Category Archives: Temple football

04.07.17
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Geoff Collins Could Be Better Than Rhule

collins

Geoff Collins will be speaking at Rutgers and telling them to get ready for an ass-kicking in 2020.

When a former Temple quarterback called me on the phone to break the news that the Owls had hired Geoff Collins back in December, the news came from somewhat out of left field.

I had heard all of the names, but Collins was not one of them.

Until, of course, the day he was hired. I was headed out the door to work when the phone rang and not paying attention to the news or sports.

“Mike, what do you think of this new guy Temple just hired?”

“What new guy?”

“Geoff Collins. It’s all over ESPN. I really like him.”

“The Florida guy?”

“Yeah, him.”

I knew Geoff Collins was the defensive coordinator at Florida, but that was about it. I also knew that Florida’s defense was to the SEC what Temple’s defense was to the AAC, so that was a big plus.

I did know another, more important, thing. Compared to some of the clowns Temple either released to Marc Narducci or Nardo came up with on his own, Collins, to me, was Vince Lombardi. Surely Temple could not have been serious about hiring a coach fired by Delaware (K.C. Keeler) or some of the other suspects mentioned.

Compared to those guys, Collins was solid as a rock.

Take away the worst recruiting month I’ve ever seen at Temple, Collins has not disappointed.

He has said all of the right things.

He has emphasized making a system tailored to the players he has in the program now, rather than bring a system and try to force it onto what could be ill-fitting players. I like the way that he has bonded with the players in practices. I like the way he appreciates fullback Nick Sharga, like we all have learned to do, and plans to feature him. I like the way he is letting the quarterback situation play out, rather than naming a quarterback now and regretting it later.

I also like the way former head coach Matt Rhule leaned on him to make some key decisions within the program and the way Collins has followed the program from afar for the last four years.

All of these things suggest than Collins will hit the ground running, unlike the stumbles and bumbles of the first two Rhule years.

There are two sides, in my mind, to the Geoff Collins’ coin. We glossed over the shiny side in today’s post.

Monday: The Other Side

04.05.17
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QB Departure Might Offer Clue for Leader

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             Logan Marchi is getting more reps with the ones.

In a program as large as Temple’s, there are all sorts of comings and goings even in the best of times.

The Owls are the right fit for most, but they can’t be the right fit for everyone.

That’s why last week’s five-quarterback race is now down to a four-person one with the departure of Overbrook (N.J.’s) Tommy Wyatt.

Although there is no official depth chart, we’ve been told from reliable sources that Wyatt was the fifth quarterback. In a case like that, reading that handwriting on the wall is an important skill and Wyatt’s transfer to Rutgers probably was the best move for all parties.

Right now, the battle for the starting position seems to be between three players—Anthony Russo, Logan Marchi and Frank Nutile—and true freshman Todd Centeio probably could benefit from a redshirt year, which he is likely to get.

Although media members are allowed to only see the final 10 minutes of practice, leaks from others who do see the entire practice say that Marchi is getting most of the reps now. Unless that changes, he is on a straight-line path to be the starter at Notre Dame.

It might be reading too much into the situation, but that appears to be the direction Patenaude is headed this spring.

We won’t know for sure until Cherry and White Day, but my guess is that Marchi will be quarterbacking one team and Russo the other and, if one guy separates  himself that day, the sooner the starter will be named.

If it’s a photo finish, then the issue won’t be decided until the summer.

Friday: Cherry Flags

Monday: Red Flags

Wednesday: Playing Poker

 

04.03.17
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In One Case, Position Flexibility Could Be Epic

running

Nick Sharga gains a first down on this run in AAC championship game and makes a tackle as a linebacker (below) in 2015 game against Tulane.

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After about almost every press conference, new Temple head coach Geoff Collins talks about position flexibility.

In the first scrimmage on Saturday, tight ends were playing offensive tackle, a backup fullback was playing guard and all four starting defensive backs were playing the other’s positions—corners playing safety and vise-versa.

