Category Archives: Temple recruiting

02.19.16
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An Early Selection Wednesday For Temple

crowd

Temple’s crowd Wednesday was its biggest football recruiting tool.

Selection Sunday is 3 ½ weeks away, but the first Selection Wednesday in a long time for Temple football was just concluded and, by all optics, the 20 or so recruits had to be impressed by what they saw.

If any of those recruits were going to make their decision to attend Temple based on the Owls beating the No. 1 team in the country, then Matt Rhule is out of luck. Fortunately, these kids are smart enough to realize that Matt does not control what happens on the basketball court.

amy

Brandon McManus gets some TU love.

The recruits included, but were not limited to, guys like Donald Glenn, Tayon Fleet-Davis, Kenny Pickett, Tommy DeVito, Devin Miller, Mike Tverdov and Brandon Outlaw. DeVito and Outlaw are interesting names. DeVito is the quarterback at Don Bosco Prep, the same place where current backup Frank Nutile went to school. (The Owls also had a quarterback named Mac DeVito in the Pre-Al Golden Era, but we have not been able to establish a relationship between the two. Logically, there might be because Mac DeVito was, like Golden, from nearby Colts Neck, N.J.)  Outlaw is one of the fastest high school sprinters on the East Coast (100- and 200-meters, who plays football in Moorestown, N.J. He has played both running back and wide receiver.He has good bloodlines, as his father, Bufus “Bucky” Outlaw, was a great running back for Southern (better known as South Philly) High in 1977 . Bucky, a Howard University grad, is now a Center City CEO. Fleet-Davis, besides having the greatest last name for any running back in history, is from the same town as former Temple running back Sheldon Morris (Oxon Hill, Md.) and went to the rival high school as THE greatest running back in Temple history, Paul Palmer. Fleet-Davis attends Potomac High, while Palmer went to Winston Churchill High, also in Potomac.

All of these guys saw the campus, if not the basketball team, at its best on Wednesday night.

My guess is the total university experience is much more important for Temple football recruits and, on all of those accounts, the Owls came out on top. The place was packed, the students were vibrant, the place was electric. A Temple football player who won a Super Bowl earlier this month, Brandon McManus, got a prolonged standing ovation from a packed house. The recruits got a taste of the same type of love that could be coming their way in five years.

Everything electric about this game was there and, from one important standpoint, it was a better night for the Owls than Notre Dame in football because the fans were all Temple. The only things bad about ND was the loss and the that the Owls had 100 recruits there that night and no commitments the next day. Maybe had they won, they would have had a handful but we will never know.

Had the Owls capped the night off with a win and, say, closed down Broad Street, the recruits could have gotten even more fresh made juice from the experience. Hopefully, the taste of concentrated juice they had was sweet enough.

01.27.16
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Tyliek Raynor Another Home Run for Owls

http://www.hudl.com/v/DMRcG

Click on the above link and hit play. Unfortunately, there is not a single Youtube video on the internet of Tyliek. Hudl is a bad platform, but it’s the only one available.

By any measure, Temple football adding Tyliek Raynor is a home run for recruiting.

Since homer is a synonym for home run, the fact that Raynor is a homer himself had to help because, in his commitment statement, he said “I’m going to stay home and play for my city.”

If all great Philadelphia players felt the same way, that would have been Will Fuller catching the ball to beat Notre Dame on Halloween Night and not to beat his city. Maybe adding Anthony Russo begat Raynor and maybe Raynor will beget a player like Karamo Dioubate.

SGRATZ05-A

Gratz’s Javon Whitfield can’t stop Imhotep’s Tyliek Raynor on his 58 yard TD run on the first play during the 1st quarter Friday night in North Philadelphia, September 4, 2015. ( Photo courtesy philly.com)

We can only hope. The protractor for recruiting starts in North Philly and a 500-mile circle around it includes 46 percent of the nation’s population. Temple is one of the few schools in the country squarely in the middle  of roughly half of the nation’s population.

With the addition of speedy running back Raynor, that was a good start. Raynor was No. 3 on our final five countdown list, behind only West Catholic defensive end Tymir Oliver and Prep Charter defensive lineman Dioubate. Raynor, who was offered by Temple on the spot after he ran a 4.3 at the Matt Rhule Football Camp in June of 2014, is very, very good.

