Coaching transitions in college football are rarely easy, and with the early signing period, it makes it more difficult for new coaches. Take Temple second-year coach Stan Drayton for example,
He was hired on Dec. 15, 2021, which happened to be the early signing date that year. So already he was way behind the proverbial eight ball when it came to recruiting.
Drayton scrambled to assemble his staff, recruit players from high school, junior college, and the transfer portal, and in his first season the Owls went 3-9, the exact same record they were in 2021 under his predecessor Rod Carey.
Yet is there a way this could be a better 3-9?
Absolutely.
For instance, in 2021 Temple lost to Rutgers 61-14. This past season, the Owls lost to the Scarlet Knights 16-14.
The 2022 version was much more competitive, losing in overtime to Navy, losing by a touchdown to Houston, and falling 49-46 in the season finale to East Carolina.
So while the record wasn’t improved, the Owls seem to be on the right path moving forward. And yet it was still an offseason with big turnover, which in these transfer portal days, isn’t unusual.
Temple will welcome 32 new players, signing 25 in the early period in December and seven more on Feb. 1 in the late signing period. It breaks down to 21 high school players, three from junior college, and eight from the transfer portal. As with any program, there could be more changes after spring practice when the transfer portal re-opens from May 1-15.
During a Zoom conference call in mid-February, Drayton talked about the large offseason turnover, a byproduct of the state of college football, where the transfer portal is always crowded.
“In today’s climate we have to be prepared for the roster to flip a little bit,” he said. “Obviously, 32 is a large number, right? I don’t want that, but we have to be able to mid-stream adjust to keep the roster numbers up to where it needs to be.”
College programs have to be adept at recruiting high schools, the portal, and even junior colleges. No stone can be left unturned.
What is interesting about Temple’s class is that eight of the 32 come from the talent-filled state of Florida. Three of those players are college transfers, two from Florida and another from Miami.
It would seem to be a difficult task to recruit somebody from Florida to Philadelphia, but Temple over the years has enjoyed success signing players from the Sunshine State.
For instance, when Temple won the American Athletic Conference championship in 2016, its leading receiver was Ventell Bryant, who is from Tampa. Another player on that team who starred on future Temple squads was linebacker Sam Franklin from Crystal River, Florida.
Bryant would appear in 12 games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2019, and Franklin just completed his third season playing for the Carolina Panthers.
“For years, Florida football players have held Temple in high regard and we have made it part of our footprint,” Drayton said. “Philadelphia, New Jersey, DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia), that five-hour radius of Philadelphia is where we are going to lay our hat, but we’ve always tapped into Florida.”
Even if a program is strong at a certain position, the coaching staff must still recruit. One never knows when a player will decide to transfer, or even turn professional early. And of course, there is always the potential for injury.
A program can never have enough depth at all positions.
For instance, this season Temple is seemingly set at quarterback with rising sophomore E.J. Warner, who as a true freshman completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,028 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
At this writing Temple had three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster and Drayton admitted that he is looking for a fourth.
Citing potential injury, he said, “I am comfortable with the quality we have in there now, but we probably need to get one more guy in there,” he said.
Make no mistake, Warner is the future of the program, and his freshman season is one reason that Drayton is so optimistic about the Owls’ future. The son of NFL Hall of Famer QB Kurt Warner, EJ was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year.
Now the key for Drayton, Warner, and the rest of the team is getting all the newcomers up to speed as soon as possible.
This is likely to become a yearly fire drill not just at Temple but most FBS schools.