There was so much flexibility going on, folks thought the entire Temple football team was double-jointed.

If, however, Collins truly wants to achieve flexibility he might consider bringing back the 60-minute player and we have our own suggestion.

Nick “Shots Fired” Sharga.

There are a couple of good reasons for this.

The first is that new offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude seems fixated on expanding the multiple wide-receiver sets and that, by its very nature, limits the role of Sharga as a fullback. That’s bad news in my opinion because his lead blocking in the run game makes him an additional downhill offensive lineman and opens up the passing game because opposing teams cheat their linebackers and safeties up against the run.

Without Sharga in there, the element of surprise is gone and the opposition knows the Owls are going to fling the ball out there as fast as they can.

Say, though, Sharga plays no more than 15 plays a game at fullback. He PROBABLY is also the team’s best linebacker, so why not get him 15-30 snaps on that side of the ball. All the defensive coaches have to do to judge for themselves is watch the game film of Sharga starting at linebacker playing 20 plays on defense in a 36-12 win over No. 21 Memphis and Paxton Lynch two years ago. Despite National Player of the Year Tyler Matakevich also playing linebacker, Sharga was among—if the the best—defensive player on the field that day.

Sharga might not be able to play 60 minutes, like another Philadelphia collegiate player, Chuck Bednarik, but getting him as many reps on both offense and defense—say, 50 of the 60 minutes—is something he is more than capable of handling.

On Oct. 18 1986, Holy Cross player Gordie Lockbaum  played 143 of the 171 snaps in a 17-14 win over Army. On that day, he led Holy Cross in rushing and receiving and played free safety on defense.

The team that wins usually is the one able to get their most productive player on the field and, once the new coaching staff figures out Sharga fits that description, the better off we will all be.

Wednesday: The First Casualty of the QB Wars 

04.01.17
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Phillies, Temple, Get Stadium Deal Done

bakerbowl

With latest agreement, Phils will return to North Philly roots.

It started the way all good deals start, with one guy having something the other guy wants.

In the case of Temple University and the Philadelphia Phillies, though, today’s announcement had the added caveat of two guys wanting something the other guy has and that’s what has led to a “memorandum of understanding” between the two organizations on a stadium deal.

bakersign

Two blocks North of Main campus is this sign.

The outline agreed to is simply this: When the Phillies are ready to leave Citizens Bank Park, it will be sold to Temple for the princely sum of $1. In return, Temple will give the Phillies what it has long sought—a  plot of land to build a nearer midtown baseball stadium with a spectacular view of the Center City Skyline.  Not having that view while Pittsburgh has had it all along has been a major bone of contention with the Phillies ownership.  That plot of land is the former Geasey Field, which is now bounded on the North by Norris Street and on the South by Montgomery Avenue.

The time frame is open-ended, according to Phillies General Managing Partner Dave Montgomery. Temple will start to phase into CBP when the team offers open weekend dates to the football Owls in 2021. Only if there is a conflict will the Owls are moved to Franklin Field. Once the North Philly Baseball Stadium is built, the Owls will become sole operators of Citizens Bank Park.

“The discussions began when (Temple president)  Dick (Englert) and I were at a function,” Montgomery said. “I said, ‘Dick, this thing with the community could go on for a hundred years. Why don’t we agree to do something now?’  Dick said he would talk to the Board of Trustees and here we are today.

“Look, we know that there are still hurdles. The community might not want a baseball stadium there, either. But it is our view that we are returning to our North Philly roots—we had stadiums at Broad and Lehigh and 22d and Lehigh—and maybe the community will welcome us home with open arms.

“The key thing here is that even if we don’t get our North Philly Stadium built—the working name is the Philadium—Citizens Bank Park becomes Temple’s at the point in time that we do build a new stadium, wherever in the city that may be. I know Temple fans don’t want to hear the word, but patience is the key word. If Citizens Bank Park becomes obsolete for baseball in, say, 2069, it becomes perfect for Temple football at that time. What this agreement gives Temple now is a sense of certainty. In their quest for a stadium over the last 20 or so years, certainty or done deal has never been part of the lexicon there. Now it is and it gives us some comfort to give them that.”

