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Published Sep 2, 2024
Monday notebook: Drayton sees positives in Oklahoma loss
Johnny Zawislak
OwlScoop.com Staff Reporter

Is it possible to take some positives from a 48-point loss to a top-20 team in your season opener?

Third-year Temple head coach Stan Drayton believes so. And he also believes the Owls have plenty to work on before they hit the road again, this time for their American Athletic Conference opener at Navy on Saturday.

The issues that plagued the Owls against the 16th-ranked Sooners - mainly the six turnovers - were controllable, and that was Drayton’s main takeaway from the loss.

“Coming off week one, obviously some things to work on,” Drayton said. “A lot of it we can control, which is a positive. We really got to get more intentional about protecting the football, protecting the quarterback, making sure that our players are aligned to the play call and playing with some confidence.”

Here are some takeaways from Drayton's weekly press conference, in which he wrapped up conversation about the Oklahoma loss and previewed Navy.

Brock is the guy

The disparity in crowd size between Forrest Brock’s last start and Friday night’s start, his first at the FBS level, was quite remarkable. In his last game as a junior college starter at Santa Monica Community College against Santa Barbara back on Nov. 22, 2022, there were just 110 fans in attendance. Friday, Brock took the field in front of 83,329 fans at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

In his brief postgame press conference after Friday’s loss, Drayton said the offense looked rattled. Monday, Drayton said he never thought to take out Brock at any point in the game, despite the nerves. He wanted to get Brock more experience while he had the opportunity.

“Forrest is our guy,” Drayton said Monday. “When you have a guy who hadn't played a whole lot of football, it’s not the smart thing to do, to take him out of a game situation where he can gain that experience. I wanted to see how Forrest is going to react. There was never a time that I looked in his eyes where I didn't feel that he was ready. He was ready to play.”

Brock completed 12 of his 25 pass attempts for 128 yards and also had two interceptions. While the pass attack for Brock didn’t look sharp, he looked solid on designed runs. He had runs of 10 and seven yards, but the six sacks amounted to 28 lost yards and cut into his rushing total. And it was on the 7-yard run when Brock fumbled, giving way to Temple’s first turnover.

“It was good,” Drayton said of Brock's running ability. “He’s capable of doing that. Forrest can really really run. He’s capable of playing past contact. He’s capable of making people miss and we will use that to our advantage.”

Drayton said Brock also received a vote of confidence from some of his teammates following Friday's game.

“The thing that I love the most is Latrell [Jean] and Demerick [Morris] in our leadership council meeting yesterday telling [Brock,] ‘Hey we believe in you. You’re our quarterback. We got your back. Just cut loose and play with confidence.’”

Offensive line chemistry

Brock was sacked six times Friday and pressured frequently in the pocket, but Drayton believes there’s more in the details after watching the film.

“You look at six sacks and you want to blame the offensive line,” Drayton said. “I’ll say two of those six were just offensive line busts with miscommunication in protection. Some of those were miscommunication by the receivers. They had to make some adjustments. The quarterback [was] holding onto the ball too long when there were receivers that were open. The truth is in the details.”

Left tackle Kevin Terry, center Grayson Mains, left guard James Faminu, right tackle Melvin Siani and right guard Wisdom Quarshie started and played every snap for the Owls. Drayton is looking to build more confidence and chemistry on the offensive line with those five playing together, rather than moving guys like they had last season due to injuries and poor play.

“We got to get some chemistry up front,” Drayton said. “We moved guys around in the past because there was a lack of depth and talent. When you have depth and talent, you have to get some camaraderie up front.”

However, the offensive line isn’t completely healthy, as Drayton announced that sophomore lineman Luke Watson, who did not travel to Oklahoma, will be out “for a while” what Drayton said was a “significant” knee injury.

Watson appeared in 11 of the Owls’ 12 games last season as a true freshman and played both left tackle and left guard.

“We’ll see how that looks over time,” Drayton said of Watson’s injury.

Jean’s the real deal

Drayton and many of Latrell Jean’s teammates raved about him leading up to the season.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound FAU transfer looked the part on Friday. He got two total tackles and one sack against the Sooners and looked like he belonged on the field against No. 16 Oklahoma.

“Latrell [Jean] is a real single digit,” Drayton said. “It’s not only what I saw on film. He did his job, he was disruptive when he had to be, and made plays when he had to.”

Jean’s demeanor off the field stood out to Drayton as well.

“It was on the sidelines where he kept his mojo where he needed to be,” Drayton said. “He even crossed over to offense and encouraged his offense. He’s a real guy for us. He’s definitely going to be a guy that we look for when things get tough.”

Scouting Navy

Temple took down Navy 32-18 last season at Lincoln Financial Field, but this season the Midshipmen offense has a new look that could make it tougher for the Owls to prepare.

Navy has always been known for its triple-option defense, but now they have moved to a hybrid Wing-T offense under new offensive coordinator Drew Cronic.

When asked about the Mids’ new scheme, Drayton said it will make game prep more difficult.

“We’re going against a different coordinator, so there’s going to be some challenges there,” Drayton said. “We’re going to prepare to the best of our ability. As long as we prepare the right way and keep our eyes where they need to be on defense, we’ll be excited about the opportunity.”

The key for Drayton is to make sure the Owls’ defense is disciplined with their eyes and that they don’t get lulled to sleep by their rushing attack and quick passing offense. In the Wing-T offensive style, the Midshipmen will be looking to use misdirection and quick passes to trick Temple’s defense.

Navy did this in its 49-21 win Saturday over FCS opponent Bucknell. The Midshipmen rushed for 264 yards and had 437 total yards of offense. They also used two different quarterbacks, Blake Horvath and Braxton Woodson, who both can run or throw.

“Both of them [Horvath and Woodson] showed some really good arm talent,” Drayton said, “so we can’t get lulled to sleep. That’s what [Navy] will try to do. They’ll give you formations, movement and really quick timing motions. Our eyes absolutely have to be in the right place. If you fall asleep thinking ‘run, run, run,’ then they’ll go over top of you.”

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