Temple is coming off a 2023 season in which its defense finished toward the bottom of the American Athletic Conference in nearly every statistical category.

The Owls’ inability to force turnovers and stop the run were their most dubious flaws. They finished last in the conference in interceptions and fumble recoveries, 13th in rushing defense, and 12th out of 14 teams in forced fumbles.

The defense also lost its best player when linebacker Jordan Magee bypassed his final season of eligibility and became a fifth-round NFL Draft pick by the Washington Commanders. Magee’s teammate and roommate, linebacker Yvandy Rigby, signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent.

Beyond that, Magee and Rigby were largely surrounded by injured players or those who were simply not experienced enough or good enough, and defensive coordinator Everett Withers knew it. He switched to a 4-3 base defense in the offseason and recruited to it by hitting the transfer portal hard.

“We had to get better inside,” Withers told reporters Thursday. “We feel like we got better from the guys that played on the inside last year.”

Getting better up front

Whether it was the inability to stay healthy, or struggling to close the gaps and stop the run, the Owls couldn’t catch a break at the line.

Allan Haye, Demerick Morris and Georgia Tech transfer K.J. Miles missed significant time last season with their fair share of injuries. However, both have been trending in the right direction and have been “training well in practice,” according to Withers. Haye, a Miami transfer, had compiled two tackles and his first sack of the season at Tulsa back on Sept. 28 but later succumbed to a season-ending injury in that game. Morris initially looked to be lost for the season with a preseason camp injury before he returned for the last two games of the 2023 season and tallied seven tackles in his brief time on the field. Miles, a former 4-star recruit and New Jersey’s fifth-ranked player in the 2022 class by Rivals, missed the entire season with a preseason camp injury.

Along with Haye and Morris, Withers spoke highly Thursday of FAU transfer defensive tackle Latrell Jean and put him right in the mix for the defensive tackle position. The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Lakeland, Florida native has one season of eligibility left due to COVID after posting 24 tackles, 4.0 TFL and a sack last season. He also recorded the first pick-six by an FAU interior lineman since 2014.

“He’s very explosive,” Withers said of Jean. “Would I like for him to be 315 pounds? Yes. But, if he was that, he wouldn’t be at Temple. [He’s] very talented and he loves the game. I’m excited about him and I’m glad that we got him. He’s in that rotation with Allan Haye and Demerick Morris, those three guys for sure. Hopefully, (Georgia Tech transfer) K.J. Miles comes along and allows us to have four guys in there.”

The aforementioned injures, in part, created some immediate playing time for true freshman defensive tackle Conlan Greene last season. Now the 6-4, 285-pound sophomore will be competing with Haye, Morris and Miles. And there’s another true freshman who could play right away and follow in Greene’s footsteps this season.

“The guy that’s really shown some promise is Russell Sykes,” Withers said of the class of 2024 recruit out of North Carolina’s Rolesville High School who signed with Temple back in February. “He’d pass some of the guys on the D-line.”

When asked about the team’s top pass rushers, Withers focused more on finding more well-rounded defensive linemen.

“We’re a long way from talking about who’s going to rush the passer,” Withers said. “We gotta stop the run. You always have to earn the right to rush the passer, so I’m not even going to give a name of somebody we’re counting on to rush the passer. That person we’re counting on to rush the passer, better be able to play a six-technique and five-technique to stop the run.”

New-look linebacker room

Withers said the spring and early parts of preseason camp have helped the Owls figure out who fits their scheme the best, but he said he isn’t ready to narrow down specific candidates for another week or two.

“What we learned in the offseason in the spring and summer was who schematically can do what we need to do in our defense,” Withers said. “Now, how well they can do that is still up for debate. We won't be able to narrow this thing down, probably for another week, a week-and-a-half, so I'm not in a hurry. We've got candidates, so I'm not going to be frantic and hurried.”

Two players Withers mentioned were Foothill College transfer Eric Stuart and City College of San Francisco transfer Tyler Lepolo, both of whom saw a decent amount of playing time in the Cherry and White spring game.

Withers said Stuart came in and wasn’t in the best shape or playing his best football early after arriving on campus, but he took the offseason program seriously and has worked his way into a competitive role.

“After spring ball late into summer, he started to make a move,” Withers said. “[He] has some instinctive qualities that allow him to play linebacker at this level. With Tyler [Lepolo,] it's the same thing. He’s not your thumper linebacker. He’s a guy that’s going to be able to play in space. Does a nice job understanding, has some instincts, and does some good things in coverage.”

Revamped secondary

Temple finished 10th in the American Athletic Conference in passing yards allowed per game in 2023, and the Owls’ top cornerback, Jalen McMurray, transferred to Tennessee.

So as they did with other areas, Temple’s staff hit the transfer portal hard to address the secondary,and a couple of those newcomers have already impressed through the early parts of summer camp. Charleston Southern transfer cornerback Jamel Johnson and Western Carolina transfer safety Andreas Keaton have stood out to Withers.

Withers, in fact, didn’t mince words when making a comparison to the talent level of last year’s roster.

“Jamel Johnson has been impressive at corner and Andreas Keaton has been impressive at field safety,” the veteran assistant said. “Those are two that really stand out in my mind right now, as far as consistent top-quality guys…and they are both upgrades to what we played with last year.”