Temple Football Building Culture in Year 2 Under K.C. Keeler

Temple Football faces high under head coach K.C. Keeler, a two-time FCS National Champion with wins at Delaware and Sam Houston. Year one under Keeler marked a test run as he took over a team that went 3-9 the year before and dealt with a flurry of transfers because of the coaching change.

As fifth year receiver Colin Chase described it, “last year felt like we were all kind of just placed…we really just had a summer to prep for the season. So getting another whole offseason to prepare, we had spring ball, we had summer, and now we’ve got fall camp. I feel like everyone’s just a lot more comfortable this year, and we know how [we operate].”

While they feel like they’re meshing well, Keeler said that Temple didn’t have a perfect offseason. Injuries in the receiver room threw a wrench in the battle between quarterbacks Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard. Keeler remained uncommitted on the quarterback battle, saying that they’ve both made marked improvements as the receiver room returned to health and the roster started to gel. 

Even so, continuity among the rest of the offensive personnel gives the Owls some much-needed stability. They brought back four of their five starters on the offensive line from last season: left tackle Giakoby Hills, left guard Eric King, center Grayson Mains and right guard Jackson Pruitt. 

Offensive Stability

Beyond returning receivers like Chase and JoJo Bermudez, the latter of whom is a preseason nominee for the All-American Conference team, they also have veteran transfer Jayce Freeman, who caught 41 passes for 774 yards and eight touchdowns at Stony Brook.

Chase described the chemistry in the Owls’ receiver corps as everyone returned to health.

“Obviously they’re our older veteran guys.They know what they’re gonna do, communication is always crisp out there,” Chase said.  “We have a great feel playing off each other. We’ve got great rotation guys too.”

Much like Keeler said about the improved quarterback situation, Chase said that the Owls’ vertical passing took a leap as health improved. 6-foot-6 tight end and career Owl Peter Clarke should add another dimension to the passing game. Perhaps more important is the presence he provides in the locker room, something that stood out to Keeler as he took the helm at Temple. Keeler and his staff had Clarke slotted as their No. 2 tight end on the depth chart and in terms of NIL payout, but Clarke responded to the slight by working harder.

“New staff comes in, you think you’re better than that, and how he handled it was ‘coach Keeler’s won a lot of games. He wants to win. If they think there’s things that I’m not doing right right now, I need to get that stuff fixed,’” Keeler said. 

Another expected contributor is fifth-year running back Sam Brown, who played at La Salle College High School and spent the first four years of his college career at Rutgers. Brown earned a single digit jersey number, one of the program’s highest honors, and Keeler praised him for his effort. 

Turning to Transfers

On the other side of the ball, the Owls have nine prospective starters on the defensive line. Defensive tackle Russell Sykes said that his position coach, Cedric Calhoun, has mixed and matched his various players in practice, figuring out how their different skillsets mesh together. 

Temple’s defense saw more turnover during the offseason, and Sykes singled out transfers like outside linebacker Jaylon Joseph and safety Saboor Karriem, the latter another single-digit wearer, for their athleticism and ability.

Despite the new additions, Temple had their roster largely formed by the end of January, which Keeler said gave them plenty of time to bond through offseason activities. He also described the high standard he’s set for his players as he enters year two. 

“I’ve driven this team really hard,” Keeler said. “I don’t think you push a team hard if you think their ceiling’s [low]. I think we think the ceiling is way high.”

One of the elements he’s focused on is discipline and maintaining a cool head, demanding his players practice the way they’ll play in order to build strong habits.

“If someone is giving the business to one of our guys in the pile, we’re not gonna peel them off. We can’t. That’s a 15-yard penalty,” Keeler said. “These guys are competitive, they put in a lot of passion. And I’m asking them to play with all that passion. But at the same time, there’s a discipline in this game.”

As Temple searches for their first winning season since 2019, Keeler knows he has to prove recent expectations wrong.

“They think this is the old Temple. That’s what people think,” Keeler said. “We have to show them that we’re not the old Temple.”