How good?

Consider this: He could not play in seven games this year because of an injury that limited his effectiveness in other games, but his backup, Mike Waters, scored 44 touchdowns and was named Philadelphia Inquirer Player of the Year. That’s not just for Philadelphia, but for the entire Inquirer coverage area, which includes the entire Philadelphia suburbs, most of New Jersey and all of Delaware. He was also named Pennsylvania Player of the Year.

That’s pretty good. I saw a lot of Waters, including a performance for the ages in the Pennsylvania state championship game against Erie Cathedral Prep. This is what I tweeted out to my followers after that game.

good

 

Much to my surprise, Waters saw the tweet and retweeted it to his followers. The bottom line is that if a great coach like Albie Crosby says Raynor is better than THAT kid, then Temple has something very special indeed. They will have the luxury of red-shirting Raynor.

The Owls will have to get Raynor healthy and keep him that way, but once he returns to 4.3, 4.4 speed, he gives them the kind of home run hitter they need. They have a home run hitter in Jahad Thomas and some fast backups in Jager Gardner and Ryquell Armstead, but neither Thomas, Gardner nor Armstead has a 4.3 40 in the books.

The clock never lies.

01.10.16
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Temple Should Look to Wood for Package Deal

Short highlight of Sebastian Silva above. 

One way to jump-start the final days after the so-called dead period is the tried and true recruiting practice called “package deals.”

Many people thought that Jahad Thomas and P.J. Walker were part of a package deal that Temple had with the Elizabeth High pair. The popular thinking was that Walker, New Jersey’s Player of the Year, was “’enticed” to come to Temple when the Owls went after his friend, the less-recruited Thomas. That could not have been farther from the case. The actual story was that the Owls had Walker wrapped up, and it was Walker who strongly suggested the Owls take a look at Thomas.

silva

Sebastian Silva: Perfect technique

The Owls liked the film and, now, both Thomas and Walker have to at least be considered candidates for the AAC Football Player of the Year in 2016. I can’t tell you right now who is better. It’s that close between these two very good friends.

Sometimes things work out that way, package deals or not. The second guy recruited out of the same school often turns out to be better than the first guy and vice versa.

Archbishop Wood has also turned out to be a gold mine for the Owls, as next year’s projected starters at two positions are from that school. Colin Thompson figures to have the inside track on tight end,  while Nate L. Smith could be the starting free safety.

inquirer

That’s why it probably would not hurt Temple to take a long look at Tyler Matakevich 2.0 in Archbishop Wood linebacker Sebastian Silva (No. 43 in the above video). Sebastian is 5-11 (two inches shorter than Tyler), weighs 215 pounds and his 4.56 40 is almost 1.5 seconds faster than Tyler’s.



“I really like
this Silva kid.
He could be another
Tyler Matakevich.”
_ Steve Conjar

“His No. 1 school
choice is Temple.”
_ Frank Pacifico

“I really like this Silva kid,” former Temple tackling leader Steve Conjar said. “He could be another Tyler Matakevich.” Conjar has an acumen for picking out great linebackers. On the day a freshman Matakevich made a tackle for a 3-yard loss that saved a win over South Florida, Conjar said: “You watch. This kid will break all of my records.” That was 492 tackles ago.

Former Temple quarterback Frank Pacifico added this:  “He’s aggressive, fearless, athletic, has incredible mental toughness, is intelligent and above all, a real class kid. His number 1 school choice is Temple.”

On top of that, the Owls have been twisting Wood quarterback Anthony Russo’s arm to de-commit from the dumpster fire that is Rutgers’ football but, for some unknown reason—maybe misplaced loyalty—Russo has been reluctant to do so.

The closest Russo came to a Temple flip was when Marcus Satterfield came to visit.

 

Now Satterfield is gone, so Temple needs an inside guy to prod Russo to make the right decision to play in the same stadium the Eagles play in and for a winning team, not a losing one. Temple needs Anthony Russo more than Rutgers does. Anthony Russo needs Temple more than he does Rutgers.  It is, quite simply, a better fit . All of the family, friends and fans of Archbishop Wood will have an easier time getting to the Linc than Piscataway to watch Russo. Plus, he would be playing in a  town where he will most likely make his living in the business world. That could be legendary and would certainly beat setting up a shingle in the toxic waste dump that is Northern New Jersey.

