kent State 20 _ even though KSU is a 6 1/2-point favorite in this oone, I’m going with LL both straight up and against the spread.
Ohio State 23, Toledo 17 _ The spread of 22 in this game is way too high. Easier money was never made.
Buffalo 31, Stony Brook 0 (NL) _ Stony Brook? Stony Brook? Are you serious, Buffalo?
Northern Illinois 21, Kansas 7 _ The class of the MAC so far handles a middle-of-the-road BCS team and covers the 7.
Season record: 8-2
Against the spread: 9-1

1) What was the most surprising result of the week and why?

BSU Beating Indiana:

I feel a bit dirty for calling out a Ball State game as the highlight but there it is. A win over an instate Big-10 Member something a lot of MAC teams would sell their mother for. Even if it is only Indiana!

I still think the cards may be in Bottom half of the west at but it shows how good the west is this season. This was a great emotional win for the program and could move them towards a 6+ win season. Ball State ran the ball down the Hosiers throats a lot of MAC teams will ahve to take notice of that.

2) What was the most expected result of the week and why?

NIU Beating up on Army:

The six point spread Vegas was giving to that game shows how ridiculously out of touch people are when it comes to the Huskies and the Mid American conference in general. NIU Returns so much talent but all people unfamiliar with the program see is the loss of Spann.

He may have been a big loss but last years Offensive player of the year had an amazing a line that could propel even an old fat guy like me to 3 or more yards per carry. There is real reason to think that the Huskies can give Wisconsin a run for the money this season, maybe they won’t have enough to close it but it should be one heck of a game.

3) Are you satisfied with the quality of reception and reliability of the current MAC online TV access of its games?

No! ESPN3 is not television coverage no matter how you brand it. I’m fine with it being used and the exposure on the weekends when everyone’s plate is full but when the mid week games roll around having them on the Tres is a slap in the face. Somehow we went from weeknight games on national TV to “Boy I hope we are on ESPN3 this week”

The announcers also tend to act like they drew the short straw. During the UB game the announcers were awful, they could have hired a fan from each school and gotten more things right. Factual errors, calling players the wrong name, and the overuse of old football sayings to cover up blatant ignorance.

4) Does Week 1 indicate that this is going to be the best year overall in the MAC in the last few or is that too soon?

I think so, no team gave away a game they should have won and the teams that did lose all made a decent showing for themselves. This is the first year in a long time with no inexplicable week one losses. No close calls, and no upsets by an FCS team.

This may be the best year since before Temple joined the conference. I expect Temple and Northern Illinois to flirt with the top 25 at some point this year. Toledo and OU have an outside shot if they run the table in conference.

5) Rank ’em, FIRST to worst:

# Team Change Comment

1 NIU – Many had this as a “Close” Game (Don’t ask me why). NIU should have fewer doubters this week after destroying the Black Knights

2 Toledo – Great showing by Toledo, UNH is a decent program and the Rockets punished them all game long. The score was far less lopsided then the game.

3 Temple 2 Nova is no longer one of the best teams in the FCS, but the Owls looked great and have a coach who knows how to use Pierce to set up the pass.

4 Ohio – Solid win over a team they should have beaten. The fact it’s on the road and at a pretty good elevation has them hold their spot

5 Miami -2 They have a huge number of very real chances to beat a ranked team but made too many mistakes in the first half. Still they walk away with a D that held Missouri to just 17 points.

6 WMU – A missed FG nad a red zone pick in the first half ended what was an impressive showing

7 BSU 3 IU is a low quality AQ team but they are an AQ Team

8 BGSU 1 Nice win but Idaho’s starting lineup belongs in a MASH unit right now

9 CMU -2 Yes they played a very good FCS team but they still should have played better on offense.

10 Kent -2 Not so much because they lost but because BSU and Bowling Green looked good. Kent played Alabama about as tight as any MAC school would.

11 EMU – Looked a bit hairy for EMU but they got it together and took down a lesser foe.

12 Buffalo – Definitely signs of life but still too much sloppy play. Dropped passes and a bad pick kept UB from really pushing the Panthers late.

