Tag Archives: nfl

08.07.25
by

New digs: Temple should start planning now

An artist rendering of what the new domed Eagles’ Stadium will look like.

For anyone who was around when Jeffrey Lurie tried to stiff Temple out of playing at Lincoln Financial Field way back when it opened in 2003, his latest plans should be viewed as a Five Alarm Fire.

Temple BOT chair Mitchell Morgan could be the key for getting November and December games at the Bank for the Owls.

Lurie only relented and allowed Temple in when the state of Pennsylvania reminded him that as part of the city and state’s funding of the Linc was the stipulation that Temple, one of three state schools (along with Pitt and Penn State) be allowed to play there. Lurie paid a third of the $521 million tab, while the City and State paid two thirds.

The state and the city threatened to take Lurie to court to allow Temple to play there and Lurie didn’t have the stomach to fight on two fronts.

That won’t be the case with Lurie’s current plans.

What are they?

Lurie floated the idea last month of building a new “Eagles Stadium” at a place yet-to-be-determined. Unless it is in Center City or North Philly, the Owls have virtually no chance of playing there.

Since Governor Josh Shapiro has ruled out state funding and the city has empty pockets, this new project will be funded entirely by the Eagles.

For anyone who remotely entertains the idea that Lurie would welcome Temple as a tenant, we have some condo space to sell in a Florida flood zone.

In other words, it ain’t happening.

Temple has to find another place to play or at least start the planning process now.

My preference has always been an on-campus stadium. A student body that has 12,500 students living on campus should have a football stadium on campus. LFF, which is a fantastic stadium, is way too big for Temple’s purposes. Creating a demand for tickets should be a priority and it’s just logical that the demand for tickets in a 35K stadium would be double the demand for tickets in a 70K stadium.

That ship, though, has sailed in a corrupt city that will always allow a Councilman to veto a project in his district. (My feeling is Temple has just as much right to build anything it wants on its own property as a school in any other city. Look at Georgia Tech’s stadium below. It also is in the middle of a residential neighborhood but was welcomed by the neighbors when it was built a century ago.)

If Georgia Tech can have this in Atlanta, Temple should have the same in Philadelphia.

So Temple has to explore other options.

With Temple Board of Trustees chair Mitchell Morgan as a part owner of the Philadelphia Phillies, some combination of Citizens Bank Park and another stadium should be explored. Temple should explore scheduling September games at the Bank but not October ones as those are baseball playoff dates.

Failing that play, say, two games at Franklin Field in September and October and two games at the soccer stadium in Chester in those same months and play the final two home games at Citizens Bank Park.

Slot CBP for any possible AAC title game in December.

Temple should start planning now because once Lurie comes out with the announcement it will almost definitely not include the Owls.

Monday: Depth Chart Clues

Friday (8/15): Behind The Lines

08.03.25
by

An ECU fan and a WVU fan walk into a bar …

Colby Dant and Ryan McIntyre break down Temple’s season.

An ECU fan and a WVU fan walk into a bar and ….

…. decided that Temple is going to be better than the Vegas Line predicted this season.

No joke.

One of them, Colby Dant, the lead broadcaster for The College Football Experience, even floated the possibility of six wins and a bowl bid. Dant is an ECU fan and his cohost, Moneyline Mac (Ryan McIntyre), was the video coordinator for Bobby Huggins at West Virginia.

If all Temple players and fans had the enthusiasm of this guy, the Owls would be in the CFB playoff this year.

That’s important because those guys never wore Cherry and White-colored glasses and can take a step back and view the upcoming season from a more objective standpoint than those of us who do.

That’s what we always tried to do here.

Proof is in the pudding, though.

Last year, knowing that Stan Drayton was the head coach and Everett Withers the DC, we predicted that the Owls would finish 2-10. Those expectations were so low because we had seen enough of those two over the prior years to come to that conclusion way back on May 19, 2024. Another factor was that one of our main themes was to replace E.J. Warner with a big-time newcomer at that position–even floating the names of Holy Cross starter Matt Sluka and Miami backup Reese Poffenbarger–but Drayton didn’t get it done. (Miami outbid Temple for Poffenbarger because, well, Miami but Sluka was promised more than TU could come up with yet was lied to and stiffed by UNLV.)

