Tag Archives: Tyler Douglas

08.26.24
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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

08.11.24
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An early quarterback controversy

Leave it to Shawn Pastor to come up with the best quote of summer camp.

Talking to one of the three quarterbacks vying for the Temple football starting job, the answer provided by one of the candidates was that the two players basically held a rock, paper scissors competition to see who would get the reps with the first team.

The editor of OwlsDaily.com always gets the best answers because he asks the best questions but this answer, while revealing, certainly does not give one the warm and fuzzies about Temple’s chances at Oklahoma on Aug. 30 (7:30 p.m., ESPN flagship station).

Temple may end up starting not the best passer but the one who is best at rock, paper and scissors.

The best answer would have been this:

“The coaches have developed a pretty good methodology to determine who runs with the first team. Both coach (Stan) Drayton and coach (Danny) Langsdorf (OC) study the prior practice film and the guy who made the best throws and fewest mistakes runs with the first team the next practice. Then we wipe the slate clean and one of the three of us emerges to run with the ones the next practice.“

As John Belushi might say, “but nooooooo…”

The controversy, in this case, is not who should be the starting quarterback but how that quarterback is determined.

It certainly sounds like the coaches are letting the inmates run the asylum and makes one wonder if the right quarterback will emerge in a couple of weeks.

I don’t really care which one emerges because the two top candidates are a guy who has four career FBS touchdown passes against seven career interceptions (Rutgers transfer Evan Simon) and another guy who never did anything above the JUCO level (Forrest Brock). Temple fans had to cover their eyes while that guy did enough to get beat 55-0 in his only extensive Owl experience last year.

The entire Kenny Pickett Era at Temple lasted about five minutes, in which this photo was taken. (Photo courtesy of Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer)

Tyler Douglas starting would certainly be interesting, though, because he has been compared favorably to current Philadelphia Eagles’ backup Kenny Pickett. They both played for Ocean Township (N.J.) and the coaches there swear he was every bit as good as Pickett while there.

Pickett, a former Temple commit, left the Owls one day after Matt Rhule signed Toddy Centeio out of Florida. Then, a week later, Rhule left himself after winning the AAC title.

Maybe history will repeat itself but this time with a twist. Douglas leads the Owls to the AAC title and both he and Drayton leave for greener pastures a week later.

That is, if Douglas can perfect his rock, paper, scissors game before then.

Friday: Translations