13 Akron – Given some of the folks out at OSU I thought they would at least score a field goal

Around the league (we’ve only gotten a total of four responses, so we’ll add more by later Friday):
Bowling Green:
Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan:
Eastern Michigan
Toledo:
Toledo

09.06.11
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MAC haters and Temple


I don’t see Temple taking a step back in this video at all.
When I listen to an opinion, I usually consider the source and break it down into three levels of credibility:
Those who know a lot.
Those who know a little.
Those who know nothing.
You can put practically the entire MAC into the second and third category when talking about Temple University’s football team.

The notion that “Temple will take a step back without Al Golden” is widely regarded as gospel in the MAC community. Temple fans know a different reality.

Of the 14 MAC websites, including numerous blogs, only eight people picked Temple to beat Villanova and most of those who picked the Owls said it would be a “tight game.”
One of the guys  said “since Temple lost a ton of talent on defense” and “had a new system” that the Owls would lose to Villanova.
Huh?
I chalk this up to MAC haters. More specifically, Temple haters in the MAC.
Temple did lose some talent, but not a “ton” and the Owls returned nine of 11 guys who started AT LEAST ONE GAME on defense last year. One of the guys who started three games as a DE, promising left end Sean Daniels, is now a backup. Not due to any fault of his own but because Temple moved tight end Morkeith Brown, a born leader, to the DE slot. Temple’s defensive line is bigger, stronger, deeper and faster overall despite losing a first-round draft pick.
 Another returner, Steven Johnson, beat out one of the guys who went into an NFL camp for a cup of coffee at middle linebacker.
 New system?
Yeah, a new and improved system that does something the other system did not do, especially on offense _ put the Owls’ explosive players into the best position to explode. That is, establish the run with first-round NFL pick Bernard Pierce behind a massive offensive line (averaging 6-5, 320, the Eagles just wish they had that size) and then throwing play-action to talented receivers and tight ends.
The notion that “Temple will take a step back without Al Golden” is widely regarded as gospel in the MAC community. Temple fans know a different reality.
Did anyone notice that “Saint Al Golden” fielded a Miami team that committed nine penalties, including a false start and two illegal substitutions in a 32-24 loss at Maryland tonight? Does it sound familiar?
I thought so.
Look, one thing Al Golden did was bring in a ton of talent and it is still here but I maintain it’s coached better now. Al was a charismatic guy who was universally loved by mothers whose sons he recruited.


Good seats still available for PSU, but not for long.



On game day, not so much loved by Temple fans who remembered Wayne Hardin’s genius for those three hours of the week.
There’s an upgrade of talent on both offense and defense, but that’s something the MAC will start to learn the hard way on Saturday night at Akron.
For the record, I predicted on this website that the final score of the Villanova game would be 35-14 and on Owlscoop.com as 41-7.



My reasoning was that I saw this as an epic beatdown somewhere between that conservative 35-14 estimate and a possible 55-3 outcome.
That’s pretty much how it played out.
For Akron, I don’t expect a 42-7 beatdown because the word Akron doesn’t whip Temple players into a frenzy of hate that the word Villanova does.
So I will revert to the more conservative prediction of 35-14 and think that might drop to around 31-10, but no lower.
The season began last week, but breaking down perceptions around the league won’t start until Saturday night.
09.02.11
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What’s not to like about these Owligators?

Mike Edwards’ great photo captures Daz smiling ear to ear after his shower.

Watching that big smile on Steve Addazio’s face after being dumped with Gatorade told the whole story of last night’s 42-7 destruction of Villanova.
Gator Aid has arrived at Temple and it’s a pretty tasty drink.
All the key upper management in this program held key upper management jobs at the University of Florida.
Steve Addazio was Florida’s head coach for awhile (most people don’t remember that). Chuck Heater was defensive coordinator (officially, co-defensive coordinator but that was in name only). Scot Loeffler was the quarterbacks coach.
All showed their stuff impressively on Thursday night.