Instead, he completely botched the quarterback position not only by sitting on his hands but by misidentifying the talent on his own team by trotting Forrest Brock out as the starter over the clearly superior Evan Simon.

Who knows how many games that cost the Owls last year?

This year, new head coach K.C. Keeler not only brought in a big-time quarterback–Oregon State starter Gevani McCoy–but also was able to talk Simon into staying, where he currently leads a close battle for the starting quarterback position. Keeler also sprinkled in talented transfers all over the place to compete with the holdovers.

Others outside of Temple have noticed.

Dant isn’t saying the Owls make the college football playoff (see inset where the Owls beat Penn State in the opening round) nor are we.

Our game-by-game prediction last year had Temple at 2-10 and the Owls bettered that by one game. Our game-by-game prediction was/is six wins this year and it was posted in this space way back on May 23.

If the Owls prove us wrong and win one more game this year like they did last year, we will be toasting Colby Dant and Moneyline Mac from a bowl location in December.

Friday: New Digs

Monday: Depth chart clues

06.29.25
by

Immediate help is on the way for Temple football

Jay Ducker was the leading rusher at NIU, Memphis and Sam Houston and hopes to do the same at TU.

Lost in the Big Beautiful Month for Temple football 2026 recruiting that ends Monday is the fact that new head coach K.C. Keeler placed immediate needs ahead of future ones.

Keeler loaded up on the transfer portal to bulk up this roster before concentrating on future rosters and that’s the way it should be.

Any Temple fans having concerns about the roster need not.

That’s because the roster has been UPGRADED with newcomers and not downgraded by any loss of Stan Drayton’s guys.

Colin Chase could make Temple fans forget Dante Wright.

Look just at the key spots:

If Gevani McCoy beats out Evan Simon, he’s a pretty good quarterback.

QUARTERBACK__Temple was pretty much screwed at the backup quarterback position before Keeler addressed that with the addition of Oregon State starter Gevani McCoy in late April. Right now, we don’t know who is going to start at QB, McCoy or Evan Simon but going into this season not a single person can say Temple was better off at this time last year with Forrest Brock as the starter and Simon as a backup. Consider that position upgraded simply because backup quarterbacks have been a disaster at Temple for most of the last six years.

RUNNING BACK__Temple went into last season with high hopes for an FIU transfer (E.J. Wilson) and a true sophomore, Joquez Smith, not realizing that the 2023 leading JUCO rusher in the nation was on the roster in Terrez Worthy. Once Worthy got in the game, Temple realized it had something but he didn’t get highlighted until the middle of the season. Not satisfied with JUST Worthy, Keeler added Jay Ducker, who was the leading rusher in the MAC as a true freshman and the leading rusher at NIU, Memphis and Sam Houston State in the last three seasons. Think he’s not motivated to add Temple to that list? Hunter Smith, who was the leading rusher at Louisiana Monroe as a freshman, adds depth and joins a crowded room that includes Worthy, Smith and Ducker. Fortunately, Wilson is gone. Position definitely upgraded.

WIDE RECEIVERS__While Temple lost a couple of serviceable receivers in Dante Wright and John Adams, they added the leading receiver from Delaware (JoJo Bermudez). Grambling transfer Antonio Jones showed he had pretty good hands last year and returns, as does Xavier Irvin, who showed flashes of being pretty good. Colin Chase (St. Thomas) could surprise. EVEN.

OFFENSIVE LINE__Temple returns seven guys who started FBS games in South Carolina transfer Grayson Mains, Chris Smith, Jackson Pruitt, Luke Watson, Eric King, Diego Barajas and Kevin Terry. Keeler also brought in a letterwinner from Georgia who should provide depth. UPGRADE.

DEFENSIVE LINE__Keeler has called that the deepest position on the team with single-digit Demerick Morris coming back to Temple after a short stint at Oklahoma State. His teammates voted to allow him back, which shows he’s a leader. Other solid players include Miami (Fla.) transfer Allan Haye, Philadelphia city star Tyrese Whitaker, Rutgers’ transfer Cam’Ron Stewart (who has been good here) and Georgia Tech transfer K.J. Miles. UMass starter Aaron Beckwith transferred here over the winter but is not expected to start here. HUGE UPGRADE.

