Football's All-Access Media Day

PHILADELPHIA - Temple football opened its 2018 spring season on Tuesday, March 13, with its first practice. At the same time, Temple also introduced it's first-ever All-Access Media Day.
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Starting at 6:07 a.m., credentialed media members were invited to sit in on team meetings and had field access for a full practice from 8:00-10:13 a.m., along with being allowed to speak with various players and assistant coaches at the end of the day. The goal was to provide an inside look at a routine schedule on the initial day of spring practice.

"Today hopefully you'll get to see why we love them so much," Temple head coach Geoff Collins said of his players.

Temple will hold 13 more spring practices leading up to its annual Cherry & White Spring Game to be held on Saturday, April 14.

OwlSports.com asked three communications student assistants to following along and offer inside perspectives from All-Access Media Day.

Matt McCarthy: There's a New Sheriff in Town
The Temple Football spring ball season kicked off early Tuesday morning to signal the long campaign ahead of the squad for 2018. The team, accompanied by members of the Philadelphia media corps for "All-Access Day," met with coaches early in the day to discuss team, positional, and personal goals. Newly promoted defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker met with the entire defensive unit and then the linebackers and gave invigorating presentations.

Thacker is in his second year with the Owls, his longest tenure with a team in his coaching career. The 32-year old's resume includes a defensive assistant position in 2014 with the Atlanta Falcons, tutored by former San Francisco 49ers' head coach and current New Orleans Saints' linebacker coach Mike Nolan. His experience in coaching and football operations also saw himself with Oklahoma State as a grad assistant and UCF as a grad assistant and safeties coach.

The youthful Thacker sees himself as a "player-coach." He uses images and language that best connects to the players on the team and to drive home the standards in which his players will be held accountable for. For example, the nickname given his defensive unit is "#DARKside," a reference to the Star Wars movie series. In the breakout from the unit meeting, that was the groups chant after it ended and the signs identifying the room also have the nickname on the tag.

Thacker introduced two characters to help the defense understand the standards to which the defense will be held accountable for. The two characters are named "Freddy Soft and Timmy TUFF," and the two represent the angel and devil on the shoulders as displayed in pop culture. Freddy Soft is an ice cream cone while Timmy TUFF is a mini Darth Vader. He implored to his players to stay away from Freddy Soft, the angel, and to listen to Timmy TUFF, the devil. Thacker went on to talk about which character represented what qualities he wanted to see. Freddy represents entitlement, the palms-up and taking the easy way attitude. Timmy represented the hard worker, the coachable player, the one who earned his role and celebrated with his teammates.

Thacker runs his meetings with a quick, but descriptive pace. In his linebacker meetings, he threw out questions to any linebacker about the call signs, what they mean, and what situations they should be used. Thacker placed an emphasis in asking questions to redshirt junior Chapelle Russell, who ended the 2017 season early due to injury and will miss part of spring ball. He did so to keep Russell engaged and learning the new terminologies and schemes so he would not skip a beat upon his return.

To keep things exciting and competitive in the locker room, Thacker created a point system for the defensive line, linebackers, and defensive backs to compete in practice. To incentivize the teams' goal to create turnovers or to disrupt the ball, plays like forcing and recovering a fumble, catching an interception, trying to strip the ball and forcing a pass break up have point values. The coaches will keep track and see which positions create the most havoc around the ball.

Thacker stressed a few things to the entire defensive unit as their keys to success. The team is an effort-based defense he stressed. Not a 4-3, 3-4, or any other style. Effort is the only base of defense he identifies with. The goal this year is to lead the nation in turnovers and to create as much discomfort for the quarterback. Whether through sacks or clean hits, Thacker made it clear the quarterback should be disheveled every game. Thacker is a goal-oriented coach and nothing short of elite level effort should be expected from the #DARKside.

37814 — Defensive Line coach Jim Panagos

Aaron Mannicci: It Starts with the Big Guys Up Front
As Temple football's spring practices commenced at Edberg-Olson Hall, media members were presented with an all-access pass inside the facility, with an inside look at team meetings in the "Temple of Doom," positional group meetings, and the team's first full spring practice. As if Temple's plethora of early morning, high-octane workouts over the past two months weren't a good enough start, the Owls set the tone for the spring ball season, taking the field in below-freezing temperatures as snow fell steadily throughout the morning.

Offensive Line Coach Chris Weisehan enters his fifth season with the Owls - his second consecutive coaching the offensive line - and put an immediate emphasis on leadership when addressing his group for the first time this spring in team meetings. For a group that is returning three starters and possesses highly-regarded depth across the board - four senior offensive linemen - leadership is certainly expected to be brought to the forefront this season.

As for Temple's incoming recruits and offseason walk-on additions, adjusting to the Owls' fast-paced, up-tempo nature in meetings and practices is key. "If you're hoping you know it, or you 'kinda' know it, you don't know it… that's why you have these older guys to help you and lead you."

