Tag Archives: travel

07.03.25
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New Temple Unis: A Solid B

Al Golden, whose 56th birthday is today, brought back both the striped pants and TEMPLE on the helmet.

One of the things a lot of new Temple coaches do is try to change the uniforms.

Some get it right.

Some swing and miss.

Some get close.

New Temple football coach K.C. Keeler is in the third category.

I had hoped to give the new Temple uniform reveal which came three days ago an A.

Got to admit I’m a little disappointed to hand out a B, but I have to be honest.

It’s not an exaggeration to say Al Golden saved Temple football, both from an on-field standpoint and a uniform standpoint.

Only two Temple football coaches in my lifetime nailed the new uniform assignment and both were among the best, Wayne Hardin and Al Golden. (Happy Birthday to Temple Hall of Fame head coach Al Golden and a sincere thank you from TFF for saving the program.)

Hardin turned the old Owl the side of the helmet into TEMPLE on both sides.

“A lot of people wear Ts on the side of the helmets,” Hardin said in 1971. “Tennessee, Texas Tech and Texas A&M, among others. We don’t want to be confused with anyone. We’re TEMPLE and we’re proud to wear the name on our helmets.”

That theme returned in Al Golden’s second season when he decided to put TEMPLE back on the helmets.

“When I played at Penn State, we played a lot of teams that hit us pretty hard,” Golden said. “We played Notre Dame. We played USC. Nobody hit us as hard as those guys wearing TEMPLE on the side of their helmets. I wanted to return to that kind of tradition.”

Helmets through the years. The only decent ones were TEMPLE and the T.

So Golden, like Hardin, put TEMPLE back on the helmets.

That’s kinda what I was hoping for Keeler.

Not being a perfectionist, all I wanted was for the team’s football logo (TEMPLE) to share the school’s logo (T).

Split the baby is what we’ve been writing about for the last decade.

A King Solomon-style solution would be for one side of the helmets to be TEMPLE and the other side of the helmet to be the school’s familiar T logo.

Keeler made a step in the right direction with putting the T on both sides of the helmet. Maybe next year he’ll consult with King Solomon. For now, getting rid of the stupid numbers on the helmet is a huge step in the right direction. There was never a need to have numbers both on the front and back of the jerseys AND the helmets.

Steve Addazio made the most egregious change in the helmet when it removed the TEMPLE of Al Golden to the T of the school.

He was out after two years. I would have fired him for the helmet change but fortunately BC took him off Temple’s hands after a 4-7 Owl season in 2012.

Keeler’s unis–while not the pure dark Cherry colors or having the TEMPLE on the helmet–aren’t perfect, but they are a step toward perfect.

Kinda like the program on the field at this point and we’ll have another reveal this time next year so there’s always hope that the grade could be upgraded to an A.

King Solomon is counting on it.

06.26.25
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Objectively, the best Temple recruiting month ever

The Owls already here hit the weight room on the hottest day in Philly since 2012.

A couple of famous names who signed on the dotted line illustrated what we’ve been thinking for a couple of weeks.

Objectively, this 2026 recruiting class is the best Temple one since 2007 and the credit must be given to a full court press the K.C. Keeler staff did this month.

Also objectively, this is the best recruiting month ever.

In an era where the G5 never beats the P5 (or P4 now), at least five recruits came down to two choices:

Temple and Syracuse.

Like the old Bill Cosby ad said, “they could have gone anywhere. They chose Temple.”

Now to the two famous names that haven’t been discussed in this space before:

Duane Johnson Jr. and Hanks.

Not Tom Hanks, but Alex Hanks, who is one of the Syracuse flips as a 6-1, 195-pound safety. The recruiting site 247 has him turning down a ‘Cuse offer on June 20 to commit to Temple.

The other is Duane Johnson Jr., who is no relation to the “other” Dwayne Johnson Jr.–better known as The Rock–who played his high school football in Bethlehem, Pa. and college at Miami (where he played against Temple). This Duane Johnson Jr. is FROM Miami and, like the other Johnson, a 6-3, 190-pound linebacker at the high school level. The Rock bulked up to 6-3, 290 and became a DE at Miami before becoming a superstar in wrestling and movies.

Temple’s Duane Johnson turned down offers from his hometown FIU and Bowling Green to come to 10th and Diamond.

Temple’s 2026 recruiting company as of 6/26/25.

