The story of Temple’s spring game on Saturday was the performance of its defense. Defensive coordinator Brian Smith’s unit held the offense to just one touchdown on the final play of the game and produced two fourth-down stops inside the 5-yard line.
But while the offense sputtered, the spring game offered a look at what Temple’s run game could look like, and it was a heavy dose of Jay Ducker.
While things are obviously subject to change before Temple kicks off its season in August, Ducker operated as the top option in the backfield. The Sam Houston State transfer carried the ball 21 times for 66 yards and added four receptions for nine yards. Ducker and Joquez Smith were the only healthy scholarship running backs, as Terrez Worthy and midyear freshman enrollee DeCarlos Young missed all spring with injuries, and class of 2025 recruit Keveun Mason will not arrive until the summer prior to preseason camp.
The Owls’ run game was one of the worst in the country last season, averaging just 92 yards per contest. Temple’s rush offense was the only one in the American Athletic Conference last season to average less than 100 yards per game and was something that clearly needed to be fixed in the offseason.
New head coach K.C. Keeler tabbed former Montana State offensive coordinator Tyler Walker for the same role at Temple, and Walker’s offense is built through a strong ground game. Keeler, who came in from Sam Houston State, got to work with Walker to try and solve the run issues.
Keeler looked to a familiar face in Ducker, who rushed for 745 yards and seven touchdowns at Sam Houston State last season before becoming the only player to follow Keeler to his new stop. Keeler knew Ducker could be a valuable asset to Walker’s offense and that a little more time and work could make the 5-foot-10, 205-pound back even better.
“Jay is that guy that gets so many hidden yards and at the end of the game, you look and say, ‘Oh, they didn't realize he got all those extra yards after contact,’” Keeler said. “He also has really good vision. But the thing that we're explaining to Jay is if you want to play at the next level, we have to keep on working on speed. I did not have him last year until June. We've had him now all spring and he's in a lot better shape now than he was when I got him in June last year. We’ll do a lot of speed, work with him, maybe cut a couple pounds and keep on progressing him.”
Ducker also brings a wealth of experience and success to an Owls running back room that has lacked those two traits the last few years. Although he is at his fourth school in five years, Ducker has produced at every stop.
After being named the 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior at Nebraska’s Bellevue West High School, Ducker started his career at Northern Illinois and made an immediate impact as a true freshman. Ducker saw limited action early in his freshman campaign, but once he got his chance, he exploded, rushing for 1,184 yards and three touchdowns. His 98.7 yards per game ranked 24th in the entire country, and he had at least 100 rushing yards in seven of the Huskies' final eight games.
Ducker’s efforts landed him the MAC Freshman of the Year, and he decided to transfer.
Ducker spent 2022 and 2023 at Temple’s AAC foe Memphis, where he again was effective. In 2022, he was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Ducker played against Temple in its 24-3 loss to Memphis in 2022, rushing for just 15 yards on six carries.
Despite the 2022 success, Ducker got stuck in a crowded backfield in 2023 and played in just four games. He recorded just eight carries for 41 yards and entered the transfer portal again in the spring of 2024. Ducker wound up with Keeler at Sam Houston State and played an instrumental role in the Bearkats' successful season.
In just its second year at the FBS level, Sam Houston State went 10-3 and won the New Orleans Bowl. Ducker led the ground attack for the Bearkats, with his breakout game coming in a 148-yard performance against Hawaii.
When Keeler took the job at Temple in December, Ducker knew he wanted to follow him to North Broad Street.
“He’s just a winner and obviously who doesn’t want to follow a winner?” Ducker said. “He had me at that and I trusted him. He brought a program before I got there that was 3-9 and then I got there with Keeler and we ended up going 10-3 so I was just like, ‘Let's do it again.’”
Ducker will now look to produce at Temple, and Saturday was an indication that a heavy workload could await him this season. While the possibility of adding another running back in the spring transfer window is more than possible, Ducker is ready to thrive in Walker’s offense.
“I love [getting] the ball,” Ducker said. “I think Coach Walker’s offense is definitely, as a running back, what you want to do and where you want to go and you gonna get it. Whether it be in the backfield, you’re seeing a lot of empty, just catching, just a lot of inner spaces. As a running back, this is where you wanna be. I’m excited.”