Addazio’s motivational skills + Loeffler’s play-calling + Heater’s fire-eaters = sky’s the limit

This is what an SEC staff can do to a 1AA staff, albeit probably the best 1AA staff out there.
This is what an SEC staff can do to the rest of the MAC.

Dare I say, this is what an SEC staff can do to a nearly 90-year-old head coach in a couple of weeks.
As I said in an earlier post, let’s go to the blackboard for Temple’s successful formula this season:
Addazio’s strength is as a CEO and a motivator.
Heater has impeccable credentials as a defensive coordinator.
Loeffler developed Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.
All showed their strengths on Thursday night.

The CEO in Addazio allowed Heater to run the defense and Loeffler to run the offense.
That read belly option Ohio abused Golden with the past two years?
Well, Villanova coach Andy Talley made it a staple of the Wildcat offense last night and Heater’s fire-eaters were not even fazed by it.
On offense, what have I been telling Golden and Matt Rhule for the past two years?
Establish the run behind franchise back Bernard Pierce, then use play-action off fakes to Pierce to find open receivers roaming through enemy secondaries.
Something that was so difficult for Golden to grasp Loeffler got right away.
The formula for Temple’s success in 2011 is simple:
Addazio’s motivational skills + Loeffler’s play-calling + Heater’s fire-eaters = sky’s the limit.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, though.
That 90-year-old (OK, 80-something) guy is known for saying a team improves most during the season between its first and second games.
If so, Akron better watch out.
It may take a week or two or three, but this notion that “Temple will take a step back without Al Golden” will be disabused in a hurry.

08.31.11
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The Eve of (Villanova’s) Destruction

Once again, we’ll let the Lovely Laura be your guide on what to expect tomorrow.

Long before midnight tomorrow night, we’ll find out if Steve Addazio can coach.
Despite what many of my Florida Gator friends tell me, I suspect he can. The sign of a great CEO is his knack for surrounding himself with top upper-level management.
Already, for whatever flaws Addazio might have had as an OC, he appears to have this CEO thing down.
What makes me confident is that the guy has surrounded himself with coordinators who might be the two best in college football, regardless of the level.

Chuck Heater was the defensive coordinator at Utah when it went 11-0.
Yeah, Freakin’ Utah.
He was the co-defensive coordinator at Florida (with Teryl Austin) over  the past couple of years at Florida.
Don’t let the “co” title confuse you.
“I call Chuck Heater Mother Theresa,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer said last season. “He’s worked miracles with our defense.”
That kind of endorsement is good enough for me.
Loeffler was the quarterbacks’ coach at Michigan for Tom Brady and at Florida for Tim Tebow.
That’s all I needed to hear.
I think he can, and probably will, put this offense in a better position to succeed than Matt Rhule has done.
Addazio, by even his detractors’ accounts, is a motivator second to none and an accomplished offensive line coach.
I like what this equation can do for Temple’s football team this year.
Addazio’s motivation + Loeffler’s playcalling/QB developmental skills + Heater’s fire-eaters = big-time success for the Owls.
Offensively, I look for Bernard Pierce, “datboy Nard”, to run wild over this team. Remember, in the first year, as a true freshman, Pierce gained 66 yards on six carries against the Wildcats despite being cleared by the NCAA to play only a couple days before kickoff. Last year, in the joke move of all joke moves, Al Golden helped Villanova out by alternating Pierce with Matty Brown on every other series.

Adrian Robinson: Three sacks.

Defensively, I look for Adrian Robinson to get three sacks and for guys like Kadeem Custis and Morkeith Brown to be spending more time in Villanova’s backfield than the Wildcat quarterbacks and running backs.
We won’t have to wait until the second or third game to find out if Temple has the right people in charge.
We’ll know by 11 p.m. tomorrow night.
My gut tells me a 55-3 Temple win. My head tells me more like 35-14. The score will probably end up somewhere in between.
Anything less than 35-14 and we’re not in as good a shape as I thought.
Don’t worry.
The Eve of (Villanova’s) Destruction is at hand.

