Georgia transfer QB Mathis moves on to Temple
Following the departure of three-year starter Anthony Russo to the transfer portal, Temple coach Rod Carey and his staff utilized that very same portal to reel in Russo's potential replacement in the form of Georgia transfer quarterback Dwan Mathis.
Mathis, a former 4-star prospect who flipped from Ohio State to Kirby Smart's program following Urban Meyer's retirement, announced his decision on Monday.
The 6-foot-6, 205-pound Mathis was rated as the No. 125 prospect in the 2019 class when he came out of Michigan's Oak Park High School. Mathis, the nation's No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in that class, was an Elite 11 Finalist in 2018 and threw for more than 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior in 2018. Coming out of high school, Mathis had offers from schools like Michigan State, Iowa State, Kentucky, Oregon and South Carolina to go along with his Ohio State and Georgia offers.
Assuming he enrolls, Mathis will be the highest rated prospect to suit up for Temple during the Rivals.com era. Karamo Dioubate (No. 164), TJ Simmons (No. 166) and Kevin Newsome (No. 163) were also Top 200 recruits who played for the Owls, with Newsome eventually coming to Temple as a transfer out of Penn State.
Mathis redshirted during the 2019 season following an emergency surgery to remove a brain cyst. After making a full recovery, Mathis entered the 2020 season expecting to compete for the backup position. However, following Jamie Newman's opt-out and JT Daniels' injury, Mathis earned the starting nod in Georgia's season opener against Arkansas but was ultimately replaced by Stetson Bennett in a 37-10 win. Mathis would later replace Bennett in a 44-28 loss to No. 8 Florida. For the season, Mathis threw for 89 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
Prior to his commitment to Ohio State, Mathis was committed to his hometown Michigan State program. At the time of his MSU commitment, Mathis caught the eye of Rivals recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt, who, put Mathis in the same category as former Spartans and future NFL quarterbacks Nick Foles, Kirk Cousins and Connor Cook in terms of his progression at the time. Check out Helmholdt's initial analysis of Mathis in the video below.
While Mathis' time at Georgia did not live up to its billing, Mathis still has all the physical tools to be a successful collegiate quarterback, Helmhold told OwlScoop.com on Monday.
"I have been covering [Mathis] since he was a freshman in high school, and it was apparent even then that he had outstanding arm talent and was a good athlete for the quarterback position," Helmholdt said. "The challenge he always had to master, even in high school, was decision-making, and that was what held him back at Georgia. All the physical tools are there for Dwan to be successful, but it is not always the most talented quarterbacks that succeed in college. To take that next step in his game and be a dynamic college quarterback, Mathis has to develop his mental processes."
During Mathis' time at Georgia, he drew the attention of former Bulldog quarterback Aaron Murray, the SEC's all-time leading passer.
The 2020 season did not count against any collegiate player in terms of eligibility. That, coupled with the assumption that the NCAA will soon vote to allow any player to transfer one time without sitting out a year, should mean that Mathis will arrive on Temple's campus with four years to play four seasons.
Once in Philadelphia, Mathis will compete with players like Trad Beatty, Matt Duncan and incoming freshman Justin Lynch for the right to replace Russo. During Temple's forgettable 1-6 season, the Owls played six different players at quarterback. In addition to Russo, Beatty and Duncan, Iowa State transfer Re-Al Mitchell, walk-on Kamal Gray and wide receiver Branden Mack saw time at quarterback.