Temple’s Stan Drayton and football staff break down position groups, standouts, and younger players to watch

Temple football coach Stan Drayton has made it clear that younger players will fill the roster holes for the Owls.

Some will add depth to position groups or find their way to taking first-team reps with the upperclassmen. With about two full weeks of summer workouts and a scrimmage under the team’s belt, Drayton and his staff are starting to pinpoint who those guys are.

One thing everyone knows is that sophomore E.J. Warner is Temple’s starting quarterback. So how has the offense looked around him? Which players will he throw the ball to with last year’s top target, Jose Barbon, graduated? And what about the running back group that struggled in giving the Owls any leverage on the ground last season?

Here’s a breakdown of those position groups and the players who have made their presence known so far in camp while looking to secure a starting spot ahead of the Owls’ season opener against Akron on Sept. 2 at Lincoln Financial Field.

Receivers coach Jafar Williams knew coming into this season there would be turnover in his position group, so he started recruiting high school players in the offseason and brought in seven freshmen.

Some have already started to progress quickly, including Xavier Irvin and Richard Dandridge, who played under Philip Simpson, a former Temple defensive lineman, at Homestead High School in Florida. Simpson joined Matt Rhule’s staff at Nebraska in December as defensive quality control coach.

“The one thing I can say about ‘X’ and Richard, they don’t flinch; they don’t flinch at all,” Drayton said Monday. “They have a lot on their plate, trying to learn a whole entire offense.

“I’m expecting, hopefully this week, to see a little bit more consistency come out of those younger guys, but we need them to bring a skill set that’s going to help us not only at receiver, but they’re going to help us on special teams as well.”

The receiver group returns Ian Stewart, who suffered a season-ending foot injury last year. He finished the year with seven catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Stewart has been commanding the room, Williams said, especially the younger talent, in practice. Amad Anderson could also see more targets. He finished second on the team in receiving yards (479) and tallied four touchdowns last season.

D’Wan Mathis, once Temple’s starting QB, has spent the offseason transitioning to receiver. Williams said, “He has come a long way.”

“It’s baby steps,” Williams added. “We’re talking about a guy who’s played quarterback his entire life. It’s not like he was a quarterback in high school and got switched to receiver. He’s basically a freshman. … We just need to continue to bring him along.”

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First-year running backs coach Tyree Foreman rejoins the Owls after coaching at Temple from 2007-14. He has seen growth from his players since the offseason, but he pointed out three backs in particular who have caught his attention.

Graduate student Edward Saydee, who led the Owls with 639 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 149 attempts last season, has “skyrocketed” on the field, Foreman said. Darvon Hubbard and E.J. Wilson, an offseason transfer from Florida International, have also made vast improvements.

“Hubbard is having a phenomenal camp so far,” Foreman said. “He’s had a couple of big-time runs and explosive runs, where he’s being physical and running people over. Then [Wilson] is starting to show he’s a premier back as well. It was harder for him, not having the fall or the last spring to lean back on — get here in January, he had to learn a lot.”

Wilson rushed for 288 yards and two touchdowns on 79 carries at FIU last season. He also added 19 catches for 75 yards. His ability to catch will serve as a strong suit as Foreman wants his players to be diverse in terms of having a third-down back.

“We have the depth and the variety in the room to do a lot of different things,” Foreman said. " We can put them out wide, we can have them in the backfield, we have some scatbacks, we have a lot of good productive guys in that room. All I want to do is make them the best running backs they can be — each one is different.”

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Temple will be announcing its single-digit players, one of the highest honors that a player can earn, on Monday night. Drayton said there are several players who will receive the recognition, which was voted on by the team this season rather than the coaches.

“The team doesn’t know yet, but tonight is the night where they’ll find out,” Drayton said. “We’re going to get all the former single digits on the Zoom call later this evening, and make sure those guys, who are awarded that special honor, fully understand the responsibilities that come along with being a single digit.”