Tuesday 6 February 2007

Meet the newest Temple Owls


From left, Jared Williams, Jamal Schulters, Kee-Ayre Griffin
By Mike Gibson
When he took over the head coaching job, Al Golden said the one thing fans will notice about him and his staff is a well-thought-out plan for Temple football success.
With today's class of 25 and two holdovers from last year, Golden's plan is crystal clear:
Speed kills.
Two classes, both lightning quick at all positions on the field.
One kid from the prior regime, Travis Shelton, has "Devin Hester-type" speed and, in case you don't know what that is, Hester is the fastest football player in the world.
Or at least tied for that distinction with his cousin, Travis, who both have been clocked in a 4.27 blur.
Temple has Travis for two more years and, with this class, more of the same kind of speed for three years beyond that.
Daryl Robinson is the fastest player in Philadelphia high school history and he runs "only" a 4.37.
This team has the potential to literally run away from the rest of the Mid-American Conference in a couple of years.
If all goes right, maybe sooner. Temple appears to be incredibly deep and talented at running back right now, where a number of performers are capable of being "the guy" including
Jamal Schulters
, one of the most recent acquisitions. Or it could be Kee-Ayre Griffin, who will finally arrive after being initially heralded as the jewel of the 2006 class.
"After I decided on Temple, a lot of schools still tried to come after me," Robinson said on Tuesday. "My commitment to Temple was always strong."
So was the commitment of the rest, including a running back named Jared Williams and a defensive end pass-rushing specialist named Muhammad Wilkerson. This
Muhammad is a mountain of a man
who opposing quarterbacks are going to, whether they are like or not.
Even the interior linemen, people like Derek Dennis, are incredibly fast and athletic for their size.
Schools like Miami of Florida and the University of Southern California have proven plans for success with a foundation of speed.
Al Golden has spent the last two years acquiring that kind of speed.
It should be fun watching it kill for the next four years.

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