Happy April Fool’s Day everyone.

Related:

Devonte Watson

Urban Meyer

Big 10

 

Monday: The Last of the Two-Way Players

03.31.17
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Tough Guys Wanted

labolito

This Joseph V. Labolito shot is the photo of spring practice so far.

The tradition at Temple has been to name nine special tough guys before the first game of the season and number those guys 1-9, not necessarily in order of toughness.

Temple University official photographer Joseph V. Labolito captured the essence of the single digit tradition and the university in general with one general iconic photo shot (above) last Thursday. In the background, is a smiling Bernard Pierce—one of the few guys who turned down the honor of the single digit—and in the foreground is the toughest of the tough guys, Nick Sharga.

There are a few digits left, but here’s a novel idea.

Be very stingy about giving out the numbers just to fill out the roster.

Before Pierce’s sophomore season, then head coach Al Golden wanted to give Pierce a single digit but Pierce already was well on his way to making No. 30 a special number in Temple history and wanted to keep it. Golden honored that request.  Pierce singlehandedly lifted the Owls to arguably the second-best win of Golden’s Temple career—a 27-24 job at 10-win Navy, with 268 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. (He also had a big hand in the biggest win of Golden’s career, a 30-16 thumping of BCS bowl-bound UConn, but that came in the next season.)

If the Owls find enough guys who meet the standards of guys like Sharga, Ventell Bryant, Sean Chandler, Keith Kirkwood and Jacob Martin, then they should hand out the rest of the numbers before the Notre Dame game.

If not, make it a game-to-game thing for performances in the game before or just  hold the number open. That makes the honor that much more special.

Who fills out the list?

My guess if Sharif Finch will be at least a candidate for a single digit. How long as Finch been around? He played a terrific game as a starting linebacker in a loss at Rutgers that would have been a win had he not been called for a bogus penalty on a late hit two plays before RU hit the game-winning touchdown pass. That was way back in 2013. Finch is also a big-time playmaker and has blocked five punts in his Temple career and also picked off New York Jets’ quarterback Christian Hackenberg in the key play of a 27-10 win over Penn State two weeks ago.

Other than Finch, a darkhorse candidate could emerge. Maybe Ryquell Armstead, but, either way, Temple will need more than nine tough guys to be successful whether they get a single digit or not.

Tomorrow: Done Deal Of The Century

03.29.17
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Rookie Of The Year

Logan Marchi’s senior highlight film.

Right now, it appears Temple will have the Rookie of the Year one way or another, whether it is Geoff Collins as a head coach or one of the five quarterback candidates.

Collins made a salient point the other day when he said it was “great that so many people were interested in who the starting quarterback at Temple will be” but it will be a decision that he will let play out over the next month or few months.

That’s a terrific read on the situation because there is absolutely no reason to name a starter until a week or two before the Notre Dame game.

temperor

Heavy is the head who wears the crown.

One thing is certain: The bar for Collins or the new quarterback is not very high. Few expect Temple to walk into Notre Dame and come away with a win on opening day, so the pressure should be self-imposed.

The real pressure comes the following week against Villanova. Whoever Collins picks for the Notre Dame game will be absolutely, positively, expected to orchestrate a beatdown of a hated local rival. Lose the first week against Notre Dame and no one bats an eye. Lose the second and there are a lot of eyes batted and questions raised.

 

In the Temple News on Monday, it was clear that this was a job that everyone wants but just as clear that only one will get.

Matt Rhule probably stunted the growth of the returning eligible Temple quarterbacks by not playing Logan Marchi or Frank Nutile extensively. P.J. Walker won a lot of games at Temple and the ones he won by 49-14 and 31-10 should have been ones where Rhule was allowing Marchi or Nutile to throw the ball all over the lot. Instead, his being a “nice guy” hurt Temple in the long run because in the limited time Marchi or Nutile had they mostly handed off.