Silva could make that case to Russo from the inside of the walls on Old York Road and, in the process, become for Temple’s future what Walker and Thomas are for Temple now.

Maybe in five years, we won’t know who is better: Russo or Silva, Silva or Russo. If it’s the kind of debate that exists now with Jahad and P.J., it would be a nice problem to have.

02.12.14
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Temple finally signs a kicker

Click on the photo of Austin Jones to read more about his decision.

Click on the photo of Austin Jones to read more about his decision.

What many saw as a hole in the 2014 recruiting class was finally filled today.

Orlando (Fla.) kicker Austin Jones committed to Temple after making a visit to Temple over the weekend.

Jones is the No. 13-ranked kicker in the country. All over the United States last year, you saw true freshmen making big kicks in big games for Power 5 Conferences.

All Jones has to do in my mind is kick the damn ball through the end zone, something Temple had for four years with Brandon McManus (now with the New York Giants).

method

Nick Visco, who went 7 for 7 on extra points at SMU and nailed three of the five field goals he attempted in 2013, gives the Owls depth in the placekicking area. Neither Visco (who did not get the chance, by the way) nor Cooper boomed the ball through the end zone on kickoffs like McManus did as a manor of course. We haven’t heard the last of Nick Visco yet. He can be an accurate and reliable placekicker. Jones looks like he’s going to win the starting job and should be an accurate kicker, too, but his more important job is to boom the damn thing through the end zone since the Owls presumably will be scoring touchdowns, not field goals, this season.

McManus and Jones had similar success in high school with touchbacks. At North Penn, McManus had 58 touchbacks on 70 kickoffs in his senior season and Jones’ stats were almost identical to McManus in that critical area. Those stats pretty much held up during Brandon’s career at Temple, as he became the school’s all-time leading scorer.

During the last three of four games of the season, the Owls struggled to kick the ball off as far as the 10, giving opponents unacceptable starting field position.

Acceptable to them, unacceptable to Temple.

Hitler now can cross off kicker as one of his concerns about Matt Rhule:

02.05.14
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Temple 2014 Recruiting Class

Click on bios to read more about the players below ...

Click on bios to read more about the players below … and then the back arrow on your browser to view the next player.

Back when Temple played UCLA, I had an Epiphany.
Watching that game on that brutally cold afternoon, one thought kept occurring to me over and over.
“Geez, their talent level is so much better than ours.”
Because no matter how hard Temple huffed and puffed, things seemed to come relatively easy to the UCLA players even in an environment far away from the friendly Southern California beaches.
Yes, Temple had a 21-10 lead at halftime and, yes, Temple’s top player (Bernard Pierce) left the game with that darn sensitive hamstring of his, but the players UCLA had kept coming in waves.
Hopefully, I thought then, Temple’s talent level will do the same to another overachieving team someday.
Today might have been one of those days.
The Owls filled areas of need in pass rushers and defensive backs. Pass rushing seems to come easy to the Michael Dogbes and Jacob Martins of the world. The same can be said for defending the pass for the top DBs the Owls recruited. The Owls got one four-star offensive lineman, Aaron Ruff of Philadelphia’s Imhotep Prep.
The day Matt Rhule was hired as Temple head coach Donald Hunt of the Philadelphia Tribune asked Rhule if he was going to sign the city kids and Rhule remembered that today at the press conference. Hunt asked the first question. It was about Ruff.
“I could not wait to see you and say I signed Aaron Ruff from the city,” Rhule said. “Not every kid in the city is going to want to come to Temple but I want every young man to feel that Temple is a good place for them.”
Also, for the third-straight year, Temple signed a Newark Star-Ledger New Jersey State player of the year. This year, it’s Dogbe, a 247-pound defensive lineman who benches 415 pounds.
Coaches coach, but players win games and now the Owls have the players.
Hopefully soon, it will be enough to win big bowl games.