In addition, Weisehan also shed light on Temple's "Body Blows" campaign, saying "We want to be the most physical offensive line in the country. We want to pound you. Our body blows will show up on them in the 4th quarter, and we will win ball games in the 4th quarter."

For a group that is returning three starters, finding the right pieces to complete the offensive line's first-team is among coach Weisehan's to-do list this spring. Thus, he made no buts about it when addressing his group regarding the starting roles, making it undeniably clear that the "best five guys will play," regardless of position, age, etc. In other words, there will be no shortage of competition on campus this spring. And according to offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude, it is that way by design.

"Competition breeds intensity," said Patenaude, "and intensity brings success."

37815 — Offensive Coordinator Dave Patenaude

Pat Kolb: A "LEGEND-ary" Day
Temple Football opened up spring practices on Tuesday, March 13, with an eventful day full of drills, meetings, and for the first time ever, complete access for all media. This allowed for an incredible introduction to the Temple Football program for both unfamiliar and experienced media members alike. I was able to follow the wide receiver group on their first day of practice through meetings, drills, and interviews, and experience what it was like to be a Temple Owl for a day.

Media Meeting and Introduction
My day started with an introductory meeting that included members of the media and head coach Geoff Collins. After going over rules and courtesies, Coach Collins told us how grateful he was to be able to have this opportunity to share this experience with us. He expressed how much the Temple Football program means to him and how grateful he is for all the players and coaches he gets to work with on a daily basis. The love he has for his players was stressed as well, and throughout the day you could see and feel that love extended.

Offensive Meeting
From our staff meeting we went into the Temple of Doom to find the offense, headed by offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude, waiting for our arrival. A meeting full of Temple TUFF requirements, Philadelphia football, acronyms, and "300" references, was in store for us and the players. G.R.I.T (Greatness Reached w/ Intelligence and Toughness), "Molan Lobe," which is a Greek saying meaning "come and get it," and D.W.W.D.B (Do What We Do Better) were just some of the slogans thrown at the players. Attacking the day and playing fast was stressed constantly throughout the meeting. These points are meant to embody the program, the city, and the players path to success. After all, Temple is a program based in North Philadelphia, and the road to success goes straight through Broad according to Patenaude. Lastly, coach stressed to the players how crucial their roles are to the team's success, and how even though they had a historic year on offense in 2017, there is room for improvement.

Meeting with "The Legend"
Stan Hixon, known as "The Legend," has coached football, specifically wide receivers, for 37-years and has worked with notable NFL stars like Allen Robinson and Andre Johnson. He loves his players and especially loves touchdowns. We met with coach Hixon and the wide-receivers and went over film, the practice schedule, and technique for breaking press coverage. Throughout the meeting, players were tested on signals and formation calls; none of the players called on were unfamiliar with coach Hixon's questions. Sitting in on this meeting was especially impressive because of coach Hixon's background and experience, was on display going through film and previewing practice drills. After the sound of a horn calling the players back to the Temple of Doom, we went from meeting with coach Hixon to a team meeting going over special teams and an extra special announcement.

Final Meeting
Temple has had one of the most efficient special teams group in the country for years, and after sitting in on a meeting with coach Ed Foley, I can see why. He requires maximum effort and focus, and while most teams refuse to put their best players on the field for punts and kicks, coach Foley receives contributions to the unit from all positions on the roster. Temple is a developmental program, and coach Foley stressed how players that start on special teams and consistently perform well on those units will see their reps on offense and defense increase over time. Foley brings energy and focus to his group on the field, but he also does so in meetings. Animated and loud demonstrations of proper technique were used during the meeting, and coach heard loud and clear responses of "Yes Sir" whenever the players were addressed. Simply put, Foley commanded the room. After his presentation, Collins addressed the players and had a special presentation planned for QB Frank "Juice" Nutile. After being called to the front of the room, Nutile received a single digit-jersey - number 8 - from former Owls P.J. Walker and Artrel Foster, who were the most recent players to wear that number. Collins embraced Nutile, again showing his love for his players, and asked Frank how much time he thought the players needed to get dressed and ready for practice. "Juice", which was also the name printed on the back of his new number 8 jersey, gave himself and the team nine minutes. Coach then started the timer, the players ran downstairs to the locker room, and the race was on to get on the practice field on time.

Practice
The Owls were pumped for their first spring practice, that much was known from their yelling coming onto the field. Mother Nature graced the Temple Owls with temperatures below freezing and snowfall, but that did not stop some players and coaches from wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts while running through drills on Chodoff Field. A two-hour practice filled with positional drills and offensive and defensive work was a great way for these Owls to start their day. At the conclusion of practice, players and coaches conducted interviews and again expressed their gratitude towards the media for coming to join them for their first-ever All-Access Media Day and first spring practice of 2018.

For me, this experience served as a time to get a different look at a program I thought I already knew well. A sense of focus, toughness, and respect was constantly felt throughout the building, and I thank Temple Football for this experience.

Temple University Athletics

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