The Redshirts Are Coming, the Redshirts Are Coming

Vaughn Carraway, in a Christmas visit to St. Christopher's Hospital with fellow Owls, is third from the right.


The last time we saw any glimpse of Temple football future the room was dark and the screen was running highlights of the 2009 football recruits.
Between the oohs and ahhs coming from the assembled big-money donors in attendance on national signing day (I was an interloper in that regard), I could tell people were impressed.
"They all look like they can play at USC," I said, breaking the silence from row four.

(Some) key returning Redshirts for the Owls:
Deven Baker, RS-FR, WR
Matt Balasavage, RS-SO, TE
Morris Blueford, RS-SO, DE
Marcus Brown, RS-JR, OL
Vaughn Charlton, RS-JR, QB
Vaughn Carraway, RS-FR, WR
C.J. Hammond, RS-FR, WR
Dave Nwasike, RS-JR, DT
John Palumbo, RS-SO, OL
Evan Rodriguez, RS-SO, TE
Jared Williams, RS-SO, CB
Lawrence Turner, RS-FR, TE

Heck, but that's the nature of high school highlight reels.
I could see the Bill Cosby commercial now.
They could have gone to USC, but they chose Temple.
Then coach Al Golden got up, essentially said he couldn't give two whits about what the scouting services are saying and that this was far and away his best recruiting class. (Not that the scouting services are pooh-pooing this class since Scout.com has the Owls rated No. 2 in the MAC behind only Central Michigan, but after having won three MAC recruiting titles in a row, people were wondering whether or not Al lost a little of his recruiting magic.)
Golden justified it by saying that his staff went out and identified athletes based on their upside and not necessarily on what stats they may or may not have accumulated so far.
The good news is that the Owls won't have to rely on that impressive class to make key contributions this year.
Essentially, the 2009 Owls are on display almost every day at the Edberg-Olson football complex.

Huge crowd in Buffalo watches Joe Jones run in the open field.
Owlsports.com photo

Seventeen of the 21 starters from the 2008 season return, bolstered by 15 high-quality players the Owls had the luxury of redshirting.
The Redshirts are coming, including Vaughn Carraway, the top receiver in Pennsylvania two years ago and others.
That's some damn good reinforcements right there.
Chief among those is Vaughn Charlton, a not-so-secret weapon who was the starting quarterback on the varsity for much of the 2007 season.
His poise and confidence under pressure as a backup in the win over Miami (Ohio) and subsequent games like the wire-to-wire win over Kent State give Owl fans some hope for the 2009 season.
Hope, but not hype.
One of the young men standing near Charlton during most practices is Chris Coyer, who is absorbing as much mentally now so he can focus on the physical come July and August. Coyer has to be given a lot of credit for getting up at 4:30 every morning and driving from D.C. to Philadelphia during breaks at Oakton (Va.) High.
Coyer is the raw talent, while Charlton is the more polished product. Adam DiMichele has taken Coyer under his wing.
Expecting Coyer to come in and start is not fair to the young man, in my opinion. Temple's one and only goal should be winning the MAC title and the last freshman to start and win a title as a QB was Bowling Green's Brian McClure in 1982.
I don't like those odds.
Adam DiMichele, in my mind, was a once-in-a-generation quarterback who will be sorely missed and the 2008 Owls deserved some major hype coming into the season because he was the ignition to this machine.
I asked Golden about Charlton on signing day, posing the question this way:
"A lot of us fans haven't seen Vaughn Charlton in two years. What kind of quarterback has he become in the year since?"
Golden looked me in the eye and said: "Vaughn's been working hard in the weight room and he's 238 pounds, stronger, more confident."
Not exactly the ringing endorsement I was hoping for, but he later mollified that comment in an illuminating audio with Owlscoop.com editor John DiCarlo, when he said: "Even though we lost Adam and everybody thinks the sky is falling, I'm impressed with our two returning quarterbacks."
Hmm, I wonder who Golden was referring to when he said everybody?
These Owls will go as far as the returning players and Redshirts take them.

"Even though we lost Adam and everybody thinks the sky is falling, I'm impressed with our two returning quarterbacks."
_ Al Golden

The thought here is that Charlton's productivity will be a shade below DiMichele's, but that the overall Temple product could be more appealing due to the depth and quality at other positions on the field.
I want to see continued improvement from running backs Kee-ayre Griffin and Joe Jones and I would like to see the breakaway runner Ahkeem Smith was when I saw him playing at Bethlehem Liberty. It would be nice if Jones showed the kind of breakaway speed that made him a Boca Raton legend. Maybe his injury is fully healed now. We can only hope.
That's what's being hashed out at the E-O. All practices are open only to Temple football alumni, Xtra Point Club members, and high school coaches, provided the individuals register in Edberg-Olson Hall before visiting the field. Practices are closed to the general public, but the adventurous can make out the goings on through the green canvas screen or the Temple train station above.
Meanwhile, the recruiting connections Golden established while an assistant at Penn State, Boston College and Virginia are continuing to bear fruit for the Owls.
A glimpse at the updated roster on Owlsports.com reveals Evan Rodriquez, a three-star recruit at West Virginia has transferred in as has Zack Kane, a safety from the real Miami (Fla.) and Keith Baker, a linebacker from Louisville.
Maybe good enough to play at USC, but they were certainly good enough to be recruited by West Virginia, Louisville and Miami and that's a sign that Golden is relentless in his search for talent.
That kind of competition within only bodes well for Owl fans and ill for Owl foes.