Competition is king at just about every position for the Owls this spring
It has been made clear that the word to live by during Temple’s spring practices, cliche as it may sound, is competition.
With the Owls losing major contributors at multiple positions and 23 new scholarship players coming in, it is hard to find a position with the same projected starter as 2023.
Following Temple’s fourth spring practice, head coach Stan Drayton and tight ends Peter Clarke and James Della Pesca spoke to the media about the competition at several positions.
Drayton began the session with an update on Temple’s ongoing quarterback competition.
To summarize, there is nothing new.
With 164 days until the Owls’ season kicks off in Norman against Oklahoma, all five guys - Clifton McDowell, Evan Simon, Forrest Brock, Tyler Dougals and walk-on Patrick Keller - still have a chance to be named the starter. As of right now, the group is competing to see who that guy will be.
“They’re competitors,” Drayton said. “All five of them are doing a great job of competing. They’re being very intentional between reps and trying to get command of the offense.”
Running back is another position that lost depth when Edward Saydee and Darvon Hubbard entered the portal. The Owls replaced them with Maryland transfer Antwain Littleton and Community College of San Francisco transfer Tyrei Washington.
While the rest of the room flashed, Littleton and Washington struggled during the first week of practice, mainly due to their play style.
“Our bigger backs didn’t look good when there was no contact,” Drayton said. “Today was the first day of full pads. People like Littleton and Washington really started to show what type of backs they are.”
And with David Martin-Robinson and Jordan Smith gone, there’s a void in the tight end room, too.
While the room isn’t young, it is inexperienced. The six tight ends on the roster have 23 total career receptions, but Della Pesca, who has taken a leadership role, has complete confidence in the room.
“I’m really excited about our room,” Della Pesca, who has just three career receptions and has been more of a blocker, said. “They’re asking questions constantly, really eager to get out on the field. There’s no hesitation with that group.”
Smith and Martin-Robinson combined for 65 receptions, 824 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns last season. So there’s plenty of production to be accounted for in the future. Similar to the quarterback room, there are plenty of options and it is still early spring ball.
Clarke, who spent the majority of the 2023 season nursing an injury as a true freshman out of London’s NFL Academy, is one of those options and knows what he has to do to play more this season.
“Repetition is going to build perfection,” Clarke said about how he’s going to separate himself. “The extra work I put in, all the focus I put in and all the film that I’ve watched. All of that goes into giving me the best shot to play this year.”