It's Always Hootin in Philadelphia

[Scars]

Sam Thompson Takes Helm as Temple University's Athletic Director
by Allison Ivy -- The Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia, PA — In a groundbreaking move that has sent waves of excitement through the college sports community, Temple University has appointed Sam Thompson as its new athletic director. Thompson hopes to bring a fresh perspective and dynamic energy to help thrust Temple athletics into a new era.

Raised in the small town of Cedarville, Ohio, Thompson showed an early interest in sports. After lettering in both football and basketball at Cedarville High School, his athletic prowess earned him a basketball scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, where he played limited minutes in two seasons before solely focusing on his studies.

After graduating with degrees in both Sports Management and Business Administration, he worked internationally with various organizations in different sports such as Sunderland A.F.C. in England and the Doosan Bears in South Korea. Thompson most recently worked with the Philadelphia 76ers as a Daryl Morey's assistant before taking the athletic director job at Temple.

“Sam Thompson’s unique blend of experience, vision, and passion for sports makes him the perfect fit for Temple University,” said President Richard Englert. “We are confident that under his leadership, our athletic department will reach new heights.”

As the new athletic director, Sam Thompson stands at the threshold of an exciting new chapter for Temple University’s athletic department. His arrival heralds a period of growth, innovation, and community engagement that will not only enhance the university’s sports programs but also enrich the lives of everyone involved. One of his biggest tasks to start his career at Temple will be selecting the new head coach of the football program.

[Scars]

Anderius Hawkins Named New Head Coach at Temple
by Ceedee Peterson -- Philadelphia Tribune

Philadelphia, PA – Temple University has announced the hiring of Anderius Hawkins as their new head coach for the football team. Hawkins will be taking on his first ever head coaching role.

Football has been Hawkins' life since he was young. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he was a star wide receiver at Woodlawn High School, where he still hold several receiving records. He remained in Birmingham as he received a scholarship to play football at UAB.

After graduating, Hawkins began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at UAB (2010-2012). Afterwards, he took on the role of wide receivers coach at Middle Tennessee State University (2013-2016). His ability to develop young talent and his innovative offensive strategies caught the attention of larger programs.

In 2017, Hawkins joined the University of Memphis as the offensive coordinator. Over four seasons, he transformed the Tigers’ offense into one of the most dynamic units in college football, earning him recognition and respect in coaching circles. His success at Memphis led to a pivotal role at the University of Cincinnati, where he served as the assistant head coach from 2021 to 2023. At Cincinnati, Hawkins played a key role in the team’s historic 2021 season in which they were conference champions and became the first ever G5 program to make a College Football Playoff appearance.

Sam Thompson, Temple's newly hired athletic director, expressed his excitement about the hiring. “Anderius Hawkins is a proven leader and an innovative football mind. His track record of success at every stop in his career speaks for itself. We believe he is the right person to lead our football program to new heights.”

Hawkins is equally enthusiastic about the opportunity. “I am honored and thrilled to be named the head coach at Temple University,” Hawkins said in a statement. "I am eager in building a strong culture to create future success here. I look forward to working with the players, staff, and the community to achieve great things both on and off the field.”

The Hawkins era at Temple University is set to begin, and the excitement is palpable as the Owls look forward to a new chapter under his leadership.

[Scars]

Temple College Football Preview 2024: Key Players, Game Schedule, Season Predictions
by Pete Fiutak -- College Football News

Temple needs to show a little bit of a step forward.

It doesn’t have to win ten games like it did in both 2015 and 2016, and no one is expecting a conference championship, but it needs to bust out of the three-win rut the program has been stuck in over the last three seasons.

The American Athletic Conference overall has become easier after losing Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, and now SMU over the last two seasons, but Temple needs more winnable games - there aren’t any FCS games on the schedule - and there isn't a rock-solid sure-thing victory to count on.

Here’s the positive, in a weird way. The program didn’t have enough indispensable players to lose to the transfer portal - there were a few, but not a ton of key losses - and it loaded up with lots and lots of players looking for a chance to play.

Temple's new head coach Anderius Hawkins is trying to find the right mix. His predecessor Stan Drayton was a coach who knew how to get a ground game going but was not able to do it during his time in Philadelphia.

There’s a chance close to half of the starting 22 will be transfers, and that’s not a horrible thing. Hawkins and the staff brought in a ton of players to come up with more options, and somehow it has to translate into more consistency and more production.

A bowl game is the goal, but a five-win season would be good. A winning season would be amazing, but this will not be easy, partly because of several reasons.

Temple Football Preview 2024: Offense

-There’s a lot of starting over for the Temple offense, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This is supposed to be a good running team, but it was the worst in the AAC. However, the offensive line was great at keeping defenses out of the backfield.