LINEBACKER__Eric Stuart is the lone returning starter but Keeler recognized that fact and brought in UMass starter Jalen Stewart and Delaware’s best linebacker, Ty Davis, who both should start here. Another potential starter is Kentucky backup Jayvant Brown, who turned down Alabama and Auburn offers to sign at Kentucky. UPGRADE

SPECIALS__Temple returns punter Dante Atton and former Temple kicker Maddux Trijillo called his backup, Carl Hardin, “the second best kicker in the AAC.” We’ll see if Maddux is as good a talent evaluator as he is a kicker but Hardin was consistent throughout the spring. Tylik Mitchell could be the best kickoff returner Temple has had since Isiah Wright. DOWNGRADE (because MT was so good). Hopefully, Temple will not be punting this year.

Anyone who has any concerns about Temple’s roster being thin is ignoring the players Keeler is bringing in and, in this day and age of the transfer portal, fans do that at their own peril.

Friday: Just Short of an A

06.15.25
by

Seeing double: A Brady Palmer vs. Brady Palmer matchup

The “other” Brady Palmer committed to Cal on the same weekend the “good” Brady Palmer committed to Temple. No relation.

Seeing double is what could happen if Temple and California decided to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of a Garden State Bowl matchup with an intersectional football game during the 2029 season.

That’s because, in addition to the Golden Anniversary, it could feature maybe the first college football game where the starters at quarterback for both teams have the same first and last names.

Brady Palmer.

That’s because on the same exact weekend in 2025 the two 2026 grads of the same name committed to Temple and Cal, respectively.

You can’t make this up and we certainly didn’t so both schools should roll with the good fortune. How could a network resist a Brady Palmer vs. Brady Palmer matchup, especially if both are able to secure the starting jobs at their respective schools? Brady Palmer vs. Brady Palmer with Paul Palmer handling the color on Temple radio.

It’s too good to pass up.

The 1979 matchup featured the nation’s top-rated quarterback in passing efficiency, Brian Broomell, vs. Cal’s Rich Campbell, who later played in the NFL.

Temple won, 28-17, before 40,000 fans at Giants Stadium.

Both are highly rated quarterbacks and Temple’s Palmer is an Elite 11 one, joining the ranks of recent Temple quarterbacks who made the Elite 11 (Anthony Russo and Re’Al Mitchell were the others). He was the starter at St. Francis High School in Wheaton, Ill. and now transferred to national powerhouse St. Thomas Acquinas (Fl.) for his senior year. In Illinois, Palmer threw for 33 touchdown passes and reportedly clocked a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash, which would make him exactly as fast as former Temple great running back Bernard Pierce.

The California Brady Palmer threw for 16 touchdowns against just five interceptions for Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) in the 2024 season. To be fair, his offer sheet was more impressive than the Temple Brady Palmer as he turned down scholarships from Utah and TCU to sign with Cal.

On the other hand, that Palmer was not an Elite 11 quarterback.

This one is and we can settle the issue of who is better with a Garden State Bowl rematch in 2029.

Friday: Home Cooking

06.08.25
by

Temple football’s No. 1 target commits

By all accounts, the gathering on June 3d between Temple fans and new head coach K.C. Keeler broke all records for an Owl event in the offseason in terms of attendance.

The buzz both inside and outside the Wissahickon Brewing Company was positive enough to get people to buy season tickets and have those people get other people to buy season tickets. The impact should show in fannies in the seats come September.

Keeler offered a few interesting nuggets in the sense that “we’re probably done” with the transfer portal for this cycle and concentrating instead on high school recruits.

Already, those dividends are paying off.

It didn’t take more than a few days for arguably Temple’s No. 1 target, a quarterback from North Carolina named Brody Norman, to commit. Five days to be exact because Norman announced on his twitter feed at exactly 7:41 p.m. on Sunday night he was an Owl.

