Lining up the linebackers

Temple signed seven linebackers to its 2024 recruiting class, and five of them are midyear enrollees who are with the Owls this spring.

Now linebackers coach Chris Woods is using spring ball to slot all his current linebackers into different spots on the field to see who fits where.

Through the team’s first eight spring practices, Woods has cross-trained his linebackers to see snaps at the SAM (strongside), MIKE (middle) and WILL (weakside). In speaking with reporters Thursday, the veteran assistant said he’ll start better defining their roles and positions at Saturday’s practice.

“They're playing all three positions by design just trying to get a look at them,” Woods said. “With some guys, it was pretty apparent quickly that they're probably not suited to be where they are, but we’re still letting it roll. We want to give everyone a fair shot and give them as many reps as we can. We are starting to get an idea of where guys are going to be slotted, and we’ll probably start that process on Saturday.”

Woods spoke highly of ECU transfer Tyquan King, who spent his first two collegiate seasons at North Carolina A&T before transferring to ECU for one season.

There wasn't much film on King at the FBS level because he only made one appearance, which came in a 30-3 loss to then-No. 2 Michigan, a program that went on to win the national championship.

There were some transfer rules that prohibited Temple from recruiting King right off the bat, but once that rule changed, the Owls’ staff reached out to him because they really liked what they saw from the film of his first two seasons at North Carolina A&T, where he tallied 76 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception in 2022.

And part of what brought King and Woods together was the right time, place and circumstance.

“We were going to Greenville to meet another guy that was in the portal from ECU and because [King] was there, I just met him as, I don't want to say a throw-in, but it was a quick meeting at Moe’s Grill before we met the other guy,” Woods said “… He’s been great. He’s played all three positions, and I kind of think I know what he is. He plays hard, he’s physical and he's fun to be around. He’s probably been the most impressive guy out of the whole group, to be honest with you.”

Woods also talked about senior D.J. Woodbury, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior who played in just five games last season after sustaining a hairline fracture in a 48-26 road loss at Tulsa back on Sept. 28.

Woods said Woodbury still has some things to learn, but he praised his athleticism and pointed to the fact that some of it can be attributed to his work on the basketball court at South Jersey’s Burlington City High School, where he became the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,672 career points.

“D.J. is sneaky athletic, even for his big body size,” Woods said. “Him being a basketball player - I think he's the all-time leading scorer over there (at Burlington City) as a basketball player - he’s got to have some athleticism, so he's good. You know, he’s still kind of learning because we do have some new schemes and also things he was used to over the last couple of years.”

Coming into the 2024 season after playing in just one game last fall, King said he is faster, stronger and eager to learn.

“You have to be a sponge,” King said. “Especially playing football at this high of a college level, you have to be able to soak in and retain a lot of information. I don't see myself specifically at any position. I'm going to play wherever coach needs me to be. If coach needs me to play SAM, I'll play SAM. If he needs me to play MIKE, I’ll play MIKE. If coach needs me to go out there and play nose guard, I'll play nose guard. I'll give him anything he needs from me.”

King, who was a two-star recruit coming out of South Carolina’s Dillon High School according to Rivals, said he loves how family-oriented Temple is. He also said he wasn't interested in talking to any other schools during his transfer process.

“There were always schools that had interest in me, but I wasn't per se wanting to go play at the highest level,” King said. “I wanted to go where I knew I would play and where I was comfortable. There was a guy named Denzel Jones who was a great factor in my life. He taught me a lot of things coming into college.”

Woodbury said he didn't feel fully back to himself until mid-February, which was six months after his injury.

Given his height and weight, Woodbury likely projects as the starter at middle linebacker, but he, like King, talked about versatility and his willingness to play at all three spots.

With Jordan Magee and Yvandy Rigby pursuing NFL careers, Temple’s linebacker room is wide open this season. Fellow transfers like Eric Stuart (Foothill College), Katin Surprenaunt (Mt. San Antonio Community College), Tyler Lepolo (Community College of San Francisco) and T.K. Wright (N.C. State) are vying for spots, too.

“I feel like we have so much talent this year that you could put guys anywhere,” Woodbury said. “We have so much talent everywhere across the board, offense and defense, where it’s to the point that we want to compete every day. No one’s a one, no one’s a three, no one’s a two. … So I feel like there is no depth chart. Whether it's special teams, offense, defense, there’s no depth chart. It's competition every day.”

With the losses of prominent voices in the linebacker room like Magee and Rigby, Woodbury is now viewed as one of the leaders.

It's a process that repeats itself.

“Me and Jordan Magee were having the conversation yesterday that it’s a cycle at Temple,” Woodbury said. “Temple has always had great linebackers. That's been a trend. So, everything he taught me, I'm trying to teach the younger guys. I'm just trying to keep the trend going of great success in that room and great leadership in that room.”