In case you're catching up, it's been a busy week for the Owls with three verbal commitments - two from the 2021 class in 3-star Highland High School running back Johnny Martin III and Gonzaga College High School corner Jalen McMurray, and Iowa State transfer quarterback Re-Al Mitchell.
@SamNeumann spoke to Mitchell and McMurray in stories you can read on the front page or linked here, and @TomIgnudo talked to Martin, who became Temple's highest-rated recruit so far in the 2021 class.
So with five players committed from the 2021 class, Temple has done well in getting started in some obviously important recruiting territory. The Owls have a commitment from St. Joe's Prep athlete and one of the best players in Philly in Malik Cooper and got a player from the DMV in McMurray who chose Temple over multiple Power 5 offers. Martin, who also chose the Owls over multiple Power 5 options, is ranked by Rivals as the 9th-best player in New Jersey and the nation's No. 27 overall running back in the 2021 class. In landing Auburndale High School safety Malichi Lowery, they reached into Florida to get a player who also had multiple Power 5 offers (Iowa State, Vanderbilt), and they have what could be their eventual quarterback of the future in Justin Lynch out of a state championship program in Chicago.
And some of you naturally wondered what kind of impact former St. Joe's Prep coach Gabe Infante would have on the recruiting front once he joined the Temple staff prior to last season. In being mentioned as the lead recruiter for two of these five players so far in Cooper and Martin, it looks like he's getting warmed up.
If and when the NCAA permits in-person visits, I think we're in for an eventful recruiting cycle, as you all might imagine. Without camps and with staffs not getting the tangible opportunity to evaluate in those settings this summer, you could see some good players get dropped by high-major programs with elite options who look at a kid's senior film three or four weeks into the fall and find it's not quite to their liking. Temple could potentially benefit from that, and it's always possible that they could lose a very good commit to another program as they have in the past, but I think it also explains why they've been judicious about who they've taken so far.
@SamNeumann spoke to Mitchell and McMurray in stories you can read on the front page or linked here, and @TomIgnudo talked to Martin, who became Temple's highest-rated recruit so far in the 2021 class.
So with five players committed from the 2021 class, Temple has done well in getting started in some obviously important recruiting territory. The Owls have a commitment from St. Joe's Prep athlete and one of the best players in Philly in Malik Cooper and got a player from the DMV in McMurray who chose Temple over multiple Power 5 offers. Martin, who also chose the Owls over multiple Power 5 options, is ranked by Rivals as the 9th-best player in New Jersey and the nation's No. 27 overall running back in the 2021 class. In landing Auburndale High School safety Malichi Lowery, they reached into Florida to get a player who also had multiple Power 5 offers (Iowa State, Vanderbilt), and they have what could be their eventual quarterback of the future in Justin Lynch out of a state championship program in Chicago.
And some of you naturally wondered what kind of impact former St. Joe's Prep coach Gabe Infante would have on the recruiting front once he joined the Temple staff prior to last season. In being mentioned as the lead recruiter for two of these five players so far in Cooper and Martin, it looks like he's getting warmed up.
If and when the NCAA permits in-person visits, I think we're in for an eventful recruiting cycle, as you all might imagine. Without camps and with staffs not getting the tangible opportunity to evaluate in those settings this summer, you could see some good players get dropped by high-major programs with elite options who look at a kid's senior film three or four weeks into the fall and find it's not quite to their liking. Temple could potentially benefit from that, and it's always possible that they could lose a very good commit to another program as they have in the past, but I think it also explains why they've been judicious about who they've taken so far.
