Tag Archives: Raheem Blackshear

01.25.17
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One Step Back Two Steps Forward for G5

lockherup

Hopefully, Temple gets a P5 commit or two aboard the flip train in a week.

If Melania Trump really wanted to make an impact with her anti-bullying policies, she would start not at the elementary school level but all the way into the colleges at the top of the bullying food chain.

Tell the Power 5 to stop bullying the G5.

From effectively banning G5 forever from the national Final Four to stealing G5 recruits with impunity on National Signing Day, the Power 5 has set the standard for bullying.

The latest result of the bullying was Michigan State swooping in and taking away Temple commit Raheem Blackshear today.

We doubt Mrs. Trump had anything to do with it, but the G5 scored the smallest possible and maybe its only victory against the P5 when the NCAA’s Division I Football Committee expressed support for moving the signing date backward to December from February.

How does this help the G5?

Well, considering that the middle of December is the time when the P5 schools are ostensibly pre-occupied with preparing for bowl games and the G5 schools are playing in lesser bowls, the G5 staffs can pound the pavements harder to keep their recruits. Usually, the P5 schools do not start poaching G5 commits until AFTER their bowl games, when they have more time to review the film.

Would Temple have lost Blackshear if the signing day was in mid-December, not at the start of February? Possibly, but the indisputable fact is that Michigan State did not get involved with Blackshear until late December, not mid-December.

This has hurt schools like Temple in particular because former coach Matt Rhule had such a good eye for grading film he developed a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough. The P5 would let coaches like Rhule do their grunt work for them, then sweep down to take one of his recruits they might like after their bowl games were completed.

Cutting the time down to mid-December only helps the G5 coaches hold onto their discoveries.

Now if Mrs. Trump can do something about getting the AAC champ an automatic bid in an eight-team playoff, then she can have something tangible to show for her anti-bullying initiative.

Friday: Five Ways to Say No To Bullies

01.23.17
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Russo To Blackshear Could Be Epic

Reunited and it feels so good

Sometimes decisions are so easy people term them no-brainers and they are the first ones to instinctively come to your gut.

Raheem “Speedy” Blackshear initially committed to Temple, then re-opened his commitment but, even looking at this objectively and not as a fan, sometimes the best decisions are the ones you make with your gut and, hopefully, in the next 10 days or so, the Archbishop Wood wide receiver listens to his gut and realizes the first impression he had was the right one.

Not only would Blackshear be playing in his hometown for a hometown team—meaning ALL of his friends and family could attend—and receiving a great education in the process, the pairing of this wide receiver and this quarterback could be Epic, as the kids say.

How do we know?

It’s already been Epic as current Temple quarterback Anthony Russo and Blackshear combined for 22 touchdowns and, more importantly, a Pennsylvania state championship in football two years ago. In that year, Russo and Blackshear demonstrated a kind of feel for each other in the open field that a great quarterback has with a great receiver. Temple fans know it when they see it and they have seen it with a only a few combinations—John Waller to Jim Callahan, Steve Joachim to Randy Grossman, Brian Broomell to Gerald “Sweet Feet” Lucear, Henry Burris to Van Johnson, Adam DiMichele to Bruce Francis and P.J. Walker to Robby Anderson over the last 50 or so years.

In the pros, you can think of Joe Montana to Jerry Rice or, for older Philly fans, Sonny Jurgensen to Tommy McDonald.

The last time an Epic Pair of state champions came to Temple at roughly the same time, P.J. Walker and Jahad Thomas, they took Temple on a pretty good ride. Because Russo went through his redshirt year, you could pretty much say that Russo and Blackshear will be coming onto the Temple football scene at the same time,too, should Blackshear keep his commitment. A Blackshear arrival will give Russo two guys with the kind of skill set that demands double-coverage as Russo’s current roommate, Isaiah Wright, is a next-level slot receiver. Can’t double cover both, so both should be open in the secondary the next three years at least and that means huge numbers the passing game.

The ride that Russo and Blackshear take Temple on could be even better than the P.J./Jahad one, but we will never know unless they are teamed up again. It could be Epic.

Wednesday: A Break For The G5