Temple Football 2014 Recruiting Class

  1. Cequan Jefferson | DB | Richmond, Va. – Bio
  2. Shahid Lovett | DB | Vineland, N.J. – Bio
  3. Derrek Thomas | WR | Albany, N.Y. –Bio
  4. Alex Wells | DB | Baltimore, Md.- Bio
  5. Michael Dogbe | DE | Morris Plains, N.J. – Bio
  6. James McHale | OL | Dunmore, Pa. – Bio
  7. Ventell Bryant  | WR | Tampa, Fla. – Bio
  8. Shamir Bearfield | DB | Jersey City, N.J. – Bio
  9. Lenny Williams | QB | McKees Rocks, Pa. – Bio
  10. David Hood | RB | Galloway, N.J. – Bio
  11. Aaron Ruff | OL | Philadelphia, Pa. – Bio
  12. Frank Nutile | QB | Ramsey, N.J. – Bio
  13. Sean Chandler | DB | Camden, N.J. – Bio
  14. Freddie Booth-Lloyd | DL | Cocoa, Fla. – Bio
  15. Anthony Davis | DB | Monroeville,Pa. – Bio
  16. Jaelin Robinson | OL | New Haven, Conn. – Bio
  17. Derrick Ingram | WR | Tampa, Fla. – Bio
  18. Brodrick Yancy | WR | Bradenton, Fla. – Bio
  19. Brenon Thrift | DL | Monroeville, Pa. – Bio
  20. Jyquis Thomas  |DB | Plant City, Fla. – Bio
  21. Jacob Martin | DL | Aurora, Colo. – Bio
  22. Delvon Randall | WR | Monroeville, Pa. – Bio
  23. Jared Folks | LB | Harrisburg, Pa. – Bio
  24. Matt Eaton | WR | Pascagoula, Miss. – Bio
  25. Khiry Lucas | DB | Cleveland, Miss. – Bio
06.08.11
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TU recruiting: Nothing to get excited about (yet)

Ben Onett’s recruiting video is impressive.

I usually don’t write about Temple football recruiting for a couple of reasons:
1) The NCAA rules involved in what is considered a college “booster” or “supporter” are pretty vague and it’s just good judgment for me not to be involved in the process.
2) The NCAA rules about “verbals” and “soft verbals” are screwed up. Al Golden had a great idea about an “early signing period” meaning that the kids who commit within a certain time frame (say, the ones who already committed) cannot be contacted by other schools without a major penalty involved. That would reward hard-working staffs, like Golden’s and presumably Addazio’s, for making solid early calls and protect them against a BCS team swooping in and taking their recruits.
So I wait until the signatures are signed on the dotted line to talk about the kids.
Generally speaking, I think Temple University (or really any other) football recruiting is really nothing to get excited about until the first Wednesday of every February.
It’s good to see that new head coach Steve Addazio is targeting what he feels is a quarterback with the “it” factor in Benjamin Onett of St. John’s (D.C). He recently added a couple of defensive backs, Archbishop Wood running back Brandon Peoples, a punter and a backup placekicker.
All good, solid kids.
I’m playing the waiting game with Addazio, though, because, quite frankly, I was underwhelmed with his first class. Compared to the hastily recruited first class of Bruce Arians (Heisman Trophy runner up Paul Palmer, NFL pro bowler Tre Johnson, among others) it falls even short for a guy who had a month to put together a group.
I’ll give Steve the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t think we’ll get a Heisman Trophy runner up or an NFL pro bowler from this past February’s group. Just a hunch.
We had a three-time first-time all-state running back (Owen J. Roberts’ Ryan Brumfield) who WANTED to come to Temple passed over and a RB schollie given to a guy who is about the same size and a full tenth of a second slower in the 40 (Spencer Reid) who was an unimpressive honorable mention third-team All Central League player.
That was a WTF moment for me.
Everything I’ve heard, though, is that this guy is a great recruiter.
I hope the best is yet to come and, on signing day, we’re talking about a guy who is down to Alabama or Temple. Or Penn State or Temple.
Then he pulls out the Penn State hat, replaces it with a TU hat and says: “I’ve decided to take my talents to Temple University.”
I fully expect given everything I’ve heard, such a moment will happen soon with Steve Addazio.
At least that’s a fervent hope.
Congrats to all of the kids who have so far had the wisdom to pick the Owls, but I’m not excited about TU recruiting.
Yet.