Carey names Mathis QB1
Temple has its QB1.
While offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich said the Owls had narrowed the quarterback battle down to two options -- D’Wan Mathis and Re-al Mitchell -- this past week, Rod Carey made it clear Tuesday that the Owls have their guy.
Mathis is Temple’s starting quarterback entering the summer.
Carey, Temple’s third-year head coach, indicated that the Georgia transfer’s productivity this spring put him over the top.
“D’Wan’s our number 1, I told him that,” Carey said Tuesday. “Re-al is definitely our number 2. They definitely had the best two springs. It would go in that order for sure.
"D'Wan’s rate of improvement and comfort with the offense (is what set him apart.) His physical skills are out of the world, as far as athletically and arm strength. I think getting comfortable with the offense to make decisions more consistently is a thing that he wants to improve on and what we want to see him improve on. He had great growth this entire spring."
Mathis, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound redshirt freshman, won over his teammates and coaches between his consistency and his explosiveness. He also went above and beyond in terms of getting on the same page with his receivers.
Temple wide receivers coach Thad Ward hinted at Mathis already gaining the trust of his options at receiver, while veteran wideouts Jadan Blue and Randle Jones both echoed similar sentiments.
Heading into spring practices earlier this month, Carey wanted Mathis to just get accustomed to a different playbook. He’s done that and a whole lot more.
“The number one thing that he has to do this spring is just get comfortable with the offense,” Carey said back on April 5. “All the physical abilities are there. He can throw, he can run - the whole deal. When you’re talking about a guy who has only played in a few college football games, he just has to learn this offense because it’s a new offense, and then get comfortable so those decisions can be made at the speed at which they need to be made at. Right now, it’s just a steep learning curve. That would be my goal for him. I think he would probably tell you he has a way different goal than that, but that’s mine right now.”
Temple never appeared in a rush to name a starting quarterback, even after 15 spring practices. That being said, the Oak Park, Michigan native, forced his coach’s hand.
“D’Wan’s skill set is really impressive,” Carey said, “and so now he’s got to take that skill set and get it matched up with knowledge and comfort of the offense, which he’s come a long way in.”
Mathis was ranked by Rivals as the No. 125 overall player in the 2019 class and the third-best player nationally at his position. As a star signal caller at Michigan's Oak Park High School, Mathis had an eventful recruitment process that started with a verbal commitment to Iowa State before he decommitted four months later and flipped to Michigan State. He changed his mind again the following year and committed to Ohio State.
But once it seemed Justin Fields, an expected top-10 pick in this Thursday's NFL Draft, would be transferring from Georgia to Ohio State, Mathis changed his mind again and flipped to Georgia.
Mathis started the Bulldogs' season opener last fall against Arkansas but was eventually replaced by Stetson Bennett. Mathis completed 12 of his 30 throws for 89 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions at Georgia. He entered the NCAA's Transfer Portal in late November and announced his commitment to Temple about two weeks later on Dec. 14.