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Published Sep 5, 2024
New faces getting Owls ready for Navy
Johnny Zawislak
OwlScoop.com Staff Reporter

When Temple beat Navy last fall for its lone American Athletic Conference win, Forrest Brock was third on the Owls' quarterback depth chart, Latrell Jean was playing at FAU, and Ashton Allen was competing on the track as a sprinter at USC.

Saturday in Annapolis, they'll all have prominent roles in helping the Owls try to beat Navy once again.

Nearly a week removed from its season-opening loss to No. 16 Oklahoma, Temple has digested the film and tried to learn from its mistakes. The Owls will now shift their focus to Saturday’s conference opener. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

The Owls offense struggled to move the ball early with Brock under center against the Sooners. The announced sellout crowd of 83,329 fans at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was the largest atmosphere in which Brock had ever played, and the redshirt junior who came to Temple via Santa Monica Community College believes it will benefit him in the long run.

“I feel like Oklahoma was a big game for my first (FBS) start,” Brock told reporters this week. “There’s not really going to be a bigger stage than that. I feel like I’m going to be prepared for the rest of the games.”

Getting hit and getting focused

The jump from playing before less than 200 fans in Brock's previous start at the junior college level to calling plays before more than 83,000 fans on the road was a big one. Once he took his first hit, Brock said, he started to feel more comfortable against the Sooners.

Brock’s numbers last Friday - 12 of 25 passing for 128 yards and two interceptions - weren’t great, but he still received votes of confidence from his defensive line teammates in Latrell Jean and Demmerick Morris at Sunday’s leadership council meeting.

“It means everything to me, to have my teammates behind me," said Brock, who was sacked six times last Friday. "I love those guys. They are always positive with me and I feel like they’re good people to have around.”

Temple’s offense had success against Navy in its 32-18 win last season at Lincoln Financial Field, and part of that was thanks to former quarterback E.J. Warner. The now Rice quarterback finished with 402 yards and completed 27 of his 33 passing attempts, including four touchdown passes.

Brock has of course been looking at that film and comparing it to how Navy’s defense came out and played against Bucknell last weekend in its 49-21 win.

“We kind of realized from their last game [against Bucknell,] they’re a drop-eight team,” Brock said. “They show some zero (blitzes) and some pressure on third down. But, I think that we have a good game plan and I’m going to watch some film from last year's game and then some film from their game last weekend.”

In his time dissecting and comparing the two games, Brock said there is not too much of a disparity in what Navy’s defense is presenting with multiple fronts and blitzes. He expects the same looks that Navy presented in Temple’s last matchup against the Midshipmen in 2023.

Perhaps that could mean some quick underneath throws to tight ends Landon Morris and Reese Clark, and it could present some opportunities for Brock to run.

“They’re dropping eight and if that’s going to be the game plan, we’re going to figure out those quick plays and other plays to attack them where their zones are weak,” Brock explained, “or I’m going to have to scramble. I feel like all defenses are basically really similar. There’s 11 people on the field. They’re going to bring the nickel, they’re going to put their linebackers in the A gaps. So I feel like I’m prepared.”

Latrell Jean’s noticeable impact

FAU transfer Latrell Jean was one of the few bright spots the Owls defense had on Friday. The redshirt-senior defensive tackle made two stops, including a sack, and caused disruption at the line of scrimmage for a majority of the game.

When Jean was asked to grade his own performance, he felt he played well, but pulling off an upset would have felt much better.

“I played pretty good,” Jean said. “Obviously, some things I have to clean up, things I have to fix technique-wise. With me, I feel like I always get better in different categories. I played pretty good, but the outcome wasn’t what we wanted.”

Jean and the rest of Temple’s defense is aware of Navy’s shift to more of a hybrid Wing-T look on offense. The Midshipmen still largely committed to the run, tallying 264 yards on 53 carries against Bucknell, and the Owls will be mindful of the Mids trying to lull them to sleep with their running game to set up the pass. Navy quarterbacks Blake Horvath and Braxton Woodson combined to complete 10 of their 19 attempts for 173 yards and three touchdowns, along with two interceptions.

So in that sense, this week’s Navy game prep will be a little different than those of the past. Eye discipline is always important for defenses playing the Midshipmen, and now there are some new wrinkles to watch.

At the end of the day, though, stopping - or at least containing- the run is still task No. 1. And Navy still has a veteran fullback in Daba Fofana, who carried the ball eight times for 82 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run last week.

“They run the original football play, Wing-T, everything like that,” Jean said. “This is a whole different week to prepare for us. We have to prepare to stop their run. That’s what they do, they run the ball. They run it downhill. Their O-line is coming off heavy. That’s going to be smash-mouth football. Their whole scheme is just back to the basics.”

Like he never left

The last time Ashton Allen played organized football, it was at Maryland’ Bullis School. From there, he embarked upon a career as a sprinter on USC’s track and field team.

Wanting to give football a try again, the Chester native hit the portal and wound up at Temple. Heading into the opener at Oklahoma, Allen wasn’t sure of what his playing time would look like on offense.

So much for dipping a toe in the water. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Allen ended up playing 52 snaps Friday, the most of any of the five Temple receivers that touched the field. And on Monday, third-year Temple head coach Stan Drayton said Allen graded out the best among the Owls’ receivers from the opener.

Allen finished with two receptions for 19 yards on four targets and picked up eight rushing yards on his lone carry. They were modest numbers on a tough night for the offense, but his track speed was noticeable against one of the best secondaries in college football.

“I don’t think I had any expectation on how much playing time I would get,” Allen said. “I knew that I was starting on two special teams units, so I knew that I was going to see the field a little bit. I did end up playing a good amount of offensive snaps. It’s just about getting the reps in with not a lot of experience. I was glad to play a lot.”

When asked if wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier gave him any slight indication that his usage would be up, Allen couldn’t pinpoint any specific moment other than Carrier letting him know that he trusted him.

“Maybe a little bit,” Allen said. “He gave me a little bit of his word of confidence, like he believes in me. He knows that I’m ready to play well in a real game. I’m not sure I knew that I was going to play that much, but I knew he believed in me.”

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