Temple Football Finding Passing Game, Preparing for UConn

Temple Football held their weekly media availability on Monday, Oct. 5, with head coach K.C. Keeler and quarterback Ajani Sheppard closing the book on their road win over previously-unbeaten South Florida before giving an idea of what they expect at home against UConn on Oct. 10.

The game against South Florida marked Sheppard’s third consecutive start, and he said he thinks that he’s done a better job of using his eyes as he gets more in-game reps.

“I would say my eyes: I feel my eyes are getting better at getting to the right spot more,” Sheppard said. “And it’s about just trusting my guys and just putting it out there for them.”

While Temple’s passing game still had room to improve — Sheppard completed nine of 14 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown as the Owls relied on running the football — targets like tight end Peter Clarke and receiver JoJo Bermudez saw an uptick in usage after slow starts to the season. Keeler said that the Owls don’t go out of their way to feed the ball to a specific player, preferring to take what the defense gives them. As a result, Sheppard’s increased comfort should open up opportunities for him to find Clarke, Bermudez and the rest of the Owls’ talented receivers.

Previewing UConn

Keeler praised 6-foot-4 UConn quarterback Kalieb Osborne for his ability as a pocket passer, saying that it opens up running lanes for the Huskies’ talented backs.

“I like their running game, they run the ball in a lot of different ways. We’re gonna see a lot of different ways of manipulating a defense in terms of running the football,” Keeler said. “I think they play very physical defense also. It’s a little bit like looking in a mirror.”

Keeler also praised Osborne for his ability to stand in the pocket and take hits: the junior signal caller has completed 81 of 140 passes for 1,164 yards, ten touchdowns and just two interceptions this season, adding 243 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. For a Temple pass rush that has just four sacks through five games this season, Osborne’s ability to stay upright and push the ball downfield could prove problematic.