08.16.11
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Practice? We’re talking about practice


Steve Addazio talkin’ about practice. Note the young man with the heavily marked up depth chart holding the tape recorder to the left. Kudos to him for coming to the interview prepared.


There’s nothing like holding a newspaper in your hands and flipping through the sports section.
I thought about that on Sunday when I was able to grab a copy of the Pocono Record, which is one of my local papers in the summertime.
Reading through Page 3 of the sports section, the top two stories above the fold were about various football practices.
In one of them, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly talked of the quarterback duel between Dayne Crist and Tommy  Rees and said the position was “too close to call at this point.”
The story to the right of that talked about Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin “being unhappy with the Steelers’ lifeless play.”
That got me to thinking about Steve Addazio saying pretty much the same thing over the past week as the Temple camp unfolded.
The quarterback position is too close to call and he was relatively unhappy with the first couple of practices.
I feel a little better now.
If Addazio lets the QB position play out, that will give him a better read before pulling the trigger on the starter. If he’s unhappy with the practice tempo now, the Owls will rachet that up for him before long.
It’s all part of the process at this point and nothing specific to Temple.
So talking about practice makes me a little uneasy.
It’s a necessary, not evil, but means to my end and that’s the fun of the games themselves.

Adam DiMichele and…
I want a demanding perfectionist as my head coach and Addazio’s comments were the first hints to me that we have one.

I don’t remember Al Golden saying  the same thing at this time last season.
Also, I’ve been through what seems to be a hundred years of Temple players performing well in practices but not so well in the games.
I watched as a quarterback named Mike McGann lit it up in practice after practice one year, only to lead the nation in interceptions (with 22) a few months later.
I watched as Vaughn Charlton, wearing an orange jersey (for no contact) complete 11 for 11 in a seven-on-seven drill in practice and reminded me a lot of Peyton Manning that day.

… Hunter Pence … separated at birth.

When he got into games and the rush came near him, he reminded me of Mike McGann.
I saw a guy named Adam DiMichele (who looks a LOT like the Phillies Hunter Pence) SOMETIMES struggle in practice but shine when the bright lights went on during the games. He welcomed the rush. That’s when he made big play after big play, by ducking out of it and completing third-down passes and running for 9 yards on seemingly every third-and-8.
I watched practice the last couple of years when Chester Stewart seemed to separate himself from the rest of the pack, only to hold the ball like a loaf of bread during games when he looked like Randall Cunningham but ran like Sonny Jurgesen. I then watched the Penn State game when he threw three interceptions right into the hands of Penn State players who were not even near the intended Temple receivers. I watched Chester drop back to see a Rod Streater (who beat a Northern Illinois defender by 15 yards) only to overthrow him by 25 yards. By then, I had it up to here with Chester. It took a pick 6 for a TD by a Bowling Green defender for Al Golden to feel the same way.
So, if Chester wins the job outright during practice the next couple of weeks it might cheer Addazio but it will be Groundhog Day for me.
A lot of the Steve Addazio supporters will say he knows better than I and I will agree with that but it won’t make me more comfortable with him out there.
I know people like Mike Gerardi, Rod Streater, Joey Jones, Bernard Pierce, Evan Rodriguez, Alex Jackson and Matty Brown can move the sticks pretty regularly against anyone. That mix works for me. If you can work in Chester, Juice Granger and Chris Coyer after that (not necessarily in that order), more power to them.
And us.
That’s the mix I’m hoping to see on 9/1.
But Addazio only has practice to go on before he makes that decision.
Hopefully, his gut will steer him in the right direction.

08.12.11
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Jarrett’s pick for the Eagles and more on Owls

Jarrett with the big pick last night ….and as an Owl (below)

I know a lot of Temple fans who hate the Eagles.
I’m not one of them.
I look forward to every Eagles’ game since they don’t conflict with those of my favorite football team, the Temple Owls. Plus, I’ve been running the too often concurrent sentence of being a fan of both all of my life.

