The football season is upon us, and Temple will run out onto Lincoln Financial Field for the first time in 2023 Saturday at 2 p.m. against Akron.

There is a lot of optimism for what second-year head coach Stan Drayton’s squad can accomplish this season, but there is some inherent uncertainty as well. Drayton added 50 new players this offseason, and the team has something to prove following 2022’s 3-9 finish.

One of the position groups with the most to prove is the running backs.

Returning players: Edward Saydee, Darvon Hubbard, Qwentin Rose

Key departures: Trey Blair

New faces: Running backs coach Tyree Foreman, E.J. Wilson, Joquez Smith, Kyle Williams

2022 Recap

Last season, the Owls struggled to run the ball. Significantly.

Temple was third-to-last among all FBS teams in rushing yards per game, averaging a little more than 82 yards per contest. Edward Saydee, Temple’s leading rusher in 2022, had 639 yards last season, and 265 of those yards came against USF Nov. 5. Without that game, Temple’s average falls to 64 yards per game, just two yards ahead of the worst average in college football, Boston College’s 62 yards per game.

A factor in this struggle was the offensive line. The unit did not put together the same lineup twice last season due to injuries. Without that consistency upfront, the Owls could not find a foothold with their rushing attack, and Drayton, a former running back himself and a longtime former running backs coach at places like Ohio State and Texas, said his backs needed to do a better job of cutting upfield and running through contact.

Darvon Hubbard was the team’s second-leading rusher, earning 209 yards last season. After him, Temple didn’t have a reliable third option. Backup quarterback Quincy Patterson was the third-best rusher with 87 yards.

This added up to a disappointing season for the backs.

2023 Preview

The biggest change in the running back room this offseason was the re-addition of running backs coach Tyree Foreman. He coached at Temple from 2007-2014, serving as running backs coach and special teams coordinator. Foreman went to Tennessee Tech and Towson before returning during the offseason, replacing former coach Preston Brown.

“I’m excited about having Tyree Foreman here,” offensive line coach Chris Wiesehan, who worked with Foreman as part of Matt Rhule’s staff, said. “I’m excited about that running back room. I think they’re gonna make us better, make us look better, make us feel better, and I think the line’s gonna play harder and with more consistency as long as we stay healthy.”

Foreman has brought a new energy to the running backs, and Drayton took notice.

“Their practice habits are way different,” Drayton said. “They’re giving great effort running down the field. They’re running like it’s live all the time. I think the one thing that has improved is our contact balance, being able to get yards on our own, and that’s really across the board.”

The Owls also added some key players in the backfield and on the line.

FIU transfer E.J. Wilson enters the program as another veteran presence that can provide much-needed depth. Wilson finished 2022 with 288 yards and two touchdowns on 79 carries. The 6-foot, 210-pound junior can protect the quarterback as well, a valuable asset for an offense relying on second-year starter E.J. Warner. Entering Saturday’s game, he’s listed at third on the depth chart behind Saydee and Hubbard.

Drayton also made the position a priority in recruiting the 2023 class, adding Harrisburg High School’s Kyle Williams and Tampa Jesuit’s Joquez Smith. Williams enrolled at Temple in January and participated in spring ball, while Smith arrived over the summer in time for preseason camp, but it sounds like he’s made some progress in his short time on campus.

“He's done a really good job through the summer learning,” offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said in early August. “He hasn't been here very long, either. But he's put the time in. He seems to, so far, have a good handle on installations and knowing how to line up and what his reads are. He's got some talent. He's explosive. We're excited about him.”

Smith and Williams both offer quickness. Where Smith is a downhill runner, Williams can move well laterally and is very twitchy between the tackles, as he showed in April’s Cherry and White game.

“We’ve added some versatility with our young guys. Joquez and Kyle both bring a unique skill set,” Drayton said. “Both really good runners, but also guys that we want to get in space, and they can do some really special things with the ball in their hand in space. That’s another unit that has gotten better.”

Saydee and Hubbard are expected to get the bulk of the carries, while Wilson, Smith and Williams could potentially play roles throughout the season as well. Paired with a new-look offensive line, the running backs have potential to be a strength in the offense, but they need to stay healthy while the younger guys develop into rotational pieces.

All of that said, Temple fans should feel a lot better about this group than they have in a while.