Game speed is something that cannot be simulated and it will be something one of these guys will have to learn under fire.

For now, though, Temple and Collins have all the time in the world.

Friday: Filling Out The Digits

03.27.17
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Temple Tea Leaves

owlfans

Love this photo because it shows the level of fan support in background.

When practices are closed to the media, as they are for all but the last 10 minutes this spring, reading from the snippets is probably the best way to glean information.

What we did learn from the first practice was at least two fascinating things: One, the first play from scrimmage was a handoff to Nick Sharga, and, two, that the guy new head coach Geoff Collins was playing catch with at the end of practice was Anthony Russo.

It probably takes a huge leap of faith forward to interpret those two facts into an increased role for Sharga in the offense to a favorite at the quarterback position, but that’s all we have right now.

It makes sense, though, for at least two reasons.

One, Collins got close to Sharga in the legal activities part of the offseason as his position coach. Collins named himself the fullbacks coach, much like Al Golden named himself the special teams coach in his first year.

Collins probably knows what he has in Sharga is exactly what former coach Matt Rhule said he had: An NFL fullback. An increased role for Sharga only makes more sense in that light. In addition to being a terrific blocker, Sharga also carried the ball effectively a year ago, gaining 97 yards on 18 carries, a 6.9 average.  Giving the ball to Sharga a few times a game, even two or three, keeps the defense from keying in on guys like Ryquell Armstead and Jager Gardner.

The Russo thing is particularly interesting because Collins could have had a catch with any of his five starting quarterback candidates but chose that one.

Reading too much into it?

Maybe, but until the Cherry and White game, that looks like all that we will have.

Wednesday: Rookie of The Year?

03.24.17
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Case For the Defense

The best two-minute description of the 5-2 defense on the internet.

If Geoff Collins follows up on some of the terrific things he says, he will hit the ground running as a great head coach at Temple University.

That’s a concern only because Matt Rhule’s first couple of years were an attempt to hit the ground running, but the footing was somewhat muddy. In many cases, Rhule made the job harder by soiling those waters.

usc

What a USC 5-2 would look like at Temple, with Sharif Finch at left end, Karamo Diuobate at left tackle, Freddy Booth-Lloyd at nose guard, Michael Dogbe (or Greg Webb) at right tackle and single-digit Jacob Martin at right end.

The one comment that stood out positively during Collins’ first press conference—and one he has repeated several times since—was that Collins’ system would be tailored around the specific talents of the players he had in the room and not try to force feed a system on an ill-fitting set of players.

Two years into Rhule’s tenure, he had an Epiphany that led him to a program-changing decision—ditching the multiple wide-receiver sets and going to a fullback and play-action offense—and that became as much of the unique Temple identity as the triple option is to Navy.  The reason he gave was that he had a “NFL fullback” and wanted to utilize that asset.

Now Collins has reached the crossroads between words and action.

Collins has an overabundance of high-end talent on the defensive line and a dearth of similar-type talent across a line-backing corps. If Collins is serious about building a system around the talent at hand, the Owls will go to a 5-2-4 defensive alignment—two ends, two tackles and a nose guard, two linebackers and four defensive backs.

The 5-2 is not used much in college football anymore, but where it has it has been successful. Last year, USC ran the 5-2 and had the most sacks in the PAC-12 conference.

If you believe, as I do, the key to stopping these good pass offenses today is to put the quarterback on his backside, the 5-2 defense is probably the best way to do that without exposing the back line of your defense with a steady diet of blitzes.

Anything that creates Mayhem is a good thing and with the talent of the Temple pass rushers and interior defensive linemen in the system now, that’s probably the best way for this team to go.

If Collins works to put that kind of defense in place this spring, he will hit the ground running. Unlike Rhule, he will not have to run in a quagmire.