Another player we haven’t mentioned here previously is Josh Nengite of Susquehanna Township (Pa.), and the attached announcement here gives a clue as to why he–and the other 23 June commits–picked Temple: “The goals for the program and how we are going to accomplish them.”

Keeler and his staffed are locked in with that message.

For all of this excitement about Temple’s 2026 recruiting class, 247 still has the Owls–with 24 commits–rated as No. 76 nationally. Historically, that ranks behind Al Golden’s second class at Temple (2007), which ranked No. 1 in the MAC and No. 52 in both the Rivals.com and Scout.com national rankings. That translated to a 2009 appearance in the Eagle Bank Bowl against a UCLA team that had a No. 3 recruiting ranking in 2007.

Bad, because only 64 teams play in the so-called Power 5. Good, because of the other 66 teams in FBS, Temple is rated No. 12.

Good, because Keeler’s 2026 class is rated ahead of Nebraska, Auburn, Virginia, Missouri and Virginia Tech.

The other consideration here is that Temple’s Fab Five that turned down ‘Cuse turned down a very good staff with a great history of recruiting for a staff with a vision for the future. It’s one thing that new head coach K.C. Keeler already has a proven eye for talent. It’s validation when an entirely different staff sees the same thing. So maybe that 76 is closer to 66 because no other G5 program is grabbing that many P4 offers, at least thumbing through the other AAC offer sheets.

No one knows if our Duane Johnson will approach the fame of the other Dwayne Johnson or our Hanks will make a football impact that Tom Hanks made on the world stage.

What we do know is that they will join a group of guys who have been vetted by dozens of eyeballs on two highly paid and well-respected staffs 500 miles apart and now will be playing before a lot more eyeballs in the largest stadium in the AAC.

Chances are pretty good those Lincoln Financial Field eyeballs will like what they see.

Monday: Immediate vs. Future

06.01.25
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Networking: Rebuilding the fan base

All three “major” Temple sports coaches will be attending this event tomorrow night, but I’m guessing Keeler will be the one drawing the crowd.

One of the recurring responses on the OwlsDaily.com website to any enthusiasm about K.C. Keeler being hired is the question how that translate to fannies in the seats?

Good question.

It is one that Temple head coach will try to answer Tuesday night (6) at a networking event (Wissahickon Brewing Company) in the East Falls section of Philadelphia.

Keeler has been reaching out to Temple fans at other places (golf tournaments, Maxi’s Bar on campus, etc.) and there will be more.

Does it translate to fannies in the seats?

Yes and no.

Yes, in the sense that hiring a Hall of Fame head coach like Keeler naturally sells tickets.

No, in the sense that we’re not going to see 60,000 Temple fans in the stands JUST because Temple has a high-profile head coach.

Weather should be great to talk Temple sports over a few brewskis in this outdoor space tomorrow night.

Like everything, the proof is in the pudding. Nobody is going to buy the pudding until it’s so good it creates a demand for the pudding.

In other words, if the Owls win at UMass to open the season and beat Howard and give Oklahoma a good game, that translates to fannies in the seats for the rest of the season. Wish I could go but am working that night. If any fan goes, I hope someone brings up our ideal of bringing the tush push back to Temple using DL and former high school quarterback Colin Greene as the tusher and tight end Peter Clarke as the pusher.

That’s what happens when a fan base goes to the Military Bowl one year after an eight-win regular season and the next few goes 1-6, followed by a whole bunch of 3-9s.

This fan base is beaten down and it’s going to take some time to get off the mat.

It helps that Keeler has been pounding the pavement for players in the transfer portal. It also helps that he’s reaching out a hand to lift up some fans who have been down on the mat for way too long.

Friday: Location

Monday: No. 1 Target

05.08.25
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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.
04.10.25
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One way to beat the tariffs: Attend C&W

I own this sweatshirt now (true story).

Just out of curiosity, took an inventory on all the Temple swag hanging in my closet and counted 18 items from a “Al Golden worn gameday hoodie” to a black Temple football jacket given to me by a Temple wide receiver’s dad.

Looked at the labels. Fourteen of them were “Made in China.” The other four were “Made in the USA.”

Some cost me nothing. Some (like the AG sweatshirt I picked up in the offices of Temple football) cost me a pretty penny.

Most of them I got on Cherry and White Day at bargain basement prices.