I must admit, though, I looked at last night’s Eagles’ game a little different than most.
I was looking for No. 26, Jaiquawn Jarrett.
When the ball went up in the air in the first quarter and landed in his hands, I couldn’t be more happier.
It was one step closer to legitimizing Temple football and some ill-informed comments about it.

Jim Gardner, the Action News’ anchor, tweeted on the night of the draft: “The Eagles might have made a reach in the second round by picking the Temple guy” I tweeted him back: “No reach. Mel Kiper and others thought he was the best SS in the draft.”
I hope Gardner knows that SS stands for strong safety, but I doubt it.
With each interception, JJ quiets that kind of ignorance so I was happy for him, Temple, the Eagles and the city.
As far as the Owls go, a couple of developments in practice have me intrigued.

  • The loss of kickoff returner extraordinare James Nixon. I don’t know why he and the program departed ways and, quite frankly at this point, I don’t care. All I know is that it is a huge loss because you can’t teach 4.3 speed or the vision and moves he had on the field to go with it. He was a threat to take it the house on every kickoff. I don’t see Matty Brown, Joey Jones or anybody else being the same kind of threat. Vaughn Carraway, yes. Carraway was one of the greatest punt returners I’ve ever seen in high school and I’ve covered high school sports for 30 years. Like Nixon, he’s has the “it” factor for returning kicks. I hope Daz gives him a shot.
  • Daz seems to be moving from the feeling that “it’s just asking him to kick” to he needs to find someone to relieve the punting duties from NFL kicker Brandon McManus (yes, he’s an NFL kicker getting a four-year education). If he sends McManus out there to punt and he breaks his leg on a roughing-the-punter penalty, I will scream bloody murder. If he’s going to break his leg, I’d rather it be AFTER the 54-yard, game-winning, field goal against Penn State.
  • The movement of running back Ahkeem Smith to linebacker. Temple has a returning starter, Stephen Johnson, back there but Smith brings a significant skill set to the backup position. I hope he does well there.
  • Carraway. Defensive coordinator Chuck Heater said he had a “terrible spring” at safety and “even he would admit it.”  Then he added, “he’s doing much better now. That’s all I can say.” Hmm. Doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement to me. How about trading Carraway back to the offense for Smith, then, putting the former four-star WR recruit back into the mix there and as an explosive replacement for the dynamic Nixon?
Even though Chester Stewart currently is running with the first team, head coach Steve Addazio still calls that position a work in progress and I hope he gives all four quarterbacks an equal shot in the next two weeks.
No need to name a starter now.
07.21.11
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Thumbs up to the Media Guide Cover

For the most updated depth chart (until the eve of the Villanova game) click on the headline above

This cover speaks to the meaning of Temple TUFF.

The date was Dec. 30, 2009 and I was in the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C.
After filing my report from the Eagle Bank Bowl for this website from the desk of my hotel room, I debated about whether or not I should watch the replay on ESPN2.
I was hurting so much that night I could not sleep, so I turned on the TV.
To a lot of people, a close loss to UCLA was acceptable.
Not to me.

What impressed me most was how loud the 20,000 Temple fans were and how that noise translated to HDTV. I knew they were loud from being there, but I didn’t know how it translated.
Standing in the minus 11-degree wind chill, I heard the stadium literally shake with a LET’S GO TEM-PLE cheer after the Owls scored the second touchdown but I wondered if the ESPN audience got the message.
They did.
The announcers praised the Temple fans and the energy they brought to the chilly night.
Then, with a half-time interview of Al Golden, the term “Temple TUFF” was born.
Wearing only a dress shirt and a Cherry-colored tie, the announcer asked Golden if he was crazy.
“No, that’s Temple TUFF … T. U. F. F.,” Golden said.
The term stuck and new coach Steve Addazio embraced it as the cornerstone of his program.
You can tell by the cover of the Media Guide released this week.
All I can say is that there are a bunch of TEMPLE TUFF guys on that cover at the train station in the middle of one of the toughest neighborhoods in the country.
Hopefully, the toughness will carry over onto the football field this fall.
For a complete depth chart, put your cursor directly over the thumbs up headline and click once.