There’s definitely an Anthony Russo-type vibe to the the Norman signing in it’s been a very long time since Temple signed a quarterback with gaudy stats like this.

As a senior at Archbishop Wood, Russo had 35 touchdown passes vs. only four interceptions for Steve Devlin’s state championship Vikings. Russo had just visited with then LSU head coach Les Miles in the Archbishop Wood cafeteria when then Temple head coach Matt Rhule got Russo to switch his Rutgers’ commitment for the Owls. Russo finished in the top four of Temple’s all-time quarterbacks from a statistical standpoint and probably would have worked his way up the ladder had then head coach Rod Carey not tried to make an option quarterback out of a drop back passer.

Temple sports set a record for an offseason event with a big crowd on Tuesday night to listen to K.C. Keeler

That was a whole different time in college football when G5 teams routinely out recruited regional P5 rivals because there wasn’t a whole lot of money to throw around and the G5 team could offer immediate playing time.

Keeler pulled off his own heist with the Norman recruit, taking advantage of the current state of college football when many P4 teams eschew recruiting high school players in favor of raiding other P4 team’s ready-made quarterback in the transfer portal.

With Norman, P4’s loss is Temple’s gain.

Norman had 32 touchdown passes in the junior year at Mooresville, N.C. His team finished 11-2 and won its league championship.

Who knows how many he will have this upcoming season but that fact that he won’t be distracted by having to deal with recruiters should help him focus on his high school season and padding those high school numbers.

Like Russo, the most important statistic for a quarterback is a championship pedigree followed by number of touchdown passes vs. interceptions.

Norman passes the smell test on both counts.

He obviously loves Philadelphia and, while he won’t arrive on campus for another couple of years, Philadelphia will no doubt love him back.

Friday: Sunday’s other three commits

Monday: Seeing double

06.05.25
by

Temple football: Location, location, location

First-year Temple head football coach K.C. Keeler is proving the old real estate adage:

Location, Location, Location.

At this time last year, then Temple head coach Stan Drayton was starting the second week of his two-week vacation in Houston, Tex (his house there)., texting the two reporters who cover Temple football on a regular basis that everything back home was cool because he was in constant contact with the senior leadership group.

Contrast that to what happened on Tuesday night when Keeler met with a couple hundred Temple fans at the Wissahickon Brewing Company.

That’s in Philadelphia, not Houston.

In that time, Keeler showed a grasp of the Temple personnel that Drayton never had.

There, he called last year’s starting quarterback, Evan Simon, “a dude” and incoming quarterback Gevani McCoy a guy who could win the job based on his history as a starter at both Oregon State and Idaho (two teams who have beaten Temple in the last 30 years). Drayton, on the other hand, fumbled his quarterback situation by naming the worst quarterback in Temple history, Forrest Brock, as the starter in the Oklahoma game over a Temple quarterback, Evan Simon, who started and did decently well in Big 10 games.

K.C. Keeler comes approved by Hooter.

Drayton, a running back guru, fumbled the ball.

Keeler, on the other hand, seems to have a grasp on his QB situation by even floating the idea of a two-quarterback system.

Afterward, Keeler left–not for Houston–but for his home here. This weekend, he might go as far as his longstanding home at Rehoboth Beach, Del., which is exactly 1,535 miles from Houston and only 121 miles from Philadelphia.

No need to have the team leadership group on standby. He can be at 10th and Diamond in a hurry.

Keeler dropped a couple of jokes–not staged, but based on his first few months here–that had the Temple fans in stitches on Tuesday and left the definite impression he was not going anywhere and he was large and in charge.

I don’t know about you but that’s comforting to me.

Monday: The No. 1 Target

05.25.25
by

Tush Push Could Return to Temple

Not quite the tush push, but a reminder of the days when “Temple TUFF” was more than a phrase.

Something that got plenty of attention here, but little elsewhere, was the story of the tush push staying in the NFL.

It’s always been legal in college football.

Temple’s last head coach, Stan Drayton, dabbled in it with mixed results in the last two seasons. When he tried it with a big tight end, David Martin-Robinson, it worked pretty well two years ago. When he tried it with a 160-pound backup quarterback a year ago at UConn, the play went viral for being laughable.