There might be an overhaul up front, but it’ll still be a plus around OT Luke Watson and South Carolina transfer Grayson Mains at center. They need to power away more, though, because …

-The backs will be fine if they have room. Maryland transfer Antwain Littleton should shine now that he’ll be a main back, and Joquez Smith is back after finishing second on the team with 325 yards. They need to be more involved because ...

-QB EJ Warner is gone to Rice. Rutgers transfer Evan Simon and backup Forrest Black will be the main battlers for the gig, and they have a decent receiving corps to work with.

Dante Wright is a veteran who finished second on the team with 39 catches, and Zak Baines is an okay threat on the outside. Overall, it’s an older bunch that should create a good rotation - the passing game will spread around the wealth.

Temple Football Preview 2024: Defense

-The defense continues to need plenty of work, and it'll be all about the transfer portal to improve. Bad against the run, awful and coming up with third down stops, and without a lot of big plays or takeaways to turn things around, this group has to be more aggressive.

-There isn’t a ton returning up front. However, end Tra Thomas knows what he’s doing on the outside, and transfers Latrell Jean (Florida Atlantic) on the inside and Cam’Ron Stewart (Rutgers) on the end will fill in right away.

The pass rush, though, should come from the linebackers. Diwun Black is the most disruptive returning option at the edge, and JUCO transfer Latrell Jean should be one of the team’s leading tacklers in the middle. East Carolina’s Tyquan King has the range to move at one outside spot.

-Can the secondary come up with anything big? The defensive backs generated just two picks - both from former Owl Tywan Francis - for a defense that came up with just three in total. Again, it’s all about the transfers here, but veteran corner Elijah Deravil should be in for a big year.

UTEP transfer Torey Richardson isn’t tested, but the skills are there to be a high-end corner on the other side of Deravil. Be stunned if Western Carolina transfer Andreas Keaton doesn’t lead the team in tackles.

Key To The Temple Football Season

Takeaways, takeaways, TAKEAWAYS
The defense will never be a rock, but it has to embrace the bend-but-not-break philosophy. That means more third-down stops, and it has to help the cause by forcing a lot more turnovers.

The Owls picked off a pass in the opener against Akron and came up with just two more the rest of the way. Even worse, there were only two fumble recoveries, making it a grand total of just five takeaways on the year. Florida had the second-fewest with seven

Temple Key Player

Junior quarterback Forrest Brock
Or Rutgers transfer Evan Simon. The offense was inconsistent last season, and it needs more out of the ground game. But it also has to bomb away when - not if - the defense starts to struggle.

Brock is a former JUCO transfer from California who can wing it around the yard, but he’ll be doing his job if he’s hitting 60% of his throws

Temple Football Top Transfer and Biggest Transfer Loss

Top Transfer In: Senior safety Andreas Keaton.
Temple needs playmakers in the secondary, and it got one in the 6-2, 200-pound senior from Western Carolina. He made 184 tackles with five picks and 19 broken up passes in his three seasons - he’ll get in on everything

Top Transfer Out: Junior quarterback EJ Warner.
He threw too many interceptions - 24 over the last two seasons - but he also bombed away for more than 6,100 yards, too. Kurt Warner’s son was the offense when nothing else was working, but now he’s off to Rice.

Temple Key Game
Army, Sept. 26
It’s one of those moments when Temple will know where it stands. It should have a few ups and downs over the first five games of the season, but this - a conference date now against Army - is the end of a three-game stretch of home dates. With four away games in the next six, the Owls have to take advantage of this.

The last meeting was in 2017 - a 31-28 Army win.

10 Best Temple Football Players
1. SR OL Wisdom Quarshie
2. SR WR Dante Wright
3. SO HB Joquez Smith
4. JR DE Tra Thomas
5. SR OL Grayson Mains
6. SO TE Reese Clark
7. SR CB Torey Richardson
8. JR DT Demerick Morris
9. SO CB Jaylen Lewis
10. SR S Andreas Keaton

Temple 2023 Fun Stats
- 2 Point Conversions: Temple 5-of-7 (71%), Opponents 1-of-2 (50%)

- Red Zone Scores: Opponents 45-of-53 (85%), 25-of-35 (69%)

- Interceptions Thrown: Temple 16, Opponents 3

Temple Football 2024 Win Total Prediction: What to Expect This Season

Can the Owls be better against the bad teams?

They went 3-9 last season with a blowout loss at Tulsa - that’s a home game this year. There was another lopsided defeat at North Texas - also a home game this time around - and late in the year, there was a ten-point loss to UAB, who’s not on the schedule.

However, Temple doesn’t have a Norfolk State this year - a 41-9 victory last season - with no dates against FCS teams to count on as a sure win. Most of the winnable games - UConn, East Carolina, Navy - are on the road, and it’s possible the team won’t be a favorite at any point.

Even so, it’ll piece together a few wins, but not enough to go on any sort of big run.