If you want to beat these tariffs on Temple swag, I’d suggest cutting out a couple of hours and heading to Cherry and White for the 80-play scrimmage (2 p.m. Saturday) at the Edberg-Olson Football Complex. A terrific tradition and a chance to meet up with old friends that extends all the way back to 1928.

There’s always a lot of good used Temple football stuff at bargain basement prices.

Any new stuff maybe over the next four years will cost 10x as much.

That’s the tip part of this post.

Scenes from spring practice under K.C. Keeler.

The other part is to wear a Pancho because of the forecast rain.

A third part is to get ready for some “real” football because, in the last six years, a couple of the things we haven’t seen are actual kickoff and kickoff returns and field goals under pressure.

Temple head coach K.C. Keeler promised all three of those things this week and that’s important because game conditions include rain, shine and everything else.

Raw, damp, WC in the 30s sounds like a game at the Linc in November.

There will be no excuses in the fall when a rain game comes in October this is something to fall back on now.

Carl Hardin is going to have to kick field goals under any conditions so maybe Saturday will be a good primer. Quarterback Evan Simon has had a terrific spring and, to me, solidified the No. 1 job (no matter who they bring in) and another great day wouldn’t hurt. I was sold on the guy when in a 52-6 loss at Tulane, he crawled on the ground for five yards and fell on the football in a meaningless game like it was a grenade that would kill his teammates.

Now to the reason at the top of this post.

Whatever the case, buying Temple stuff at Wal-Mart probably won’t be advisable for at least the next three years so loading up now might save a lot of money.

Getting that fix for a Temple football addict is just an added bonus.

Monday: Thoughts after Cherry and White

03.23.25
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Keeler’s first play call: Split the helmet baby

The greatest Temple helmet in history IMHO.

In the grand scheme of things, not one of the top 10 things K.C. Keeler needs to do as a head coach but it is certainly an important play call only he can make.

Go back to the “TEMPLE” helmet or keep the university signature “‘][‘ Logo.

Or do both.

The status quo is not an option.

There is a direct correlation between winning football at Temple and the TEMPLE helmet.

Had a long discussion with Matt Rhule about this a couple of days after he was hired and he said: “I don’t know if that’s my call.”

Told him that it was because the precedent had been established by a number of coaches before him.

Wayne Hardin changed an absolutely putrid-looking Owl logo to simply “TEMPLE” spelled out on the helmet.

“We want people to know who we are, that’s why I did it,” Hardin said at the time. “Plenty of teams have a logo or a T. We want to spell it out so there is no confusion.”

No consultancy fee necessary so splitting it in two is perfect.

TEMPLE had some–err, most–of its best football years wearing that helmet. It lasted from Hardin through Bruce Arians before Jerry Berndt switched it back to the T and 20 years of hell followed.

Like Rhule, though, Al Golden didn’t know if it was “his call” and stuck with the T through his first season, which was a 1-11 one.

After that season, though, Golden changed it and rubbing that helmet put some luck back in the program. Then Steve Addazio changed it back to the “T” and more hell followed after that.

“I did it because I associated that TEMPLE helmet with some of the toughest teams I played when I was at Penn State,” Golden said.

That’s why, when Rhule answered my first congratulatory email with “Mike, give me a call” I thought that was a good place to bring it up.

Rhule also stuck with the T, proving that the person inside the helmet was either just as or more important than the brand itself.

Since then, my King Solomon Solution has been my constant recommendation.

Split the baby.

Temple has had some bad helmets (and one good one) over the years.

“TEMPLE” on one side and the ‘][‘ on the other. The helmet was one of many things that didn’t make sense during the Stan Drayton Era because it had the ‘][” on one side and the number on the other. Talk about the Department of Redundancy Department.

The number was on both sides of the jerseys and didn’t need to be on a third spot.

Splitting the baby and putting the football logo on one side of the helmet and the university logo on the other would be the logical solution and it would be a bloodless one.

Somewhere up there, we think both Hardin and King Solomon would approve.

Friday: Some Progress

02.24.25
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Football in February: Reasons for optimism

While one major sports team at Temple University appears to be imploding, there will be a “Football in February” event held by the only other major sports team at Temple.

K.C. Keeler will be appearing at Maxi’s today to answer all your questions and outline his plan to bring immediate respectability to Temple on a national level that we really haven’t seen around here since the first four games of the AAC basketball tournament in 2024.

