Temple University Athletics
TEMPLE FOOTBALL 2004: 11 GAMES, 11 THINGS TO WATCH
7.6.04 | Football
2. THE "GOO" THAT HOLDS THE DEFENSE TOGETHER. Redshirt junior LB Rian "Goo" Wallace, a 2003 CollegeFootballNews.com Second Team All-American and Second Team All-Big East selection, looks to be the cornerstone of Temple's 4-2-5 defense. The Pottstown, Pa. native is the Conference's top returning tackler after ranking sixth nationally in total tackles (12.33 per game), eighth nationally in solo tackles (8.08) and tied for 11th nationally in tackles-for-losses (1.63) en route to 148 total stops in 2003.
3. LINC TO THE FUTURE. On August 13, 2003, the Philadelphia Eagles and Temple University announced a 15-year pact for the Owls to play their home football games at Lincoln Financial Field. An average of 24,137 fans per game witnessed the Cherry & White in their inaugural season at the venue, a 21 percent increase from the prior year's average. The stadium has also proved to be an invaluable recruiting resource. The Owls' 2003 class was ranked best in the country by Hank Ives of JCFootball.com. This past February, the recruiting class was comprised of 17 junior college transfers and 15 high school or prep entries. Six of the Owls' JUCO signees earned All-America accolades from JC Grid-Wire, a publication that selects its honorees from all of the nation's 142 junior colleges that sponsor football.
4. HOME IS WHERE THE HEART OF THE COMPETITION IS. Temple's 2004 home schedule is six games and features four opponents that concluded their 2003 seasons by competing in bowl games: Virginia, Bowling Green, Pittsburgh and Boston College. The Owls kick-off their 106th season of football on national television against the Cavaliers at Lincoln Financial Field on September 4, before Florida A&M and its legendary band strut into town on Sept. 18. Defending MAC West champion Bowling Green arrives Oct. 2 before Big East foes Pittsburgh (Oct. 9), Syracuse (Nov. 13) and Boston College (Nov. 20) visit the City of Brotherly Love. None of the Owls' home opponents posted a losing record in 2003.
5. SPRING FRESH. The Owls have 20 scholarship student-athletes that participated in their first spring practice this past spring. Included in the group are four returning starters among seven returning letterwinners. Seven mid-year transfers that were part of the 2004 recruiting class were also in the mix. Entering preseason camp, 15 players off inaugural spring campaigns adorned the depth chart, including returning starters Phil Goodman, Chris Harris, Walter Washington and Antwon Burton, as well as potential starters Stephen Bell, Tim Brown, Buchie Ibeh, Matt Douglas and Jermaine Hargraves.
6. STUDENT-ATHLETES BETWEEN THE HASH MARKS. Ten Temple University letterwinners, the maximum number permissible for selection, were named to the 2003 Big East Conference All-Academic football team. The Owls were joined by Miami, Pittsburgh and West Virginia for the most academic honorees. 2003 honorees John Adams, Eric Carpenter, John Gross, Jason Johnson, Ray Lamb and Elliot Seifert return to the gridiron in 2004.
7. 'BAMA HALL CALL. Bobby Wallace was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in May as one of eight members of the Hall's 2004 class and one of three in the football category. He was joined by former University of Alabama gridiron greats Bobby Humphrey and Cornelius Bennett in the football section. Other college football coaches that have been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame include Paul "Bear" Bryant, John Heisman, Pat Dye and Gene Stallings.
8. COACHING CHANGES. Rubin Carter was named defensive line coach on March 23 and arrived in Owl Country with over 17 years of professional and collegiate coaching experience. Carter also has 12 seasons of National Football League playing experience with the Denver Broncos on his resume. Willie Slater was named wide receivers coach on April 3 and came to North Broad Street with over 26 years of coaching experience, including 23 at the collegiate level. A five-time NCAA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year, Slater has five Division II national championship rings.
9. WILL AND SAM. Temple's inside linebackers, Rian "Goo" Wallace (WLB) and senior Troy Bennett (SLB) were cited as the best linebacking corps in the Big East by Athlon Sports in its season preview issue. Both have received preseason All-America honors. Wallace is a Third Team choice and Bennett earned Honorable Mention status from Street & Smith's. Wallace is also a Third Team Preseason All-American according to Athlon.
10. SUPER BOWLS RING TRUE FOR FORMER OWLS. Dan Klecko became the third former Temple football player to win a Super Bowl ring in the past four years when Adam Vinatieri's field goal sailed between the uprights in the final seconds to give the New England Patriots a 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, January 31. In 2003, former Cherry & White LB Alshermond Singleton, currently with the Dallas Cowboys, was a member of Tampa Bay's Super Bowl XXXVII championship squad. In 2001, LB Calvin Wilkinson was on the Baltimore Ravens' championship team.
11. FROM WINGS TO THE T. The "Temple T" will once again adorn the team's helmets. The new helmet will feature a white "Temple T" and white face mask on a cherry shell with two white stripes augmenting the crown. The new helmet is strikingly similar to the one the team wore from 1989 to 1993, except for the shade of cherry. The new version is true to the "Temple cherry red" color adopted by the Department of Athletics in 1996.
