With 11 days left before next Saturday’s Sept. 2 season opener against Akron, Temple held its last preseason media availability with players Tuesday afternoon. Cornerback Dominick Hill and safeties Tywan Francis and Elijah Deravil spoke to reporters about Florida high school football, building chemistry, and the competition in the secondary.
Second-year head coach Stan Drayton starts his weekly Monday regular-season press conferences next week. Players will address the media throughout the season on Tuesdays starting next week as well.
This media session was the first on North Broad Street for Francis, who transferred from Colorado State toward the end of December, but Temple fans have heard a lot about him. Teammates and coaches have been very complimentary of the 5-foot-11, 195-pound graduate student throughout the spring and summer, citing his leadership and ability to adapt to defensive coordinator Everett Withers’ scheme.
Francis compiled 32 tackles in four games - all starts - with Colorado State in 2022 before he decided to leave the program and enter the transfer portal. He was the Rams’ second-leading tackler in 2021 with 88 total tackles, including a team-best 56 unassisted stops.
“It's very similar to the things we did in high school,” a talkative and insightful Francis said of Temple’s defense, one Withers took on when former defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot left to become Nick Sirianni’s linebackers coach with the Eagles. “It's a lot of simulated pressures. We're not trying to give the offense time to breathe and relax because they're not trying to do that to the defense. They're trying to keep their foot on the gas. So how do we stop that? We keep our foot on the gas.”
For Deravil, defensive success depends on executing the scheme but also working well as a unit. Because of that, chemistry was an important piece Temple worked on this offseason, as 57 new players joined the roster.
“I feel like we have chemistry just strictly by being around each other and just competing in general,” Deravil, who registered 34 tackles in 11 games last season, said. “We made a lot of efforts during the offseason, always put in extra work aside from our workouts and everything. I felt like everybody just naturally bonded together. Everyone really loves each other, and that's what we’re really big on: love for your brother.”
As the offseason winds down, the defense has plenty of excitement for what their unit can accomplish. You can hear more about their expectations for the season by watching the full media session.
Below are excerpts from Tuesday’s Zoom call with reporters.
Hill on the differences between cornerbacks coach Dominique Bowman and former Temple and current Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown:
“Bo’s his own person. Bo’s gonna bring energy. If he feels like we aren’t bringing energy, he’s gonna tell us, he's gonna keep it real, and coach Fran Brown was just like that. But, Bo’s his own person, and his coaching style is a little different. Bo’s a great technician, he’s detail-oriented, and he knows what he wants; he knows a lot of ball, and he helped me slow the game down tremendously.”
Francis on competition in the secondary:
“The level of competition has been very high, very high. We all have different skill sets. We'd like to say we all come from different backgrounds and we all have an equal amount of spirits. So you know, we all have strong suits to our game. So we all have our weaknesses, and we kind of piggyback off each other and help each other in certain areas. And it's kind of made competing with each other more complex, but it's also been sharpening iron for week one in the season.”
Francis on the culture of the locker room:
“I feel like every coach across the country at least tries to preach their team being player-led. I've played under four staffs. All of them preached player-led teams. It's different when you see it and you preach and when people believe it and they walk it every day. There is a fine line between those two things, and I definitely feel like the presence of a player-led-ness on this football team in the locker room, on the field, in the weight room.
“Just the presence, you know, certain guys; it's an energy type of thing. It's not more so what you're saying; it’s about, well, what are the best players doing? You just telling it to somebody versus walking those actions as well. It kind of makes it much easier when you look to the left and right are you and the task is so hard, but we're still walking in there. We're gonna walk it together. And I've definitely felt the energy here.”
Deravil on playing high school football in Florida and what helps distinguish a player in such a talent-rich state:
“I feel like effort is a big thing down there. If you're able to be a dog and just go all out and just play to your best ability, somehow, someway. Everybody has a different type of style to the game. Just try to shine in your style of your game.”
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