Monday: Tea Leaves

Wednesday: Rookie Of The Year

03.22.17
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With Hixon, Old Is New

hixon

Stan Hixon will have to ditch the blue and grab the Cherry.

Old habits can be hard to break and, for Stan Hixon, coaching is an old habit and he seems to be a perfect fit for Temple football.

Hixon, 59, who has coached at a variety of places, seems the perfect candidate to replace a guy who came to Temple, stayed a couple of months, and was off to his next job as wide receivers’ coach at East Carolina.

First of all, the guy who Hixon replaced, Keith Gaither, was the coach of the wide receivers at Army, which never throws the ball.

That cannot be said of the past Hixon stops, more importantly, the current one. The Owls plan to throw the ball around the lot early and often and, with their wide receiving corps, that sounds like a plan. Hixon’s last stop was the Houston Texas where he was united with former Penn State buddy Bill O’Brien.

Some buddy.

O’Brien ended up firing Hixon in January of 2016, but the Hixon resume withstands the test of time and his experience—although with the depth of new offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude’s experience—should be beneficial to the Owls’ offense.

I like this hiring for at least two reasons. One, Collins is a relatively young guy and Temple has had success in the past when a young head coach (Al Golden with George DeLeone and Matt Rhule with Phil Snow) has an “old head” to lean on for guidance. Two, at a variety of big-time stops Hixon must have proven himself as a recruiter and Temple having the 127th-ranked recruiting class was a huge red flag. If Collins is thinking about moving on in one or two years, that kind of class is no big deal to the coaching staff (but it will affect the fans). If he’s thinking about staying and building confidence with the fan base, he’s going to have to get Temple closer to the top half than the bottom half of the recruiting wars in a year.

Temple certainly needs a recruiter with the chops of a Fran Brown or a Terry Smith and Hixon could be that guy.

Not only was Hixon wide receivers’ coach with the Texans, but he had that job with the Redskins and the Buffalo Bills in addition to numerous college coaching stops. So he knows what it takes to develop a NFL-level talent at the position, which is good news for the Owls’ returning receivers—Ventell Byrant, Adonis Jennings, Marshall Ellick and Keith Kirkwood—who all have an NFL skill set.

Hixon can take that knowledge into homes of recruits and hopefully bring up the Owls’ recruiting ranking from 127 in the nation to respectability for Geoff Collins’ first full recruiting class.

Recruiting has to be a habit, too,  and, in Hixon, the Owls have their oldest hand.

Friday: Case For the Defense

 

03.20.17
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Hope Springs Eternal

Cherry and White is a month and two days away.

While today is the first day of spring, and hopefully the end of all of this brutally cold last two weeks, it also marks the first day of spring football practice at Temple University.

On each one of these days every year, I print out the official team roster on Owlsports.com and look for names that I either don’t recognize or intrigue me.

Consider me intrigued by one Julian Conover, No. 27 in your game program.

newfinch

                               If Mayhem means this, I’m for it.

The first thing that sticks out about him is that Conover is a linebacker and the Owls will need linebackers to replace the three departed starters of a year ago.

The next—and perhaps most important –thing is that the redshirt freshman was a first-team New Jersey All-State linebacker at Don Bosco.  That’s significant in and of itself in that there aren’t too many first-team all-state players who walk on in college football.

Usually, first-team all-state players get scholarships and, while there was significant interest in Conover as a Bosco senior, there were no scholarship offers from FBS teams.  Part of that reason might have been that he is a little on the light side (205 pounds on a 6-3 frame), but Tyler Matakevich was 6-1, 205 coming out of prep school so the obstacle is not insurmountable.

What Conover and Matakevich had in common was good film of what they did on the field and that’s all that matters.

Given the Owls need linebackers (Jared Folks and fullback Nick Sharga really are the only players on the team with significant playing time at the position), monitoring Conover’s progress as the spring goes on should be one of the bullet points of this one-month season.

Wednesday: Old Is New