The Kevin Newsome conundrum

"I'm a quarterback. All I want to do is score points, get first downs on every drive and win. That's all we have to do as a team is to take it one play at a time." _ Kevin Newsome

The dictionary defines conundrum as a particularly perplexing problem.
When I think of Kevin Newsome's arrival on campus this week, I see a solution to the conundrum.
The problem is that Newsome might not consider it a conundrum at all.
The conundrum as I see it is that Newsome is a great athlete who probably is best-suited to help the Temple's football team right away on defense, particularly at outside linebacker or strong safety.
Newsome might be the third-best quarterback on the current Temple football team. That's how I see it.
You don't displace a bowl game MVP in the first Temple bowl win in over 30 years. It's just not happening.
Chris Coyer is the starter and probably possesses a better skill set in passing and running and taking care of the football (he threw no interceptions last year) and Newsome had a ball security history while playing backup QB at Penn State in 2009.
Clinton "Juice" Granger had a great spring and has that under his belt and has a tremendous head start over Newsome.
Problem is that Newsome sees himself as a quarterback and he was quoted as much in an article that appeared a couple of weeks ago.
So the conundrum is this: Sit on the sidelines and waste all that talent or do something to help the Temple football team immediately, which is play defense (possibly at strong safety or outside linebacker).
As good a quarterback as he was in high school, my Virginia prep fans say he was an even better defensive player.
If he was that good, he can be brought up to speed as a Temple starter for Chuck Heater in a month or so.
Newsome reminds me of former Temple great quarterback Brian Broomell. He was recruited as a QB and not ready to play the position right away, so Broomell starred on defense for Temple at strong safety as a true freshman in an era where true freshman rarely played (they don't play all that often now, but did so less then).
Temple needed Broomell to play quarterback as a senior and all he did was lead the nation in passing efficiency and Temple to 10 wins. I really think that team should have been 12-0, except for close losses to Pitt and Penn State but that's a story for another day.
Maybe someday Temple will need Newsome to play quarterback.
Not now.
I hope he understands the conundrum. Tweet