Temple TUFF dictates that the play return under the former framework, not the ladder.

The Owls are deep with big tight ends who can do the pushing. They have a big defensive lineman, Colin Greene, a former quarterback, who can do the tushing. The great thing about having Greene take the snap is that there can be a lot run off the tush push, like a quick pass or a fake tush push and a toss to the running back.

It’s a play perfect for new head coach K.C. Keeler to run because he understands the dynamics involved and how he can make it play to his advantage.

K.C. Keeler tush pushes his way through the Eagles’ victory parade.

Nobody that we can recall asked Keeler what he thinks of the play but he’s a big Eagles’ fan who attended the victory parade so he might dictate that show up in the playbook at some time in the future.

Former Temple DC Fran Brown already said he’s going to run the play at Syracuse and it makes sense.

For a team that rebuilt the offensive line over the offseason and is deep at tight end, no play makes more sense at Temple than the tush push.

It’s already popular in Philadelphia.

05.23.25
by

Way too early 2025 Temple football predictions

K.C. Keeler might have this pose after the Owls beat North Carolina in the Military Bowl.

Our “way-too-early” 2024 predictions appeared in this space on May 19, 2024.

Only four days and a year later, we’re going to swing and hopefully hit on a lot of these but first a review.

We predicted the 2024 Temple Owls to go 2-10 and they went 3-9 (again). We pretty much nailed the Tulsa game on the head, predicting the Owls to win by 11 (they won by 10). Also nailed the UConn game predicting the Owls would lose, 17-14 (they lost 29-20).

Our biggest miss was Utah State, where we predicted the Owls to lose, 34-7 (they won, 45-29). We predicted a 77-6 loss to Oklahoma (they lost 51-3) and a win over Coastal Carolina (they lost that one, 28-20). Also lost FAU as we predicted Temple would lose to Tom Herman. Owls won, 18-15 and Stan Drayton was fired the next day.

The football is a strange shape and it takes funny bounces but we’ll give it the old college try in this spot:

Temple 24, UMass 10 _ The fact that Temple was able to steal UMass’ best linebacker tells you all you need to know about this one. Temple has a seasoned head coach in K.C. Keeler. UMass has a first-time head coach in a former Rutgers’ assistant. Evan Simon throws for two touchdown passes, Gevani McCoy adds another on the ground and Carl Hardin kicks a field goal. Temple is unbeaten (1-0).

Temple 48, Howard 7 _ Howard shocked the world a few years ago when it went to UNLV and came away with a win as a 37-point underdog against an FBS team. That’s not happening. Simon plays the first half and throws for three touchdown passes and McCoy does the same in the second half. Jay Ducker runs for 176 yards but no touchdowns as he is caught from behind twice. Temple is 2-0.

Oklahoma 34, Temple 14 _ Not completely sold on the Owls, the Temple fans are outnumbered in the stands by the visitors from 1,600 miles away. Crowd of 52,333 is heavily pro-Sooner and that makes the difference. Temple is now 2-1.

Georgia Tech 38, Temple 7 _ Plenty of talk about Georgia Tech’s 24-2 loss to Temple in 2019 before the game. Yellowjackets are primed for revenge and get it. Temple is now 2-2.

Owls to face both Bill Belichick and any distractions Jordan Hudson can provide in the Military Bowl.

Temple 24, UTSA 21 _ Carl Hardin nails a 48-yarder with 2:53 left to give Temple a lead and Temple’s defense stops the Roadrunners at midfield to end the game. Temple is 3-2.

Navy 31, Temple 21 _ The Midshipmen, which lost to Temple, 32-16, in 2023, get some revenge for that one. Temple, though, shows improvement over its 38-11 loss to Navy last year. Still not good enough. Temple is 3-3.

Make that 99 as of today.

Temple 34, Tulsa 21 _ Jay Ducker runs for 142 yards and sets up two short touchdown passes from Simon to Antonio Jones and Temple comes away with a comfortable win in Oklahoma. Many of the Oklahoma fans who made the trip to Philadelphia show up rooting for the Owls. Crowd is generously announced at 6,234. Temple is 4-3.

