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Jalen Ware hopes his versatility can pay off this season

Prior to the start of what would ultimately be Temple’s last game of the 2020 season at Lincoln Financial field against ECU, the coaching staff told Jalen Ware he would be starting at corner, a position he hadn’t practiced all season, due to the growing number of COVID-related inactives.

For the redshirt junior who traditionally plays the safety position, moving to cornerback that day wasn’t anything he shied away from.

“The ECU game was crazy, but I was ready for it,” Ware said Sunday. “It was different for me because I really haven’t played corner since high school, so I was getting different calls from the sideline.”

During the Owls' 28-3 loss to the Pirates, Ware said he played along their own sideline, so cornerbacks coach Melvin Rice was giving him calls about specific techniques.

His primary goal was to limit the productivity of ECU’s top receiver, C.J. Johnson. The 6-foot-2, 236-pound sophomore wideout finished the day with three receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Ware thought his technique was proficient in the loss but felt he could have been more aggressive at the point of attack.

Five months removed from the culmination of Temple’s shortened season, he is back in his natural position at safety. But that doesn't mean the 6-foot, 180-pound Starkville, Mississippi native isn’t comfortable being versatile

“I’ve always been a player who moved around throughout my career,” Ware said. “If I know everybody’s position on the field, it will only help me and make me better. With me knowing different positions, I feel like I can just be anywhere and be productive.”

At Starkville High School, Ware said he used to simply key in on an opposing offense’s best player even though he played in the box, which helped him understand offensive line reads at a young age. Then his time at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in 2019 helped him grow his conceptual understanding of playbooks.

This past season he played in all seven of Temple's games. He started six of them and recorded 22 total tackles along with one pass deflection at UCF.

During Thursday’s scrimmage, the first of the Owls' spring practices, Ware felt like the defense had room for improvement from an aggression standpoint, but for the safeties specifically, he thinks their eyes and reactions were what needs to be cleaned up.

Ware even gave a nod to some of the younger guys on defense, saying he’s enjoyed learning from some of his more inexperienced teammates, specifically true freshman Alex Odom.

“Me, I try to learn from everybody,” Ware said. “Alex pays attention to everything. If you don’t get something, he’s someone you can go to.”

Front page photo courtesy of Gail Burton of the Associated Press.


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