Set The Temple Win Total At … 3.5

Likely Wins: No apparent sure-thing wins

50/50 Games: Army, Coastal Carolina, at East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, at Navy, North Texas, Tulsa, at UConn, Utah State

Likely Losses: at Oklahoma, at Tulane, at UTSA

2024 Temple Football Schedule

Aug 31 at Oklahoma
Sept 7 at Navy
Sept 14 Coastal Carolina
Sept 21 Utah State
Sept 26 Army
Oct 5 at UConn
Oct 12 BYE
Oct 19 Tulsa
Oct 26 at East Carolina
Nov 2 BYE
Nov 9 at Tulane
Nov 16 Florida Atlantic
Nov 23 at UTSA
Nov 30 North Texas

[Scars]

2024 Temple Roster

Quarterbacks
#11 Forrest Brock, RS JR (75 OVR) | 6'3", 190 lbs
#12 Evan Simon, RS JR (75 OVR) | 6'3", 205 lbs
#14 Tyler Douglas, RS FR (69 OVR) | 6'2", 200 lbs

Running Backs
#24 Joquez Smith, SO (79 OVR) | 5'8", 190 lbs
#22 Tyrei Washington, JR (76 OVR) | 5'10", 210 lbs
#20 E.J. Wilson, SR (75 OVR) | 6'0", 210 lbs
#43 Damarious Crews, RS SO (73 OVR) | 5'11", 215 lbs

Wide Receivers
#10 Dante Wright, RS SR (80 OVR) | 5'9", 180 lbs
#80 Zae Baines, RS JR (75 OVR) | 6'3", 175 lbs
#17 John Adams, RS JR (72 OVR) | 6'2", 185 lbs
#86 Xavier Irvin, SO (72 OVR) | 5'10", 180 lbs
#1 Ian Stewart, RS JR (72 OVR) | 6'3", 215 lbs
#19 Antonio Jones, RS SR (71 OVR) | 5'9", 175 lbs
#82 Elias Collins, RS SO (59 OVR) | 5'9", 170 lbs

Tight Ends
#95 Reese Clark, RS SO (76 OVR) | 6'4", 220 lbs
#88 Peter Clarke, SO (75 OVR) | 6'6", 250 lbs
#32 Klay Bolden, RS JR (71 OVR) | 6'3", 245 lbs
#87 James Della Pesca, SR (67 OVR) | 6'3", 250 lbs
#36 Andrew McIlquham, RS JR (54 OVR) | 6'2", 210 lbs

Offensive Line
LT #75 Luke Watson, SO (73 OVR) | 6'5", 285 lbs
LG #79 Wisdom Quarshie, RS SR (82 OVR) | 6'3", 305 lbs
C #57 Grayson Mains, RS SO (76 OVR) | 6'5", 295 lbs
RG #54 Jackson Pruitt, RS SO (72 OVR) | 6'5", 305 lbs
RT #77 Diego Barajas, RS JR (70 OVR) | 6'6", 300 lbs

------

OT #56 Kevin Terry, RS FR (70 OVR) | 6'5", 270 lbs
OT #70 Melvin Siani, RS FR (69 OVR) | 6'6", 295 lbs
OG #52 Eric King, RS FR (66 OVR) | 6'3", 300 lbs
OG #66 Clint Clements, RS FR (63 OVR) | 6'2", 301 lbs

Defensive Ends
#30 Tra Thomas, RS JR (78 OVR) | 6'4", 225 lbs
#92 Cam'ron Stewart, RS JR (74 OVR) | 6'5", 255 lbs
#48 Jailen Richards, RS SO (72 OVR) | 6'3", 232 lbs
#68 Gerald Randle, SO (68 OVR) | 6'4", 219 lbs
#40 Cade Vierling, RS FR (68 OVR) | 6'3", 239 lbs
#59 Dashawn Shelton, RS FR (67 OVR) | 6'4", 238 lbs
#50 Tyrese Whitaker, RS FR (66 OVR) | 6'2", 250 lbs

Defensive Tackles
#7 Latrell Jean, RS SR (76 OVR) | 6'3", 280 lbs
#88 Demerick Morris, RS JR (76 OVR) | 6'3", 300 lbs
#97 Allan Haye, RS JR (74 OVR) | 6'2", 305 lbs
#56 Jason Moore, RS JR (74 OVR) | 6'2", 290 lbs
#98 K.J. Miles, RS SO (73 OVR) | 6'4", 290 lbs
#89 Reggie Jones, RS JR (70 OVR) | 6'2", 290 lbs

