I loved his interview recently discussing the running game, P.J., knowing the offense, building his body.

He's an eloquent speaker. Very bright. He's only 19, but he's very "old." He's a veteran on the team.

No details, but would love to have seen all the competitions in place, let alone how all the players were performing today. I can visualize dinner being ordered in as the staff meets into the night further solidifying who's going to be on the 2-3 deep with the opener 2 weeks out.

I'm hearing that starting Monday, we start gearing for PSU. Go Owls!

Anybody in ?

I'm in the preliminary planning stages of a possible road trip to Cincinnati for what may be the Eastern AAC Conference Championship game.

Possible agenda:

*Leave upstate NY Friday morning around 5-6 a.m. for the 10 1/2 drive to Cinci
* Check into cheap hotel
* Find good Happy Hour with cold beer and wings preferably within walking/crawling distance of said cheap hotel
* Crash early
* Up early Saturday morning for 18 at local Golf Course
* Quick lunch and additional cold ones
* Back to cheap hotel for power nap (showing my age)
* Over to Nippert by around 5 for some tailgating prior to 8 o'clock kickoff
* Watch the Owls "upset" the Bearcats
* Top off the night at a local establishment to celebrate the Victory !!!
* Up Sunday morning to drive 10 1/2 hours home with a stupid smile on my face the whole way
Note: ( Attempting to lure brother up from Orlando to join festivities )

I'm envisioning a lot of phantom holding & pass interference calls against the Owls if we're in it / winning.

Article from the Daily Local covering Chester County, PA written by a Temple Alum.

http://www.dailylocal.com/sports/20150818/mccauley-yes-temple-will-beat-penn-state-this-year

It's tough to keep track of the 80ish guys on the roster, but three names still listed on the roster that I haven't heard anything about:

1. Keith Kirkwood
2. Brandon McGowan
3. Derrick Thomas

Anyone know what's up with these young men?

With Zaire moving over to the other side of the ball -- who are the starters at RB?

I see Hood more like a Jahad Thomas -- so either one of them starts - very likely Jahad.
Ryquell or Jager maybe the other spot as more of a power runner?

Really nice article by Tom Reifsnyder in Tuesday's Daily News.

Cole Johnson verbaled to JMU. He announced it on Twitter. What direction do they go for another QB?

I know that this is a couple of years off, but with the scheduling of both Penn State and Notre Dame this season we can see the added level of excitement that is building for this program, so I think it is appropriate.

In 2017 we host UMass and go to Notre Dame and Army. What level of opponent do you think we should try to bring into the Linc for our 4th game?

Lakewood (NJ) High School safety/athlete Amir Tyler just tweeted a picture of cherries and changed his profile picture to a shot of him and a teammate from a previous Temple visit. Based on the conversation I had with him at a camp earlier this summer, I'd call him a Temple lean. Here's a story we ran back in mid-June.

https://www.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1774729

Tyler has offers from Temple, Pitt, Syracuse and Old Dominion. He looked good in camp. I can't confirm, but I'm trying to find out if he committed.

Does anybody know if you can safely leave your car overnight at the Linc, Xfinity or anywhere in the area in case I should happen to overindulge at the Victory celebration after the Penn State game. I will be staying in Center City and if I take mass transit to the game it will limit the amount of tailgating supplies I can bring.

...dropping BOMBS in Denver.

Shawn on Owlsdaily posted that it's a done deal and that another gift from Pepe will be coming. A done deal! Will also be a part of this year's squad. I am under the impression it will be a guard from their your national team.

There have been some rumblings that Temple could be adding yet another player via walk-on to this class. He's a legitimate 7 footer who comes from overseas (Africa). I've heard he can play a little but up until this point, haven't had anything substantial. I saw some photos online and, sure enough, there's a legit 7 footer in some of the photos....

Next to Kraft.


Much taller than Bond.


Taller than Ernest

JDC - I just listened to Matt Rhule's media session on owlsports and he mentioned depth issues at defensive line (due to injuries - knee swelling for Sharif Finch, Praise still out, Walton practicing for the first time due to back injuries and Freddie Booth Lloyd practicing for the first time today). Are Finch or Praise serious injuries?

Three weeks to go and Owl fans are querying over what Matt Rhule will do with his facial hair. Being superstitious, we are attempting to get a definitive answer before September 5.

http://www.ldnews.com/sports/ci_28643864/l-l-media-day-brings-football-fever

Evan Horn has received offers from Temple to play football and basketball. Anyone know more about him?

Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman are pretty high on Temple.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/notre-dame-fighting-irish-byu-cougars-memphis-tigers-niu-group-5-independents-picks-081415

http://www.coachandplayer.com/temple-owls-season-from-a-slightly-different-perspective/

http://www.coachandplayer.com/nate-d-smith-adjusting-well-to-new-d-line-role-for-the-temple-owls/

Hi do any one know if the scrimmage game is open to public? If so where will the game be held? Thanks GO OWLS!!!

This is what I meant when I said I want the five best OL on the field at the same time. Instead of moving Dawkins inside, they moved Lofton inside. either way, we have more beef inside.

Obviously, I'm thrilled Dawkins stays at LT, and Lofton moves inside. I just want the five best out there. And with all due respect to Shahbaz Ahmed and Brendadn McGowan, both of whom have been fantastic team guys and have done yeoman's work, I think we can get better at OG. If it ends up being Brian Carter and Lofton, or if Ruff gets in there, or if McHale competes at tackle, and we're better, then that's great for the team.

Ahmed and McGowan can still play meaningful snaps, but let's start the best guys.

Competition is the key. Hopefully, Leon Johnson, Semaj Reed, Adrain Sullivan, Derosier, Terry, walk-ons like Apostolu, Gordon Thomas and Woerner, and freshmen Fair and Israel can also compete, although RS the true freshmen would be best.

P.J. Walker looked pretty sharp in the time I was there today. He looks and has the feel of someone who's starting to turn the corner as a junior. We'll see how it translates once the season starts.

Matt Rhule said today that Praise Martin-Oquike has been dinged up. If you listen to his comments, he put some not-so-subtle heat on his defensive end and said that he needs to stay healthy. It kind of came across as a 'you have to be tougher' kind of tone.

The team's first practice in pads will be Monday.

Robby Anderson's interview is worth a listen. His first public comments since coming back. He talked about how he watched film of his 2013 season and looked at things he could have done better. Pointed to specific routes he ran at SMU and against UCF at home.

And as I said on Twitter, I'll be on and off here most of the weekend. Our esteemed assistant editor Kyle Gauss is getting married tomorrow. His rehearsal and rehearsal dinner are at the Elmwood Park Zoo, home of Stella. Kyle has promised some Stella selfies.