Meet Temple coach Stan Drayton’s staff and learn their early impressions from spring football

The members of Temple’s football staff shared a similar first impression when they met Stan Drayton. There were no gray areas as Drayton made it clear what he wanted and spoke openly about the challenges that come with the rebuilding process.

“There’s never a question of does he really want this or does he want it this way,” said offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Danny Langsdorf. “He knows exactly what he wants, so I appreciate that about him.”

Thirteen practices into Temple’s spring season, Langsdorf, defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach D.J. Eliot, and special teams and tight ends coach Adam Scheier are charged with upholding Drayton’s values and gaining players’ trust.

Although the assistants said there is still room for improvement, they’ve seen progress on both ends of the ball and a high level of energy. Here’s a look at each coach’s background, scheme, and what they’ve seen from Temple’s defense, offense, and special teams.

Before Eliot saw the Owls practice in person, he spent Christmas Eve watching footage of every game and practice from the fall.

“I got an evaluation of every single player that was returning and coming back on defense,” Eliot said. “What I saw is that we are talented in spots, so I was pleased with that. We still have ways to go, but I’m not disappointed.”

Eliot said he has a reputation as the “basketball school rebuilder.” He took the past year off from coaching and started two podcasts, where he studied a different defense each week. Eliot said the podcast helped him better understand a variety of defensive schemes and techniques, as well as reflect from an outside perspective on what makes a team better.

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When describing his ideal defense, Eliot looks at a 3-4 lineup with multiple pressures. He plans to run a variety of fronts and pressures to create sacks and take away passing opportunities. Last season, Temple ran a 4-3 defense under former coach Rod Carey.

Eliot hasn’t seen any standouts on the roster so far. He believes the safeties need to improve on and the cornerbacks, featuring Cameron Ruiz and Keyshawn Paul, have brought a level of experience to the room and just need to adjust to new techniques.

Langsdorf saw some growing pains during spring practice, but he’s pleased with the offense.

He previously spent two seasons as a pass game coordinator and quarterback coach at Colorado (2020-21), where the Buffaloes ranked first in the Pac-12 and third in the country in red zone offense.

In the fall, Temple finished last in red zone offense in the American Athletic Conference. Langsdorf believes the Owls have played reserved in the red zone, which contributed to their lack of execution.

“It’s something they’ve got to work on as a group,” Langsdorf said. “They’ve made some progress the last few days, made some plays on third down, made some red zone touchdown catches, so I feel like they’re progressing. But there needs to be a little bit more urgency to the leadership piece.”

Langsdorf likes to switch different personnel groups and utilize the entire field to spread out the defense. He has emphasized the need for a strong run game and consistent offensive line.

“It’s a big emphasis for us to be able to run,” Langsdorf said. “There’s a lot of things that go into that run unit, there’s a lot of different people, so the quarterbacks got to help get us in the right place and not run into bad looks, but overall we’ve got to be better up front, better at tight end, and then our backs got to do some hard yards.”

In the quarterback room, Langsdorf wants a guy who can accurately throw under pressure, whether it’s a play change or scrambling outside the pocket. D’Wan Mathis and Mariano Valenti have taken most of the quarterback reps in spring ball, but a starter won’t be named till fall camp.

As for standouts, Langsdorf mentioned running back Darvon Hubbard, who transferred in from Texas A&M and has quickly picked up Temple’s system and displayed a solid balance. He also said tight end David Martin Robinson has been a role model for the younger guys.

“Guys kind of follow him, especially in the weight room,” Langsdorf said. “They listen or they watch him and follow his lead, so I’ve been pleased with that.”

Scheier recalled facing Temple at the 2016 Military Bowl while coaching at Wake Forest. He noticed the Owls’ tough special teams unit then.

“There’s history of special teams here,” Scheier said. “It’s not our job or our charge to change the culture. It’s our job to bring the culture back.”

Before joining the Owls, Scheier coached at Rutgers (2020-21) as a special teams coach. Under Scheier, the Scarlet Knights ranked seventh in the ESPN special teams efficiency ratings in 2020 and improved to No. 4 in 2021.

“Once you get that buy-in from the staff and that buy-in from the players, that’s step one,” Scheier said. “Anything beyond the buy-in and the culture, you’re going to put a lot of stock in your schemes and your ability to game plan.”

After the Owls lost punter Adam Barry to the transfer portal, Scheier is looking for a guy who can punt on the move and potentially has a soccer background. He said kicker Rory Bell is in a good mental state and isn’t over-kicking. Bell made 9 of 16 field goals in the fall and Scheier sees him becoming a “friendly kicker.”

Receivers Jose Barbon, Amad Anderson, and De’Von Fox have taken most of the return reps. Scheier believes having multiple guys returning kicks will benefit the unit.

“We’re constantly developing them,” Scheier said. “But we would like to develop the most dynamic guy as the most sure punt catcher as well, so we can be dynamic in the return game because that’s the first play of the offensive series.”