Tag Archives: art

02.06.26
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Main Goal of Spring Practice: Generating a pass rush

The addition of Jerry Rice Award finalist Jaylon Joseph is encouraging for the 2026 pass rush.

Every once in a while, pounding the keys to produce content for this website can be frustrating.

None more so than the last month when I had to hit the keys on this laptop 10+ times to get the letters “n, w, r and e” to appear.

Sekou Kromah (58), who bought in enough to the Temple culture to be a part of media day 2025, is gone. He would have been a valuable piece on the 2026 team if he elected to stay. Someone got in his ear and gave him bad advice.

Looked on the internet for a fix and got a can of compressed air and that only seemed to make it worse. Then someone said get “70 percent Isopropyl Alcohol” wipe the keys down and that would work.

(It didn’t.)

Took it to a shop Tuesday and they told me they could fix it for $120. They said they would have to take out each key and remove the residue, and the labor would be that much. “Geez, I don’t have that money.” Took it home and decided to pound away. (I’m on a fixed income.)

Always wondered if anyone was out there who would miss this site and then got my message from above on Thursday.

Some great Temple grad donated “roughly” the same amount of money to fix it today without even knowing my problem.

(Thanks so much to that wonderful guy who I’ve never had the pleasure to meet.)

Message from above.

This may change tomorrow but Kromah has not yet landed anywhere. He is not welcome back. He should have remained where he was.

Hopefully, K.C. Keeler asked and received the solution to his major problem the same way.

Generating a pass rush.

I don’t see it even with the new additions both Keeler and General Manager Clayton Barnes added.

Here’s why.

Temple loses edge rusher Cameron Stewart to graduating and Khalif Poteat and Sultan Badmus to this ridiculous transfer portal and followed closely the possible replacements.

Stewart will take that Temple degree and run with it, but Poteat and Badmus will land up in worse spots than Temple and probably, like most transfer portal guys, will wish they remained where they were.

Into the breach have stepped people like Jaylon Joseph of Lafayette, who was a finalist for the same Jerry Rice Award that former Temple backup quarterback Gevani McCoy won at Idaho. McCoy did nothing at Temple but would have done plenty if Evan Simon was injured (which he, thankfully, wasn’t). Joseph will wear No. 10 at Temple.

Way harder for a defensive lineman to be nominated for a Jerry Rice Award than a quarterback so maybe Barnes is onto something here.

Other possibilities in putting the bad guys’ quarterbacks on their backside include Russell Sykes (No. 52), JaMair Diaz (transfer from Sam Houston State, No. 56), Kevin Hornbeak (No. 93) and Davier Bishop (No. 97).

Diaz has receipts from performing at a high level at SHU. The others? Not so much.

Me, I prefer receipts.

Barnes and Keeler have studied that film and made their decisions.

I don’t see the same level of pass rush Temple had in 2025 with Stewart, Poteat, Badmus and Sekou Kromah but Barnes and Keeler do and that’s way more important.

Their history of turning around Sam Houston bodes very well indeed for Temple, despite how many times I had to type to get the word “indeed” to show up.

Meanwhile, we will take it to the shop tomorrow.

The defensive pass rush shop at Temple continues through Cherry and White Day and maybe even beyond.

Monday: Tricked Up

11.01.25
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Somebody please bury the White helmets

When Penn State lost at Temple a mere decade ago, James Franklin made the major subject of his Monday press conference burying the game tape.

These helmets look good.

We don’t know where. It might be on a remote farm in State College.

If the Temple football Owls are lucky, K.C. Keeler will find at least a dog park in North Philly to bury about 105 helmets.

All White ones.

I didn’t remember Temple ever winning in the combo of White helmets and Cherry uniforms, but I did a deep dive over four years of American Conference highlight reels and did find one victory in that combination.

These helmets are better carried than worn. They look like total crap and the Owls don’t play well wearing them.

Oct. 19, 2024 when Stan Drayton’s Owls doubled up Tulsa, 20-10, at last year’s Homecoming.

That’s it.

We did find a win over Navy (2023) wearing White helmets with gray jerseys, but only one with White helmets and Cherry tops.

