Single focus: Amir Tyler revamped his approach on and off the field
Amir Tyler embodies the single-digit role to perfection, according to safeties coach Tyler Yelk.
The 6-foot, 195-pound safety was awarded a single-digit number this season, voted on by his peers.
He’ll be switching from No. 25 to No. 3.
“Being around him the last two years you can see a little bit of a difference this year of him understanding, ‘Hey I’m in this role now. I understand the gravity that comes with that,’” Yelk said during Tuesday’s media availability. “How he’s prepared and carried himself has been very reflective of that.”
Tyler recalled first having the dream of earning a single-digit number during the recruiting process. But like everyone else, guys start to lose sight of that goal, becoming more focused on finding a role to help the team.
The redshirt senior leaned on guys like Chapelle Russell, his former teammate at New Jersey's Lakewood High School, and Shaun Bradley for leadership qualities and gained a better grasp on picking up schemes and how to bring together the secondary from former Owls including Delvon Randall, Sean Chandler, and Benny Walls.
Influence from each of those guys helped earn him the single-digit number.
“That was kind of one of my goals, to become a leader on this team and take over any way I could,” Tyler said. “My roommates being Chapelle [Russell] and Shaun [Bradley], seeing their leadership and all the traits that they have that got them to the level they’re at now, I just absorbed it all in. I’m clearly honored to be No. 3 with Chapelle being my teammate. Like [Christian Braswell] said before, this is something I can tell my kids, I’m built into the legacy forever.”
Tyler added that not a lot of people trusted him because of his lack of experience, but having two captains and single-digit defensive leaders meant a lot to his growth as a leader.
The senior-most tenured player in the safeties room recorded 54 total tackles and forced two fumbles playing in 12 games last season. He got his first opportunity to start last season after Walls suffered a shoulder injury sidelining him for four games.
Entering the slightly reduced 8-game season expected to kickoff at Navy on Oct. 10, Tyler is the only safety who has played competitive Division-I FBS snaps for Temple.
“I’ve been really impressed with just Tyler in general,” head coach Rod Carey said. “Maturity is the best word. He has just matured on and off the field to a point where it’s fun to be around. And his football IQ, because of that maturity, has just taken off. I really liked how he’s handling his business and going about it. You got to keep getting better, we all do, and he’s no exception to that, but I certainly like where he’s at.”
Yelk added that even though Tyler is the veteran in the room, he doesn’t have a ton of playing experience. Following COVID-19 guidelines in practice has limited the number of live snaps the team can take, so Yelk has tried to emulate game experience by going over approaches and assignments over Zoom calls and in position meetings.
After Tyler, graduate cornerback Linwood Crump and redshirt sophomore Chauncey Moore are the only defensive backs who have taken snaps for Temple football. The inexperience in the room comes from redshirt junior Jalen Ware, redshirt freshman M.J. Griffin, and true freshmen Trey Blair and Alex Odom.
“There’s really no substitute for live action,” Yelk said. “I’m a firm believer in that. Especially when it comes to tackling. So we spend a lot of time on how we’re approaching it, how we’re getting to the football and how we’re defeating blocks.”