Temple 28, Charlotte 14 _ Owls go into the 20,111-seat Jerry Richardson Stadium and come away with a comfortable win. McCoy starts, throws two TDs and runs for one. Simon comes in to close out the game in the fourth quarter. Terrez Worthy scores a 56-yard touchdown and wins the starting RB job from Ducker. Temple is 5-3.

Temple 28, East Carolina 20 _ The last time ECU visited Lincoln Financial Field, the Pirates escaped with a 49-46 win because the Owls couldn’t convert a third-and-1 at midfield (trying a pass instead of a run) and kicked the ball away with a lead. This time, the Temple defense has a much better day, getting two picks. Temple is now 6-3.

Army 31, Temple 28 _ Temple leads the whole game but Army, in a game similar to the 2017 game, wins on a last-second bomb from a backup quarterback. Afterward, K.C. Keeler shakes Jeff Monken’s hand and says, “You are the best coach in the country.” Monken returns the favor, saying, “K.C. you are not so bad yourself.” Temple is 6-4.

Tulane 28, Temple 17 _ Keeler spends the entire off week showing the Owls film of their 52-6 loss at Tulane last year. It helps only a little. Brian Smith’s defense contains but does not stop the Green Wave. Temple is 6-5.

North Texas 31, Temple 17 _ The late November temperature in Denton, Texas is 82 degrees. Owls, who have practiced all week in 30-degree temperatures in Philadelphia can’t hang. Temple finishes 6-6 and accepts a bid to the Military Bowl to play North Carolina afterward.

Keeler laughs.

“I have a lot of respect for coach Belichick but I don’t have the off-field distractions he has,” Keeler says. “We’re going to be focused on winning. I told the kids anybody who opts out of the bowl game is no longer a Temple Owl. Kids said they are all in and so am I.”

There you have it. Temple finishes 6-6 in the regular season.

I had them at 2-10 a year ago. I won’t be mad if they win one more game than predicted this season.

Again.

Monday: The Temple Push


05.11.25
by

A King Solomon-like solution to Temple QB controversy

Gevani McCoy highlights at Oregon State last season.

Whatever happens in the summer camp when Gevani McCoy arrives to do battle with Evan Simon, Temple appears headed for a quarterback controversy.

While this happened a half-century of so ago at Temple, new head coach K.C. Keeler might need to pull out a more ancient solution, about 2,900 years earlier. When two women claimed to be the mother of a baby and wanted custody, they went to King Solomon. When Solomon suggested they split the baby and give one half to each, the real mother said give to the other one.

Marty Ginestra’s stats in Temple’s 1973 season were better (9 TDs, 0INTs) than newcomer Steve Joachim’s (11 TDs to 10 INTs) below. Interesting that as a PSU backup in 1971, Steve tossed 7 TDs vs. 3 INTs for Joe Paterno.

Solomon, in his wisdom, figured that gesture indicated who the real mother was and awarded the baby to the one who didn’t want it killed.

Or at least that’s the story.

Splitting the baby in the Simon/McCoy battle could be the way to go considering what happened a year ago.

Temple once split the baby, playing two QBs in the 8-2 season of 1973.

Through summer practices, then head coach Stan Drayton screamed up and down that the battle was even and he would announce the starter on the day of the Oklahoma opener. Drayton (wrongly) went with Forrest Brock, who must have been the greatest practice quarterback of all time because when he appeared in actual games, he looked like the worst QB in college football history.

On the other hand, in real games, Simon was pretty good–hitting his high-water mark in an 45-29 win over Utah State. Simon threw four touchdown passes in that one–all under pressure and into tight windows–while adding another one on the ground.

In hindsight, Drayton, if he was really torn, would have been better served by the King Solomon solution. Play each quarterback a few series in real games under real fire and then go with the hot hand.

Pretty sure that was Henry Hynoski.

Temple fans of a certain age might remember this kind of approach served the Owls well a half-century ago when another Hall of Fame coach, Wayne Hardin, welcomed a big-time transfer in from Penn State (Steve Joachim) to battle with a fairly good Simon-like holdover in Marty Ginestra.