The uniform combination of White helmets and Cherry tops is 1-9 against all competition, most of them Ungodly blowouts like Saturday’s 45-14 loss to East Carolina.

The Owls have won with White helmets and White uniforms (UMass this year) but White helmets with any combination of Cherry are no bueno.

No only does it look like crap, the Owls almost always play like crap with the White helmets.

Now that’s probably not the reason why they played like crap on Saturday–you have to give some credit to the Pirates–but why risk it?

This is the only Temple helmet ESPN Gameday allows on the set.

Take me, for instance. Rocked the Temple No. 1 game jersey for a 55-7 win against Howard and then wore it again against Navy. The Owls looked good and played well in both games (wearing Cherry helmets).

Because of the Navy loss, retired it for this season for the gray Temple hoodie.

Now the gray Temple hoodie is retired, and I will pull out the Cherry hoodie for the Army game a week from now. Had to buy one on the concourse today ($85, 2XL).

At this rate, I will go broke.

Superstition notwithstanding, a great day up until 2 p.m. was ruined by what happened between 2 and 5 p.m. The defense that completely shut down a scoring machine in UTSA either didn’t show up or was too banged up to duplicate that effort.

The Owls were on the precipice of becoming bowl eligible and that’s something Keeler and company embraced that thought all week.

Now the next thought should be to win the next play, the next game, and not look at the scoreboard or the implications of it.

Leave it to the equipment crew to take a sledgehammer to those God-ugly White helmets. It might have had nothing to do with the latest loss, but even to tempt Karma on All Soul’s Day was probably not a good idea.

Monday: Last Chance Hotel

Friday: Army Preview

07.06.25
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TU football: After recruiting blitz and uni reveal, no rest for weary

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If the Owls get to a bowl game, the “Keeler Cheesesteak” will be Richie’s most popular.

The days of a Temple football coach heading to a far away state for a vacation in the middle of the summer are over.

Apparently.

While Stan Drayton spent the two weeks around July 4th last year at his home in Houston, Tx., this year’s new head coach K.C. Keeler is from here so he’s not going anywhere.

Keeler spent the day after July 4th catching a Cheesesteak at Richie’s on 12th Street. That “vacation” lasted about an hour and it was back to work.

Oklahoma fans are already making plans for being in Philadelphia.

I don’t know about you but it’s a refreshing change for this Temple fan.

Before Drayton’s jaunt to Texas, the prior coach, Rod Carey, spent the last two weeks of every July in Indiana with his family. Before that, Steve Addazio spent a week in Gainesville every June.

Drayton felt guilty enough about his Houston jaunt to mention on his own without prompting to Temple reporters that he wasn’t worried about not being in Philadelphia because he was “in constant contact” with his “senior leadership council” and that they were putting in the required work.

Can’t imagine how those phone calls went.

Drayton: “You guys lifting every day and getting in the sprints?”

Council: “Yeah, coach, we’re cool.”

Drayton: “What’s that music in the background? Are you guys having a party?”
Council: “No, coach, that’s music to lift by.”

Drayton: “OK, I’ll go back to watching my daughters at this gymnastics’ meet.”

Council: “Have fun coach.”

Drayton: “See you in two weeks.”

If anyone deserves a vacation, it’s Keeler. The month of June included a blitz of recruiting that saw the Owls sign the largest 2026 class in all of FBS ball. That was capped by a July 1 announcement of new uniforms.

Keeler apparently believes that whatever rest he can get is after the season because the preparation for 2025 begins now. The season includes a home date against Oklahoma and, while few Temple fans are expecting a win, it’s reasonable to expect that this won’t be another 51-3 game. After all, Oklahoma lost to a Navy team in 2024 coming off a 32-18 loss to Temple in 2023.

That you to the TFF community for a great month of June.

A lot can change in college football in a year, especially with the transfer portal.

The current Owls are undergoing rigorous drills in typically hot Philadelphia summer heat, supervised not by a “senior leadership council” but by a staff of proven winners, led by the winningest FCS head coach of all time.

Since college football is a 365-day-a-week job, it’s comforting to know that the people in charge realize that, too.

For now, a signature Cheesesteak and an hour away from the office will have to sub for a vacation.