Temple hoops had a great opportunity to build off that national momentum but blew it as new acquisitions never panned out.

Since I have a “real job” that I have to be at the time, I won’t be able to attend but if I could ask him a couple of questions these would be it:

“One, since you talked to OwlsDaily.com editor Shawn Pastor about 10 days ago and said you haven’t watched any film on the current Owls, did you get a chance to do so subsequently?

“Two, what were you pleasantly surprised by and what areas of concern do you have going into spring practice in a couple of weeks?

That’s pretty much it.

If not, why not and do you plan to check out the game film of the guys who showed enough loyalty to the school and the program to stay?

The community outreach could not have come at a better time and we’re not talking about 5 p.m. on a Monday afternoon. We’re talking about the overall malaise this winter with Temple sports.

The Temple basketball Owls started their conference season with a 4-1 record followed by a 6-3 record and are now sitting at 6-9 in the AAC. They were the only team to beat Memphis in the conference at one time.

Now a complete implosion has occurred.

One site that covers Temple basketball after an 80-64 loss at UAB used the term “moral victory” even while suggesting that it wasn’t. Hell, that was no moral victory. It was an immoral loss. I clapped back on that suggesting that a Pearson Hall rec team of non-scholarship athletes could have lost to UAB 80-16 or so and there’s not a whole much of a difference in national perspective between 80-64 and 80-16.

Not good and maybe there are some lessons to be learned on the football side.

A second-year hoop coach relied on high-profile transfers from Penn State and St. Joseph’s who never panned out and maybe better vetting should have been involved. Maybe some semblance of hustle on defense could have helped.

It doesn’t even look like the basketball team is trying on defense (not to mention rebounding) and that’s never a good look.

Now Keeler appears to be focused not only on talent but on vetting and coaching and playing defense with a modicum of heart, which will always keep you in the game in any sport.

Keeler will explain all that and more this afternoon and maybe for the first time in a long time, Temple fans will leave a venue with smiles on their faces.

02.07.25
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Feb. 4 signees: Reasons for optimism

Gut feeling that De’Carlos Young becomes Temple’s featured back in 2025 and that Jett White and Jayvant Brown make immediate all-AAC impacts.

You won’t find Temple football in the top 10 of recruiting classes.

You don’t have to.

All you need to do is compare Temple not necessarily against the best AAC recruiting classes (Memphis and Tulane’s were better) but against the G5 as a whole.

Nobody said Sam Houston’s recruiting class was No. 1 in the Group of Five a year ago. In fact, it was much closer to No. 64 than No. 1.

What Sam Houston had then and what Temple has now is a College Hall of Fame football coach in K.C. Keeler. It also had no NIL money. It also finished 9-3 in the regular season.

That means a lot.

A year ago Temple had neither a highly rated recruiting class nor a Hall of Fame college football coach.

One out of two ain’t bad.

The reality of college football today is that the schools with the alumni with the rolls of money will always have the top-ranked classes.

Temple will never have that.

The sooner we accept that reality the better.

So what’s the path forward?

With apologies to P4 big-time recruits Jett White and Jayvant Brown, DeCarlos Young is Temple Football Forever’s choice as the No. 1 recruit in this 2025 class.

Keeler and a very smart staff identifying diamonds in the rough is acceptable alternative.

Make a bowl game right away and challenge for the AAC title in a couple of years.

That appears to have happened on Wednesday with this recruiting class.

Put it this way: Does even a Temple team coming off consecutive 10-win seasons ever dream of recruiting a player like Jett White or Jaybrant Brown?

The answer clearly is no.

The transfer portal taketh away but it also giveth.

White and Brown were big-time P4 recruits and would not have given Temple a second look first time around.

Now, they can help Temple inch closer to the top of the AAC.

How close?

Maybe not to the Memphis or Tulane level but certainly to that level just after those two teams

Keeler as my coach over Stan Drayton as my coach makes me think 6-6 is much more attainable than the 3-9 we’ve been used to as fans.

Now this guy still has six scholarships in his pocket with about 2,000 players to chose from and they better be defensive linemen who can put the quarterback on his ass and offensive linemen who can protect a franchise quarterback like Evan Simon.

If he doesn’t deliver them by the summer, you will read your first criticism of Keeler here. Until then, trust a process demonstratively better than the last process.

02.03.25
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Some great players remain in the portal

Hard to believe the number of very good players left in the college football’s transfer portal and, the longer they stay there, the better the chances for a G5 school like Temple to come away with some.

