New Mexico Military Institute cornerback Jayden Oliver is currently on a visit to Temple.

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Oliver, originally from Florida, had three picks for the NJCAA National Champions this year and has offers from schools like Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Buffalo and Western Kentucky. As a JUCO prospect, Oliver is considered a transfer which is why he's allowed to visit before the dead period ends.

Oliver has two years of eligibility left.

But he's frustrating occasionally

If you're looking to learn more about Danny Langsdorf, who should soon be announced as Stan Drayton's offensive coordinator, @Dante Collinelli does a great job of breaking this down here.


And we have more great stuff on the way from Dante this weekend as he takes a deeper dive into new defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot and his scheme.

Per VTScoop

Defense wins games because you are in almost every game and give yourself a chance. We are 10 times better at that end since he took over. I remember the Vanderbilt announcers mentioning how long and athletic our players can be on defense . Modern day basketball has changed th way you play and each player needs to guard multiple positions . You can’t do that by osmosis and he has intentionally selected these players .

Happy New Year, everyone!

We're recording our first episode of 2022, and I'm sure it will be a packed one between all of the football talk with Stan Drayton's new hires and plenty of hoops talk as well.

We're taking mailbag questions up until 3 p.m. tomorrow, so please drop them in here if you have them.

If you haven't done so already, please subscribe, rate and review here. As I mentioned on the football board, the majority of our downloads do come from Apple Podcasts, but you can find The Scoop on all of the major platforms, including Spotify and Google.

Thanks so much for your support of the site and the podcast, and we look forward to bringing you more great content in 2022.

Sounds like a solid, experienced staff. Continue to be impressed by Drayton's hire.

Happy New Year, everyone!

We're recording our next episode of The Scoop this week and taking mailbag questions up until 3 p.m. tomorrow.

If you have a question, please drop it in here and we'll get to as many as we can on the podcast. And if you haven't done so already, please subscribe, rate and review here. The majority of our downloads do come from Apple Podcasts, but you can find The Scoop on all of the major platforms, including Spotify and Google.

And again, thank you all for listening, subscribing and supporting the site, our content and the podcast, which surpassed 14,200 downloads in the past year.

We obviously have a lot to talk about with new hires as Stan Drayton continues to build out his staff, but we're happy to take off-topic questions as well.

Looks like the game is on and the top 3 scorers/guards are out for the Cougars. If Temple can deal with White and Carlton this game should be there for the taking.

I hope it's not a breach of protocol to post this, but Owlsports.com is reporting that Coach McKie has been placed in the Covid protocol and will miss tomorrow night's game.

Everyone -

I apologize for my comments last night.

2022 has gotten off to a crappy start - a family friend's serious Covid illness, an extended hospitalization of a beloved family member who is still not out of the woods. Some other things that aren't truly major but bad enough.

So, I vented. Inappropriately.

In doing so, I damn near slandered some people whose presence in a Temple uniform helped keep me connected when I lived far afield.

I questioned their character. Men I like and admire. I am sorry.

I want a do-over.

Mea maxima culpa.

I'm assuming Tripodi from NIU will not be retained. Anything on the grapevine about possible candidates?

For those of us who want to actually continue talking about the program and the new staff, how about we continue here? For those of you who want to talk about other matters, carry on (Carey on?) with it on the “Staff Updates” thread or elsewhere. JFC.

Peace and good health to all and Happy New Year. Go Owls 🦉🏈

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Withers was on my radar as a potential DC prior to the DJ Eliot news so Drayton getting him in an off-the-field role is quite the development.

There is probably a good reason why no G5 team had previously made the CFP. Alabama showed that strength up front is the reason. Cincy was held to 214yds. total offense. They could neither run nor pass effectively. They showed that their OL cannot compete at this level. Their anemic offense made me think of Temple's offensive output against them.
Georgia is so far dominating Michigan, so another all SEC final seems likely.
Cincinnati is obviously a great team for it's level of competition, but their win over Notre Dame was counted too heavily in the final analysis. I'll be curious to see how dominant the Bearcat are when they enter to Big 12.

Preston Brown, Temple's director of player personnel during the 2021 season, is expected to become Stan Drayton's running backs coach, I was told by a source today. Everything is expected to be finalized this week.

Being on the field, this means Brown will be able to recruit players at South Jersey's Woodrow Wilson High School where he previously worked, as well as any 7-on-7 players he had previously worked out or been connected to. He was not going to be able to do that for two more seasons had he remained in an off-field role.

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@Cayden Steele got a lot of good stuff out of Elijah Warner, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, about his Temple offer and why the Owls are in the mix with his recruitment.

5 of 7 games versus P5 teams (obviously highlighted by Cincy in the playoff). Guess we see how the AAC bowl line up looks once Cincy, Houston and UCF leave. The game in Boston is just waiting for the next time Temple gets bowl eligible.

Myrtle Beach Bowl | Dec. 20
Brooks Stadium | Conway, S.C.
Tulsa (6-6) vs. Old Dominion (6-6), 2:30 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Dec. 23
Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
UCF (8-4) vs. Florida (6-6), 7 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Florida leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Sept. 9, 2006 (Florida, 42-0)

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl | Dec. 24
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex | Honolulu, Hawaii
Memphis (6-6) vs. Hawaii (6-7), 8 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting

Military Bowl presented by Peraton | Dec. 27
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Annapolis, Md.
East Carolina (7-5) vs. Boston College (6-6), 2:30 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl | Dec. 28
Protective Stadium | Birmingham, Ala.
Houston (11-2) vs. Auburn (6-6), Noon ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Auburn leads, 5-1
Last Meeting: Oct. 27, 1973 (Auburn, 7-0)

Wasabi Fenway Bowl | Dec. 29
Fenway Park | Boston, Mass.
SMU (8-4) vs. Virginia (6-6), 11 a.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting

College Football Playoff Semifinal
Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | Dec. 31
AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas
Cincinnati (13-0) vs. Alabama (12-1), 3:30 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Alabama leads, 5-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 17, 1990 (Alabama, 45-7)

Welcome to Temple. Hope your career is half as successful as another former versatile DL from the 70s who was a pretty good boxer in his own right.

25 Owls in the NFL, 18 active right now.

We’re paying for Rod Carey’s buyout lol. And I’m fine with it. Anyone else notice the sizable price increase?

Kudos to athletics though for pushing this out early and stretching out a payment plan to 8 months.

Really great read, John. Thinking of your family over these holidays. Merry Christmas.

...IF it is actually played. Nothing short of an all-out burial will suffice. Hearing about great practices and 'heading in the right direction' leading into Drexel sounds great, but today, as 24.5 point favorites, they need to put it into action. Beat down required...then stay Omicron free and get ready for Villanova. #GoOwls