Familiarity drove Mariano Valenti to Temple
Mariano Valenti chose to transfer to Temple almost entirely based on familiarity.
The Owls coaching staff is largely the same staff that brought the redshirt freshman quarterback to Northern Illinois out of high school, the offensive scheme is extremely similar, and he had already been connected with a few of his teammates.
“When I entered the portal at NIU, Temple was the first school to reach out to me,” Valenti said during his spring ball media availability. “Right away they reached out to me and wanted to know what my plans were. That meant a lot that they were still sticking with me. That was my main thing. I had some other schools [reach out] but I knew I wanted to come here.
“I just felt like I had better opportunities elsewhere and decided that was best for me,” he added.
Valenti spent one season at NIU, redshirting his first season of college football. He officially committed to Temple in the summer of 2020 but was held out of participating in games due to the NCAA transfer rules.
The Owls started four different quarterbacks last season between injuries and the team’s COVID protocol decimating their quarterback room, so they could have benefited from the extra body.
Valenti used his time out last year as a chance to build a relationship with his teammates, pick their brains and build trust with each of the receivers.
At 6-foot-1, 205-pounds, he will be competing with Georgia transfer D’Wan Mathis, Re-al Mitchell and Matt Duncan for reps under center this season. Justin Lynch, a promising quarterback from Chicago's Mt. Carmel High School, will be arriving this summer as part of Temple's 2021 recruiting class but is likely to redshirt.
Offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich said that Mathis, Valenti, Mitchell and Duncan are “out in front” of a highly competitive quarterback’s room - a competition that is expected to go through the summer. Nonetheless, each of the guys in the room has spoken confidently about how well the group has meshed together.
"I'm really liking what I'm seeing from Mariano,” redshirt junior receiver Jadan Blue said. “Me and him had a really good conversation a week or so ago, just talking about him always staying ready. You never know how the situation may be. You can see clearly with his preparation and everything he's been doing, it's paying off because he has started off with a great spring ball."
Valenti thinks he can thrive in Uremovich’s offense, one that will be more tailored to the athleticism of its mobile quarterbacks this season.
He played three seasons at Brother Rice High in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, before transferring to St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida for his senior campaign. That final year, he played in 10 games as a senior and completed 12-of-23 passes for 220 yards with one touchdown and one interception while rushing 11 times for 58 yards with a score. He caught four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown that same season.
The Rochester, Michigan native also has a history with Mathis dating back to their early playing days. The two played together on a 7-on-7 team in fourth grade around the Detroit area. But back then, Valenti was the signal-caller throwing the ball up to Mathis on the outside.
Valenti also isn’t the only NIU transfer on the offensive side of the ball.
He had a chance to get to know graduate center C.J. Perez in his lone season before transferring to Temple. The quarterback spoke highly of his roommate.
“He’s just a great guy. He’s a leader on the team and the guys respect him,” Valenti said. “He brings the juice every day, I think he’s just essential for our team.”
Perez said the most important thing for his inexperienced teammate will be to take advantage of the reps he is given in a crowded quarterback’s room.
Despite not seeing the field the past two seasons, Valenti feels confident in his decision to transfer to Temple and could turn some heads in the quarterback competition.
“It was very frustrating [sitting out],” he said. “But I just kept looking towards this year thinking of the possibilities. And I told myself when I get the opportunity, I’m just going to take off with it.”