Temple running backs coach Gabe Infante official title got a little larger on Tuesday when Rod Carey's program added the title of recruiting coordinator to Infante's plate, the university announced.
By doing so, Carey granted additional responsibilities to one of the more accomplished, at least at the prep level, coaches on his staff. Infante will enter his third season as Temple's running backs coach in 2021 after compiling a 91-23 record as head coach at St. Joseph's Prep. During his time at The Prep, Infante won the Don Shula High School Coach of the Year award in 2018 and the U.S. Army Bowl National Coach of the Year award in 2017.
"I wanted to publicly acknowledge what we have already internally recognized,” Carey said in a statement. “Gabe has been recruiting premier athletes within our footprint for over a decade. He knows the type of players we want in this program."
In 2019, Infante's first year on the job, Temple saw Re'Mahn Davis rush for 936 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman while redshirt-senior Jager Gardner rushed for a career-high 585 yards before suffering a season-ending injury. Last season, however, Davis entered the portal halfway through the campaign and was replaced by former walk-on Tayvon Ruley. Under Infante's tutelage, Ruley rushed for 306 yards and a touchdown while Onasis Neely, Edward Saydee and Kyle Dobbins combined to rush for 184 yards in seven games.
Infante's room should be bolstered this season with the additions of Iverson Clement, a former 4-star running back from Florida and New Jersey's Rancocas Valley, and Ra'Von Bonner, who rushed for 822 yards and 10 touchdowns at Illinois.
Other hires: Temple also announced the promotion of Zhanee Anderson to Director of Recruiting Content and the hiring of Averie Oetjen to the position of Director of Recruiting Operations. Anderson had worked in the graphics department since February while Oetjen previously worked at North Carolina State.