Mike Uremovich revealed during Thursday’s media availability that D’Wan Mathis and Re-al Mitchell have separated themselves from the pack in the quarterback competition.

It’s likely a starter won’t be named until at least late in the summer, but Temple’s offensive coordinator cut it down from a QB carousel to a two-man battle.

As for the rest of the unit, the receivers room is shining with some depth that could be imperative in the long run, and redshirt freshman running back Edward Saydee continues to receive praise for his development.

Here are a few excerpts from Uremovich during Thursday’s media availability.

Uremovich on true freshman tight end Coleman Jeffcoat:

“I’m really excited about him. He’s a tight end, so obviously he’s with that position group. He’s made some nice catches lined up as a wide receiver. As to be expected, he needs to gain some weight and he needs to get stronger, but he is a willing blocker and he is physical on our inside-run stuff. He just needs to continue to develop.”

Uremovich on depth at receiver:

“[Jordan Smith] has done a nice job and he’s doing a lot of things for us. He’s playing a little bit of tight end, he’s playing inside receiver, he’s playing outside receiver. [De’Von] Fox and [Jose] Barbon have had great springs as well. Coach [Thad] Ward has done a great job with those guys. That group is our deepest group on offense. They’re very explosive and I’m very comfortable with what we have in that position group in the two-deep.

"The more we can personnel those guys and play seven or eight wide receivers, not only makes [Jadan] Blue and Randle [Jones] better in the fourth quarter, but it makes them better in week 10 and 11 because you can take 10 or 15 plays off from a game, so I’m really excited about that group.

Uremovich on Mathis and Mitchell:

“I’m confident in both of those guys and both of them operating our offense. They both ran with the 1s and have both done some reps with the 2s. They both performed well in a lot of different situations, so I’m happy with those guys right now.”

Uremovich on the team’s offensive identity:

“I’m really happy with where we’re at. We’ve progressed a lot across the board and across the position groups and as a unit. I really feel like we have an identity as an offense with what we’re good at. There’s obviously still things you want to work on and there’s always things that you don’t get crossed off in the spring. Being in a situation where we have a new quarterback, we moved a little slower than we traditionally would. But I really think that helped our offensive as some of the younger guys develop."

Uremovich on Saydee’s impressive spring campaign:

“He’s had a great spring. Those running backs, the media and the fans judge them by when they have the ball in their hands and that’s really important, but it’s also about getting lined up, running the right route, picking up the blitz and he’s head and shoulders above everybody else in that regard. I’m really excited for him because he’s worked hard at it."

Front page photo courtesy of Javier Ferrer.