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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Send email to Patti Hagel for sweatshirt

Send email to Fran Duffy for video

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

By Mike Gibson
There’s been an Elephant in the room for the past few days.
Elephant with a capital E.
Seems like no one in either Vivacqua Hall or the Edberg-Olson Football Complex wants to look at it, but it is an unwelcome visitor right there in the living room, unexpectedly coming through the sliding glass doors and destroying the brand new furniture and eating all of the peanuts on the dining room table.
Not even the media seems to be addressing it, other than superficially.
Well, today, Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub saw the Elephant, pointed to it and tried to get the trainer to take it out of the living room in an excellent letter to the editor in the sports section of today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.
I was privileged to be introduced to Fizzy and have known him from the pre-game tailgating scene at every Temple football game.
He is a terrific storyteller (ask him about Bill Cosby some day), very funny and an all-around great guy.
He shows up at every Temple home game and probably has gone to some long before I started to be a fan as a 10-year-old kid.
If every Temple alumnus did what Fizzy has done, we’d have 250,000 at our games. We only need 69,999 more Fizzies to never have any problems.
His support of the program should never be questioned.

I appreciate everyone who supports Temple football, whether it be the big spenders in the Club Box level or those in section 101 like Fizzy, Cap Poklemba and myself.
Temple invested a lot of money in its current head coach, money it probably couldn’t afford to pay because it wanted a taste of what other schools had on the football field for a change.
People like Fizzy, Cap Poklemba and other very hungry supporters deserve that taste.
All they’ve gotten so far is 1-11 and 4-8 and promises.
That’s not tasting. That’s not even sniffing.

I’m not a great guy like Fizzy, just a good one who, like him, is perplexed by the sight of an Elephant in any place other than a Zoo.
I’m a guy who gets to work on time every day.
I keep my appointments.
People who know me know that when I say I’m going to meet them at a certain place and a certain time, I’m always there.
I believe your word is your bond and that no amount of money can change that.
I believe if I say I’m going to do a certain job by a certain time, I’m going to get it done.
Only then will I move on to the next task.
I believe if I demand integrity, honesty and commitment from my colleagues that I should give no less in return.
I believe if I tell you I’m going to build you a brick house and sign a contract to build that house, I’m not going to leave when just one wall is up and say, well, the guy down the street gave me a better offer.
That doesn’t make me better than anybody else. It’s just the way I was raised.
Temple should hold its football coach, both current and next, to that same minimum standard.

“This university has made a commitment to me and my commitment to it is that I will build a house of brick, not straw” _ Al Golden ….. …………

Al Golden argues holding call against Alex Derenthal versus Penn State.

By Mike Gibson
Green Day had a song not too long ago with a chorus that included the line “wake me up when September ends.”
Well, I’m going to take a nap now.
Wake me up when September begins.
Nah, not really but there’s real evidence, empirical evidence, evidence based on the science of mathmatics that September could be a very special month for Temple football fans.
Heck, throw in October, November and December and, hell, maybe even January.
That’s January, 2009.
Temple football is on the upswing.
It’s not because I say so, or because I author a blog dedicated to it.
It’s just nice to offer some empirical evidence in support of the claim. Evidence based on real, not imagined, numbers.
Here are just some, in no particular order:
1. One-hundred and seven (107) _ That represents points gained in games against teams Temple lost by more than a touchdown to a year ago. Included in that figure is is 21-point gain against Kent State, a 16-point gain against Penn State, a 23-point gain against Navy and a 24-point gain against Western Michigan _ and that’s only a sample. Al Golden’s Owls are closing the gap on teams that reappear on the schedule. Next year, the gap could very well be on the other side.
2. Eighty-two, 71 and 60 _ Where Scout.com has rated the first three Al Golden recruiting classes, in order. Note every single one of those classes were ranked No. 1 among MAC teams. Independent recruiting services who rank players are beginning to take notice of the Owls. One of the reasons the Owls are getting players who have been offered by BCS schools. One such player, Unionville’s Steve Caputo (see quote of the day) turned down Syracuse to take Temple. Another, Central Bucks South’s Eric Reynolds, could turn down Boston College to take Temple. It’s all about being a hero in your hometown, which both Caputo and Reynolds would be. It’s all about helping to write the biggest story in sports history, the resurgence of Temple football. It’s all about being part of something special, about filling up Lincoln Financial Field with 250,000 alumni starving to support a Temple winner. An Erey signing at Boston College would evoke a yawn, maybe at best a curled up smile. Here, it would be greeted with bells and whistles and fireworks. Huge stories in the Bucks County and Philly papers. Mentions by Gara Papa on Action News. We know Erey here. We love him here. Plus, due to injuries and such, there’s an opening for running back here that doesn’t exist elsewhere.
3. Four (4) _ Number of touchdowns the Owls left on the field against Penn State. I reviewed the tape twice. This is what I found. There was no holding (but there was a call) against Alex Derenthal, a call that negated a great touchdown catch by D’yonne Crudup. There is a photo of Al Golden arguing that call accompanying this story and he didn’t even need to see the tape twice. Alex Joseph and Omar McDonough-Hales dropped interceptions with no one in front of them except non-athletic Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli. And who knows what would have happened if the Owls went for a touchdown on their first drive of the game, instead of a 23-yard shanked field goal. It was 31-0, but could have easily been closer. A lot closer. Golden is taking all of those Owls to State College with one Mantra: Making those plays this time.
4. Twenty-three and twenty-two _ That’s what the score of the Temple vs. UConn game should have been. Temple 23, UConn 22. Even the few UConn fans living in Egypt along the DENIAL river know that. I’m getting a T-Shirt made up with that score and a photo of the Temple touchdown made up for sale on this website in the coming months.
5. Twenty-nine thousand _ Actually, 28,859, the average home attendance at a Temple game this season, the top figure among MAC schools. That’s for a 4-8 team. Imagine what it would be like for an 8-4 team or better?
The numbers suggest Temple fans won’t have to imagine for much longer. While recruiting season is nice and spring practice is better, September can’t come soon enough.

In this great Daryl Rule photo, Adam DiMichele going back to pass on the final play of his football season against Miami of Ohio; in hindsight, looks like a shovel pass to Daryl Robinson would have worked quite nicely instead of the deeper drop but, as they say, hindsight is always 20/20.
By Mike Gibson
To no one’s surprise, Adam DiMichele was named team MVP at last night’s Temple football banquet.
There is a terrific recap of the banquet available on the school’s official website, Owlsports.com.
One of the curiosities coming out of the banquet was junior center Alex Derenthal being named offensive MVP, even though DiMichele also plays offense. Last year, though, Derenthal was named Team MVP so the move was seen as honoring what have been clearly the two offensive leaders so far for head coach Al Golden.
Another was that Golden spoke for only five minutes, presumably because there were so few seniors to talk about.
The banquet, sold out a month ago, featured a terrific video by Temple student Fran Duffy, not to be confused with head basketball coach Fran Dunphy.
Hopefully, the university will make that video available online soon.