07.13.11
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Steve Addazio needs $2 million in two weeks

Addazio poses with the greatest helmet
in the history of college football.

One of the disappointing things about not being in a position to be a big-dollar donor to the Temple University football program is that I don’t get a lot of the correspondence asking for money.
That might seem odd t to you but, as I’ve said before many times, if I had disposable income (like millions), I’d spend a good portion of it on the Temple football Owls.
Sadly, I don’t so I didn’t get the latest letter Steve Addazio penned a variety of big-ticket donors.

In it, he reportedly said that the uni was in the process of raising $8.5 million for expansion to the E-O and needed “$2 million in contributions by Aug. 1 to greenlight the project.”
Knowing Temple fans like I do, that deadline, to be kind, seems a tad ambitious.
You don’t go through 30 years of losing and post two winning seasons and expect $2 million in contributions in a month of the offseason.
Just doesn’t happen. The belief system is just not in place.
Yet.
I do my part in small ways, like this blog.
I had a haircut in Center City Philadelphia last Wednesday and proudly wore my “Temple Owls Football” T-Shirt and had a few thousand people take notice of it as I walked 20 blocks from the Inquirer building to the Barber Shop.


Temple vs. PSU single-game tickets
on sale now:



Hopefully, the advertising was subliminal.

Today, I stopped at the Lehighton Walmart wearing the same shirt (washed, of course) and a guy came up to me and said, “Temple. Go Owls.”
He was wearing full Phillies gear.
Lehighton is in the middle of Penn State territory (actually, anyplace north of Allentown is).
“This is the year we finally beat Penn State,” I said.
“God, I hope so,” the man said.
That’s what it will take to raise $2 million in less than one month, not a letter from a popular new head coach.
I hope I’m wrong, but 30 years of observing this fan base tells me otherwise.
If you have an extra $2 million or even $2,000 to contribute, please contact bill.bradshaw@temple.edu and I’m sure he will be able to give you further info on this project or direct you to someone who will.
If you do have $2 million, please make the payment contingent upon Addazio keeping the TEMPLE helmet.

06.28.11
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Recruits: TU heading to the Big East

Over the last month or so, the biggest news surrounding Temple football has not been the verbal of three-star recruit Ben Onett or 11 other prospects, it’s the things the prospects and their families have been saying about Temple.
More specifically, one thing.
One of the recruits flat-out said that the Temple coaches have told him that the school is going to be playing in the Big East soon and another recruit’s father, Tavon Young, offered this interesting nugget yesterday:

“Tavon has committed to Temple,” said Mr. Young. “First and foremost is the academics and they pass with flying colors. He has always loved the staff that came up from Florida. He likes the defensive scheme. It is close to home and he will be a part of the Big East in 2012.”
Tanner Kearns, a tight end targeted early by Addazio, said this two weeks ago:
“I got to meet their coach and like him. I know they play in Eagle Stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) and plan on moving to the Big East soon.”

Huh?
That’s news to me, but not news to at least two recruits.
There are only a couple of conclusions to make from this:
1) Our coaching staff is blowing smoke up recruits’ butts in order to get the verbal;
2) Where there is smoke there is fire.

“Tavon has committed to Temple …it is close to home and he will be a part of the Big East in 2012.”
_ Tavon Young, Sr.


I’m hopefully going with No. 2 here because, while head coach Steve Addazio has a fabulous reputation as a recruiter, I don’t see him making stuff up to get a commitment.  His reputation for integrity, minus a possible UConn dalliance, is impeccable.

And I don’t see two recruits independently making up this Big East angle.
Maybe Addazio has had private conversations with athletic director Bill Bradshaw that indicated this move is imminent. Maybe not. Now that Villanova’s bid to get a spot has fallen through, TV sees Temple as the only real shot to get the largest available ratings’ market and has told the Big East to pursue Temple or no new TV contract.
Maybe not.
When recruits and their fathers routinely throw in the Big East angle as a reason for commiting, something has got to be up.
Where there is smoke, fire follows.
The question now is when does this become a fully-involved four-alarmer?