Temple coach Stan Drayton met with the media after the Owls concluded their first preseason practice of the 2024 season on Tuesday.
Following another 3-9 season, Drayton and his staff oversaw an offseason roster turnover that saw a majority of last year's players move on from the program. The departure of starting quarterback EJ Warner left a particularly glaring hole, which led Temple to bring in Rutgers transfer Evan Simon to compete with returning backup Forrest Brock for the starting gig.
Beyond the quarterback battle, Temple is also looking to replace its six leading tacklers, its leading rusher and its two leading receivers from last year's squad.
In addition to breaking down Tuesday's practice and providing updates on the team's health and general demeanor, Drayton also analyzed the Owls' position battles and discussed the benefits of new practice turf.
Listen to Drayton's full session here and read some notable excerpts below.
On the health of the team:
“No, we’re in pretty good shape, actually,” Drayton said. “Our guys who had their injuries from a year ago are practicing and doing well. They're in a rotation. (Wide receiver) John Adams, (defensive tackle) Allan Haye, those guys are out there full go. We don't have -- knock on wood -- many injuries that we're dealing with at this point that are holding us back. So for the ones that are, the very few that are, there's an active plan in place, and they're active. We don't have many people that are just missing practice right now due to injury, so we're in a good spot.”
On the tight ends and their skill sets:
“I think Peter (Clarke) is probably our best blocker at this point. Not to say those other guys are [not.] They're capable of getting there. He's just a little further along right now, been in the program. And with his (injury) setbacks, that's also a thing that's been a little bit of a slow developer for him with the wrist and the forearm issue, but he's just got the right mindset in that respect.
“And the skill set that Landon (Morris) and Reese (Clark) both bring to the table is something very unique. It’s going to be interesting to see how teams play those guys, because we're still going to be an offense from time to time that's going to put multiple tight ends on the football field and try to create matchups, and I think those guys could be matchup nightmares, depending on what personnel you have on the field. So they're having a good offseason. I mean, Reese had probably the best offseason he’s had since he's been here. He's growing up, he's maturing. Landon, the same deal. He’s got a chip on his shoulder. He hasn’t played football in a long time.
And JDP (James Della Pesca) is just that journeyman. He's been through it all, and he just knows how to keep the right mindset in a room over time. He keeps those guys in a good routine. He keeps them even-headed during the course of chaos, and that's what veterans should do to a young group. But it's a very talented group. Daniel (Evert) is going to be a guy with a very high ceiling. I think as we identify ourselves systematically, we'll be able to plug and play those guys in a lot of different ways.”
On who could emerge as the starter at center:
“(South Carolina transfer) Grayson Mains, right now, I would think it would be his job to lose. Luke Watson's a guy who played in that role, along with Wisdom Quarshie, over the past years or so. So we've got some depth at center, which is very promising. Chris (Smith) is another one who can play center for us. So just adding that depth is going to be very critical for us, but Grayson Mains, I think, is the guy right now. Luke Watson would probably be No. 2, and we'll shuffle the deck from there, but they're all going to still get cross trained, for sure.”
