Clifton McDowell leaves Temple to re-enter transfer portal

Clifton McDowell’s stay at Temple turned out to be a short one.

Less than two months after signing a National Letter of Intent with Temple back on Feb. 7 as a transfer from Montana, the quarterback has re-entered the portal as a graduate transfer, according to MikeFarrellSports.com. Although McDowell was still listed on the Owls’ roster as of early Monday afternoon, he was not present for Temple’s practice on Saturday that was open to the media.

A Temple spokesperson confirmed with OwlScoop.com that McDowell is no longer with the program.

McDowell spoke with reporters on Zoom back on March 16 and seemed intent at the time on competing for the starting job, along with fellow quarterbacks Evan Simon, Forrest Brock, Tyler Douglas and walk-on Patrick Keller.

“The competition has been fun just seeing all the guys excel and earning plays,” McDowell said following practice that day. “We’re all one quarterback room and we stick together. We’re trying to make everyone better for the betterment of the team.”

Prior to signing with Temple, McDowell completed 160 passes for 2,026 yards, 13 touchdowns and four interceptions and tallied 753 rushing yards and nine touchdowns season for a Montana program that played in the FCS championship game.