Outside LInebackers
#11 D.J. Woodbury Sr., SR (74 OVR) | 6'2", 240 lbs
#52 Antwone Santiago, RS SO (73 OVR) | 6'3", 215 lbs
#57 London Hall, RS SO (71 OVR) | 6'2", 220 lbs
#18 Katin Surprenant, RS JR (69 OVR) | 6'2", 235 lbs
#54 Jordan Montgomery, RS FR (67 OVR) | 6'2", 225 lbs
#51 Brandon Enarusai, RS FR (58 OVR) | 6'3", 235 lbs

Middle Linebackers
#22 Eric Stuart, JR (74 OVR) | 6'2", 220 lbs
#15 T.K. Wright, RS SO (74 OVR) | 6'3", 220 lbs
#3 Bradley Lilley, RS FR (65 OVR) | 6'2", 233 lbs

Cornerbacks
#21 Jaylen Lewis, RS SO (76 OVR) | 6'0", 180 lbs
#13 Torey Richardson, RS SR (76 OVR) | 6'1", 185 lbs
#20 Jamel Johnson, RS SO (75 OVR) | 5'11", 190 lbs
#24 Ben Osueke, SR (72 OVR) | 6'1", 180 lbs
#12 Darrell Sweeting, RS FR (69 OVR) | 5'10", 180 lbs
#31 Byron Benson, RS FR (65 OVR) | 6'2", 195 lbs
#41 Jabari Crews, RS FR (65 OVR) | 5'9", 172 lbs

Free Safeties
#29 Javier Morton, RS JR (75 OVR) | 6'2", 195 lbs
#27 Elijah Deravil, RS SR (74 OVR) | 6'1", 200 lbs
#26 Ihsim Smith-Marsette, RS FR (71 OVR) | 5'11", 180 lbs

Strong Safeties
#19 Andreas Keaton, SR (76 OVR) | 6'2", 200 lbs
#14 Louis Frye, RS JR (69 OVR) | 6'0", 210 lbs

Specialists
K #45 Maddux Trujillo, SR (75 OVR) | 6'1", 180 lbs
P #37 Dante Atton, SO (65 OVR) | 6'0", 185 lbs

[Scars]

Week 1 Preview: at #14 Oklahoma
Previous Season Record: 10-3 (7–2 Big 12)
Offense: Air Raid
Defense: 4-2-5

Staff
Head coach: Brent Venables (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator: Seth Littrell (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator: Joe Jon Finley (1st season)
Defensive coordinator: Zac Alley (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinator: Todd Bates (3rd season)
Co-defensive coordinator: Jay Valai (3rd season)

Offensive Impact Players
#6 WR Deion Burks, RS JR (88 OVR) | 5'9", 189 lbs | 93 spd, 98 acc, 93 agi, 92 cod, 88 awr, 90 cth, 87 cit, 85 spc, 89 srr, 90 mrr, 88 drr, 81 rls, 91 jmp
#27 HB Gavin Sawchuk, RS SO (86 OVR) | 5'11", 195 lbs | 98 spd, 97 acc, 94 agi, 92 cod, 80 awr, 78 car, 89 bcv, 83 btk, 82 spm, 92 jkm
#11 QB Jackson Arnold, SO (85 OVR) | 6'1", 212 lbs | 82 spd, 84 acc, 82 agi, 83 cod, 84 awr, 93 thp, 89 sac, 84 mac, 85 dac, 95 run, 90 tup, 85 bsk, 85 pac

Defensive Impact Players
#28 MLB Danny Stutsman, SR (93 OVR) | 6'4", 241 lbs | 81 spd, 91 acc, 81 agi, 76 cod, 97 awr, 99 prc, 94 tak, 93 pow, 90 bsh, 80 pmv, 70 fmv, 94 pur, 67 zcv
#2 SS Billy Bowman Jr., SR (90 OVR) | 5'10", 191 lbs | 94 spd, 97 acc, 91 agi, 92 cod, 88 awr, 86 prc, 88 mcv, 85 zcv, 69 tak, 85 pow, 97 pur
#5 CB Woodi Washington, 87 OVR (87 OVR) | 5'11", 195 lbs | 91 spd, 95 acc, 91 agi, 92 cod, 90 awr, 87 prc, 83 mcv, 73 zcv, 79 prs, 76 tak, 91 pur

[The JZA]

yeah i wouldn't trust a teambuilder chise, ngl

Soapy, What you got against TB chises?

[The JZA]

I think this squad can guarantee some wins against Coastal/East Carolina, still going to be a uphill season

[supahotfire]

I sense a QB controversy coming up .. I’m with jt

[Soapy]

yeah i wouldn't trust a teambuilder chise, ngl

Soapy, What you got against TB chises?

i feel like you're bound to run into glitches throughout the chise

[The JZA]

yeah i wouldn't trust a teambuilder chise, ngl

Soapy, What you got against TB chises?

i feel like you're bound to run into glitches throughout the chise

Soapy, Dynasty mode is already a minefield of bugs though. Only real off-putting thing is the TB team is carrying over the replaced school's history