Tag Archives: Forrest Brock
Game Week: How it’s been and how it’s going
A cynic might say we’ve seen this show somewhere before.
Temple head coach Stan Drayton optimistic heading into a game against a Power 5 (now Power 4) team, saying it’s “all about us” and then Temple falling flat on its face against said P4 team.
That’s what happened two years ago at Duke. That’s what happened in the middle of the season last year against visiting Miami.
The bottom line was 30-0 and 41-7 bad guys.
That’s how it’s been.
How’s is it going to be?
This year sure seems different because the Owls learned from most of their mistakes in the offseason two years ago this past season in that they loaded up on quality depth, improved the running game, defensive line and secondary, and brought back some dynamite skill position talent like wide receivers Zae Baines, Dante Wright and John Adams.
What they haven’t done is solidify the quarterback position but maybe Drayton knows something we don’t.
In Sunday’s presser, Drayton said the Owls definitely do have a 1-2-3 hierarchy at quarterback but he’s keeping that to himself and not naming a starter until Friday at Oklahoma (7 p.m. ESPN). That’s open to interpretation.
My interpretation is that he’s taking the “iron sharpens iron” approach and hope somebody emerges this week to earn the starting job. Another interpretation that I’ve seen is that he won’t move off the No. 1 that he has not named publicly in the 1-2-3 scenario.
We’ve already seen what Forrest Brock and Evan Simon bring to the table and, frankly, it’s not five-star restaurant cuisine. Brock got beat by SMU 55-0 and Simon has a resume that includes four career FBS touchdown passes against seven interceptions.
Something tells me that neither one of those two are going to morph into P.J. Walker or Adam DiMichele by Friday night.
Tyler Douglas, the “supposed” third quarterback, though, has a relatively clean slate and, unlike the first two, can make plays with both his arm and his feet. With P4 rushers bearing down on him, that’s just the kind of guy who can buy enough time to roll right and find guys like Baines, Wright and Adams for explosive plays in the downfield passing game. Plus, the Ocean Township coaches compare Douglas favorably to Eagles’ backup Kenny Pickett, who played there. Nobody ever compared Brock or Simon to Pickett.
It only makes sense that you give yourself a puncher’s chance against 5* pass rushers if you have functional mobility under center and not a stationary target.
Maybe that’s what Drayton is waiting for this week, the mobile guy to move from No. 2 or No. 3 to No. 1.
Or maybe Douglas himself is that No. 1.
None of us will find out until kickoff and maybe that’s the best way to approach it.
Friday: Temple-Oklahoma Preview
Friday’s scrimmage: Reading between the lines
Nobody other than staff or players and coaches and maybe some University of Pennsylvania facility personnel were allowed at Temple football’s latest scrimmage at Franklin Field.
So getting information out of there was almost impossible.
Fortunately, Temple offers videos and some snippets of what happened last week during practice both on Owlsports.com and its twitter feed so we’re able to read some things between the lines roughly a dozen days before the first game at Oklahoma (7 p.m., ESPN).
One, there might not be single digits--Head coach Stan Drayton said he’s not ready to give out single digits and doesn’t say when he will be.
In some past years, it’s been strictly a vote of the players but former head coach Rod Carey changed that tradition to a vote of the coaches.
Drayton says this will be determined by a hybrid of player and coaching voting but not until the coaches are comfortable with the process. So far, he’s not and one of the reasons he wants to see the Owls under game conditions so the next logical step would be to hand out the single digits after the Oklahoma game.
Two, he will wait to determine the starting quarterback–It appears it’s down to Evan Simon and Forrest Brock, but Simon reportedly went 7-for-7 with a touchdown pass at Franklin Field so maybe it’s his job to lose. Logically, he started some games at Rutgers–and even had a 300-yard passing game in the Big 10–so he didn’t transfer here to sit again.
Three, the offensive line appears to be the strength of the team–It certainly has the best position coach in Chris Wiesehan and brought in some big bodies but the biggest clue is that there are no injuries along the line and depth and size seems to be the best it has been since the 2019 season.
Four, a lot of running backs could be in the rotation–When interviewed last week, RB coach and Temple veteran Tyree Foreman said Joquez Smith “had to be taken off the field” in passing situations but “that is no longer the case.” Smith has made the next step but Foreman hasn’t named a starter just yet saying that four players–including FIU transfer E.J. Wilson and Maryland transfer Antwain Littleton–are also in the mix. He calls Lackawanna JC transfer Terrez Worthy a “home-run hitter.” Worthy, a former Big 33 MVP, was the leading rusher in all of JUCO football last year.
Five, the pass rush is 100 percent improved–Injuries and the coaching staff’s failure to use all of their scholarships last year made the Owls move linebackers to the line and that didn’t work out. The Owls made a concerted effort to use their resources for big linemen and, as a result, the pass rush has been a highlight. Look for Tre Thomas and Diwan Black to get a lot of sacks.
Will it be enough to beat Oklahoma?
Err, no.
Will it be enough to be competitive in the more important AAC games?
That’s to be determined.
Friday: Likely scenarios
Monday: Game Week
Temple Football Forever 