There’s no secret who new Temple portal expert Kyle Pollock should be targeting because the Owls lost two of their better defensive lineman to both portal and graduation and their offensive line struggled in pass protection last season.

Both need to be resupplied.

The top offensive lineman remaining in the portal is Fa’Alili Fa’amore who is a 6-5, 314-pound junior from Wake Forest. He originally signed with Washington State but moved on to Washington.

C.J. James from UTSA was granted an additional year of eligibility due to the Diego Pavia lawsuit. He’s 6-3, 310 pounds and is familiar with Temple. The Owls lost their starting quarterback to a rival conference school from Texas two years ago so turnabout is fair play. K.C. Keeler has plenty of recruiting connections in Texas so maybe he could pull this off.

Hard to believe the number of very good players left in the college football's transfer portal and, the longer they stay there, the better the chances for a G5 school like Temple to come away with some.
Analysts like Bruce Feldman insist the biggest problem with the transfer portal is the belief among players that they will land somewhere. Nearly 50 percent who enter one year find themselves without a home the next.

Kai Greer (6-6, 285) redshirted this year at Georgia Tech and has offers from places like Liberty and Utah State so Temple should probably throw its hat into the ring for him. Temple beat Utah State, 45-29, last year and Keeler beat Liberty, 20-12, as head coach at Sam Houston State.

Those are just a few of the “types” of lineman Temple can and should go after.

The Owls don’t have the same NIL resources many other schools have but they can offer an opportunity for good players who want to bet on themselves to succeed.

Maybe it’s enough. Maybe it’s not, but we will never know unless we try.

Friday: Signing Day Recap

01.05.25
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When your best offer is Tarleton State

One word of caution for Temple players looking to jump into the transfer portal.

Don’t.

By all indications, most especially the eye test, Terrez Worthy was a pretty good player for Temple football this past fall.

Maybe the best from a pure production standpoint.

This is the Tarleton State practice facility (note that tiny building is where the locker room and weight room is).

But he’s getting pretty bad advice from who knows where?

That’s because he’s been in the portal for a few weeks now and the best (only?) offer he has is from Tarleton State.

We had to look up where Tarleton State was and it is in Stephenville, Texas. Its practice facility is a couple of storage lockers and a grass field, while Temple has a $17 million practice facility at 10th and Diamond.

On the field, Tarleton State doesn’t have a TV contract and plays pretty obscure opponents in Drake, West Georgia, Eastern Kentucky, Utah Tech (not regular Utah or Temple opponent Utah State) and Austin Peay. (Worthy also has a scheduled visit to UTEP but that is also a worse program than Temple by any measurement.)

Can’t imagine there’s a whole lot of NIL money available at a school that can barely afford pads and jerseys but there are always players at Temple and pretty much every G5 school who believe the grass is greener on the other side of the 10th and Diamond fence.

It almost never is.

According to a fan post on OwlsDaily.com, these players are among the many who have current Temple offers.

If Worthy’s tale should be anything, it should be a cautionary one. He would be welcome back to Temple if he chose to return and would have the benefit of playing in an NFL stadium in a big-time league with a big-time TV contract and a Hall of Fame head coach.

The point here is that, after three-straight 3-9 seasons, not a whole lot of suitors are going to come after Temple players so those who have scholarships would be wise to keep them and not lose them.

There are plenty of good players in the portal who would love to have a Temple scholarship and a number of them have reached out to new head coach K.C. Keeler first.

The great majority of players who have entered the transfer portal over the last three years–not just at Temple–have not only become homeless but lost a valuable scholarship at a school whose degree unlocks a lot of doors to a promising future.

Cooper Blomstrom, one of the top-rated edge rushers, just posted he has a Temple offer.

Plus, they would be on TV in the fourth-largest market in the nation with a lot more eyeballs on them than they would at a FCS school or a lower-tier FBS one. Many of those eyeballs are NFL scouts.

Got to feel for Worthy in the sense that the past Temple staff didn’t recognize his talent until midway through the season. To have a back like E.J. Wilson starting ahead of him in the first few games was borderline criminal.

That’s also the same kind of talent evaluation that put Forrest Brock as the starting QB ahead of a clear better choice, Evan Simon.

With K.C. Keeler, those days are over and any player lucky enough to have a Temple scholarship would be wise to keep it.