Temple coach Stan Drayton reveals D’wan Mathis will start at QB and teases other depth chart spots

Stan Drayton is on the precipice of revealing his first depth chart as head coach.

“Just like I tell the players to manage their emotions, I know how hard it is to do that. I’m trying to manage mine,” Drayton said. “These guys have made a lot of changes in their lives both on and off the football field.

“They’ve bought into the culture of how we go about doing our business, and I’m super excited to see what that looks like in a game day atmosphere.”

The first-year coach said he plans to reveal starters early next week before Temple’s season opener on Sept. 2 at Duke. He was ahead of schedule naming a starting quarterback but tabbed wide receiver, running back, and safety as some of the Owls’ most competitive battles.

Here are a few positions to keep an eye on heading into Week 1:

Drayton revealed Thursday morning that D’Wan Mathis has been named the starter for Week 1 against the Blue Devils. He’ll be backed up by Quincy Patterson, a transfer from North Dakota State and Virginia Tech.

“If you’re labeled a starter, it’s your job to keep that status,” Drayton said. “Every day we’re going to compete. You can keep it one day and lose it one day. We don’t necessarily want to rattle their cages, but we want to make sure we’re still sharpening each other’s tools.”

Mathis’ consistency throughout fall camp has been the factor, according to Drayton. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound redshirt sophomore has managed situations well in practice and shown a “well-rounded” understanding of the offense now as a second-year starter.

» READ MORE: As the culture of Temple football has been established, it’s also fueling the team’s motivation

Last year he completed 116 of 195 passing attempts with four interceptions and six touchdowns.

“[Quincy] does have a very live arm; we gotta get him back in rhythm,” Drayton said. “He is a product of three different styles of coaching. And at that position, you don’t really want to mess around with the mechanics at this stage in his career. We’re just making sure he gets timed up with the system. … If he can do that on a consistent basis, he’s a guy that could help us win football games.”

Patterson has two seasons of eligibility remaining but told the Inquirer in June that 10th and Diamond would be his last stop.

Drayton added that Temple will travel four quarterbacks for road games. Sophomore Mariano Valenti and freshman EJ Warner round out that group.

Temple’s top receiver spot is up for grabs after losing two former single-digits at that position in Jadan Blue and Randle Jones.

Jose Barbon, Amad Anderson, and De’Von Fox make up the returners. Drayton also brought in Adonicas Sanders, who recently was awarded a single-digit jersey number, over the summer from Georgia Tech and Ian Stewart from Michigan State.

“For the receiver position,” Drayton said, “you bring in some new talent, and a sense of urgency enhances.”

The running back position may be Temple’s most wide-open competition.

Ed Saydee has been a part of Temple’s backfield rotation the last two seasons, earning his first start last year. He led the Owls in rushing attempts (87) and yards (321).

Darvon Hubbard transferred in from Texas A&M during the winter then split reps with Saydee during spring practice. Temple also brought in Jakari Norwood over the summer after spending the last four seasons at Illinois.

“Jakari came in and grabbed that room in a positive way, and everybody stepped their level of play up,” Drayton said. “That’s why you’ll never hear me come in and say, ‘That’s the starter’ and actually write it in concrete.

“We plan to have Saydee ready to go. We plan to have Hubbard ready to go. Jakari is going to be ready to go. And Trey Blair. All of them have grown a lot since the start of training camp. I do feel as though all four of those can go in a game, and I don’t think we’re going to skip a beat at the offensive end.”

Safety was the first group Drayton mentioned when asked about positional battles headed into the start of the season.

DaeSean Winston and Alex Odom are the incumbents of a group that includes Muheem McCargo, Jalen Ware, and freshman Sam Martin.

With that said, Temple has some room for depth at that position.