Ginestra was the fan favorite in 1973, throwing nine touchdown passes, while Joachim tossed 10 TDs that same year. Temple wasn’t hurt by the shuffling as the Owls won eight games.

The real benefit wasn’t felt until a year later when Joachim tossed 20 touchdown passes and won the Maxwell Award as the best college football player in the nation for the 1974 Owls, who finished 9-1.

If the Owls get an eight-win season in a two-quarterback system and a Maxwell winner and 9-1 or better next year, Keeler would probably sign for that now.

This King Solomon guy evidently had a lot of wisdom. So did King Hardin.

05.08.25
by

One outsider’s view of the Temple top 10

I don’t get the “7-6 record” in 2024 at the top of these stats. I wish it wasn’t 3-9.

In this age of no good reason, reason sometimes lacks logic.

An outsider takes a look at Temple football and gives his top 10 players and an insider, like me, looks at the same roster and comes up with another 10.

Take the outsiders with a grain of salt, though.

The guy in the above video puts Evan Simon at the top of his 10 but makes only a passing (no pun intended) mention of a newcomer who was the starting quarterback at Oregon State last year.

Gevani McCoy started nine games at quarterback for Oregon State. When was the last time Temple recruited a guy like that?

No bigger Evan Simon fan than me but I think Gevani McCoy has a real good chance to beat him out.

Do I think he does?

Let the field decide that.

Here’s my top 10 Temple players this year, knowing that it could (and probably will) be a different list at the end of the year:

  1. Gevani McCoy–You don’t bring in a starter from a recent P5 program to put him on the bench and he more fits the kind of the kind of pass-first, tuck-the-ball-away and run if nothing is there offense new head coach K.C. Keeler wants to run.
  2. Simon–A terrific player and a team leader who loves Temple and his teammates love him. I will never forget in a 52-6 blowout loss to Tulane, Simon fumbled the ball and crawled on all fours for five yards to cover a meaningless fumble. His teammates appreciated that. Hell, for someone who invested nearly four hours in watching that disaster, I appreciate that as a Temple fan. If McCoy–who allowed himself to be sacked 15 times last year in nine games–goes down, I have no doubt Simon can lead the Owls to a bowl game. Heck, if he beats McCoy out in the summer, I have no doubt Keeler will do the right thing for Temple and start Simon.
  3. Demereck Morris–This solid DT, a single-digit guy, transferred to Oklahoma State and decided that the grass isn’t always greener than the artificial ones at Chodoff Field.
  4. Antonio Jones–This wide receiver is tough as nails and, although listed as backup on the depth chart now, he doesn’t drop passes and can be a big play threat.
  5. Grayson Mains–This center from South Carolina was the anchor of the offensive line last year and should benefit from better coaching.
  6. John Adams–Should start opposite Jones as wide receiver. Showed his explosiveness in a 59-34 loss vs. USTA two years ago when he caught two touchdown passes and amassed 157 yards. Blocked a punt for a TD with his long arms that should have won the UConn game last year if the idiot in charge had called for a Sam Cunningham leap with Terrez Worthy instead of a tush push with a 160-pound backup quarterback.
  7. Worthy--Speaking of that, Keeler brought in Jay Ducker, who was the leading rusher at both Memphis and Sam Houston State before coming to Temple. More importantly to me, Worthy SHOULD have been the starter at Temple last year if Stan Drayton didn’t have a brain cramp and start E.J. Wilson in the first three games. Keeler’s only objection with Ducker’s great spring camp was his lack of finishing speed. Worthy has that.
  8. Ryder Kusch–The Canadian tight end was the star of spring practice for Temple, joining another foreign player (Peter Clarke, UK) as pleasant surprises. Both are immune to the transfer portal and the NIL since they can’t benefit from it so they will be here for the long haul
  9. Daniel Evert–also a tight end, Evert made a beautiful move in the middle of the field for a long touchdown against Army. If you want to jumpstart the old Temple-type running game, put Kusch and Evert in a two-tight end set and have more blockers at the point of attack than defenders.
  10. Ty Davis--Delaware’s best linebacker of last year is ready to step up and become Temple’s of this year.