There were many flaws with Temple’s roster in 2023, as the Owls finished 3-9 near the bottom of the American Athletic Conference in a number of categories.
One of the Owls' most glaring flaws, however, was their running game.
In addition to rushing for just a meager nine touchdowns, the Owls also averaged just 96.3 rushing yards per game, and 3.5 yards per attempt last season en route to a last-place finish in The American in each category. One thing to note is Temple had an abundance of injuries on the offensive line that likely contributed to the rushing struggles.
For this upcoming season, there have been some changes in the running back room to go along with some returning players taking big steps forward. With a rise of leadership in the locker room, and some friendly competition, running backs coach Tyree Foreman believes the Owls are bound for improvement
“It’s a great group to have,” Foreman said on Zoom during Monday’s media availability. “They’re competitive but they’re also very supportive of one another. They want to compete and earn a job but they want everybody to be at their best. They’re going to push each other daily on and off the field to be at their best.”
With the departures of the Edward Saydee, Temple's leading rusher in 2022, to Gardner Webb and Darvon Hubbard, last year's leading rusher, to Northern Arizona, just Joquez Smith and E.J. Wilson return as experienced backs.
The Owls desperately needed someone to take a step forward in the offseason and they may have that in an improved Wilson, according to Foreman.
“I think the biggest leaps came in April,” Foreman said. “E.J. Wilson stepped up tremendously and he’s pushing the room to get better in all aspects because he’s a heck of an all-around back. I think he’s pushed Joquez [Smith]. They had a prior relationship in high school where they knew each other and competed against one another, and they’ve been pushing each other to get better in all aspects in all of their games.”
Big additions
Due to the departures, Temple went out and got a couple of backs to fill their place in Maryland transfer Antwain Littleton and JUCO backs Tyrei Washington (College of San Francisco) and Terrez Worthy (Lackawanna College.)
“With the addition of Antwain [Littleton], that’s 245 pounds, that's a huge difference in ability for certain situations,” Foreman said. “But he’s also trying to grow his game all around to push those guys for the job. It’s been fun.”
Worthy, meanwhile, was the top running back in NJCAA last season with 1,492 yards and 10 touchdowns on 203 carries. Worthy has quickly shown what a difference-maker he can be in the early parts of camp, despite still having to learn a chunk of Temple’s offense.
“[Worthy] has a lot of catching up to do, but he’s electric,” Foreman said. “He’s explosive, he’s fast, [he’s] got a quick twitch and he’s tougher than I thought."
“Just knowledge of the offense,” Foreman added when asked what Worthy needed to catch up on. “There’s a lot of stuff that he hadn’t done in the past that we’re getting him caught up on.”
Foreman reiterated the camaraderie that the running back room has, pointing out that everyone else has been helping Worthy along and making sure that he’s getting everything he needs to know.
Improving in the offseason
Temple’s running backs also struggled picking up blitzes and pass protecting in 2023. Smith was one of the better running backs for Temple last season but he was unusable on passing plays due to his pass protection struggles, Foreman said Monday.
This offseason though, that has been a main focus for improvement for Smith and the rest of the backs and it seems to have been paying off.
“Joquez came off the field last year in passing situations. We don’t have to do that this year,” Foreman said. “E.J. Wilson is a really good pass protector. Antwain Littleton is dynamic in pass protection. The little guy (Worthy) isn’t scared of pass protection himself. I don’t think there’s going to be a big falloff or a tell this year about if it’s a passing situation or a running situation.”
For any running game to succeed the communication between the back and the line needs to be there. Due to a combination of injuries to the offensive line and the inexperience of the backs, the communication between the two was subpar last season.
“I think our communication is better,” Foreman said. “I think that’s the biggest part. Just being on one page with those five guys up front. Understanding exactly what they’re trying to get done per play helps us a lot. We’re having a really good camp right now being on one accord, both with the line and with the backs.”
Foreman has made it a priority to make sure each back is getting first-team and second-team reps to ensure there is no disconnect with whoever gets the nod at QB1 between Forrest Brock, Evan Simon and Tyler Douglas.
Conditioning has also been a priority for Foreman this offseason, as he wants to make sure the backs are healthy and each can get into the game if their name is called.
“At the running back position, they are all getting reps with the ones and twos,” Foreman said. “We’re going to need all of them, especially in the early part of the year when it’s hot. And the running back position is the only position in football where all 11 guys are trying to hit you. So you've got to be tough. So that we don’t wear down, we've got to use a lot of guys early on in the season. We’re trying to get them to the point where they’re all suitable to get in the game.”
