Talking about Army
Temple football coach Matt Rhule spoke with reporters Tuesday at Edberg-Olson Hall during his first weekly press conference of the season to talk about Friday’s opener against Army. Kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The Owls, who won 10 of their first 12 games last season before losses to Houston in the American Athletic Conference championship game and Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl left them with a 10-4 record, just finished a preseason camp Rhule said the players referred to as “the hardest we’ve had in four years.”
Temple’s defense, which returns six starters, will be facing Army’s triple-option offense, which will be spearheaded by a pair of quarterbacks in Ahmad Bradshaw (468 rushing yards, five touchdowns last season) and Chris Carter. The Black Knights struggled last season and finished 2-10, but they return nine starters to a defense that likes to blitz a lot.
“We’re prepared for Army to blitz us the way Houston did,” Rhule said.
Listen to interviews with Rhule and Temple quarterback Phillip Walker here.
Here are some excerpts from Rhule’s press conference:
On Army quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw:
“He’s in the hole and there are four guys there and he makes four guys miss.”
On Temple defensive end Praise Martin-Oguike, who notched just four sacks last season after getting 7.5 the prior season:
“He didn’t have the year he wanted to have last year, and he’s worked really hard.”
On former cornerback Tavon Young, a fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens who returned to Temple this weekend to speak to the team:
“He went where he went (in the NFL Draft) because of his height. He’s probably a first-round pick talent-wise.”