Temple University Athletics
2026 Spring Practice Blog
3.17.26 | Football
PHILADELPHIA – Head coach K.C. Keeler enters his second year at the helm on 10th & Diamond, as Temple Football kicks off its first spring practice period on Tuesday, March 10. Keeler and the revamped roster will practice three times a week over the next month on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This all culminates with the annual Cherry & White Spring Game on Saturday, April 11 at Edberg-Olson Hall.
This blog will serve as an up-to-date tracker of each spring practice that includes top plays and highlights from the day along with access to media availability video links with coaches and student-athletes.
Tuesday, March 10
The opening day of spring practice was met with perfect weather in the mid 70s with not a cloud in sight. The weather brightened up in Philadelphia, and so did everyone's mood now that Temple football is officially back. The first of the Owls' 15 practices featured 21 periods of fundamentals, details, and high energy. Keeler and his staff have been together for a full year at this point and are firing on all cylinders; ensuring technique and detail is at the forefront of everything the team does. 108 guys are at 10th & Diamond for these spring practice sessions with 43 of them being new to the team.
Offensive Highlights
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The offense headed by a room of new faces for the quarterbacks came out and drilled the basics, but sometimes those plays turn into head-turners.
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Penn State transfer Jaxon Smolik hit the field for the first time as an Owl and delivered precise and decisive balls to his receivers. Early in seven-on-seven drills, the redshirt-sophomore hit fellow newcomer Jayce Freeman on a perfectly timed out-route. Freeman got great separation and Smolik hit the Stony Brook transfer right out of his break.
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Returning wide receiver Jojo Bermudez did not lose a step from last season and he proved that in today's opening practice. The redshirt senior hauled in a five yard pass from quarterback Ajani Sheppard and then turned on the jets. Bermudez took a five-yard grab and turned it into a 45-yard catch and run.
Defensive Highlights
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The play of the day happened rather early in the day by the defense. Returning linebacker Eric Stuart collected the first turnover of the spring and turned it into six points. The graduate student read the quarterback's eyes and jumped the crossing route and eventually found pay dirt.
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Redshirt-sophomore Denzel Chavis almost secured the second turnover of the day, but came up just short. The cornerback had lockdown coverage over the middle of the field and forced a pass breakup that was nearly an interception.
Thursday's media availability will include offensive coordinator Tyler Walker. The video recording of his availability will be posted to owlsports.com by the end of the day.
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Thursday, March 12
Day two of 2026 spring practice was met with polar opposite weather to Tuesday. The conditions were wet, cold, rainy, and yes, even some snow fell upon Edberg-Olson Field. The Owls braved the elements and embraced another opportunity to get out on the field and get better. "They're all eager. They're all here. They all got here in different ways. They have different things to prove, but they're all competitors," said Temple offensive coordinator Tyler Walker. Walker spoke to the media post-practice and continued to emphasize the fight and competitiveness of the guys on offense, and the team as a whole.
Offensive Highlights
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Jaxon Smolik and his wide outs are continuing to gain trust and chemistry with each other each and every rep. Early on in seven-on-sevens, Smolik and Reis Stocksdale didn't let the elements effect their efficiency. Stocksdale made his way across the field and found himself alone behind the defense, and Smolik hit him in stride for a 40-yard gain.
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Not long after, freshman Camren Boykin showed off his arm talent to standout tight end Peter Clarke. The senior from London, England, proved, yet again, why is one of the most revered tight ends in the NCAA, and its only day two of practice. He collected a ball a bit out of his reach towards the boundary, bobbled it, and then tip-toed up the sideline for a sizeable gain.
Defensive Highlights
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Another day, another pick-six for the defense during seven-on-sevens. The credit today, goes to redshirt freshman Jett White. White jumped a crossing route by the receiver and burst through the contact while pulling in the ball before he ran it in for six.
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Giving some love to the guys up front, returning defensive lineman Cameron Jones was a standout in practice today. His ability to use his speed and twitch to get past the offensive line showed up as he was able to force the quarterback off his mark, to the sideline, and force an incompletion from the pressure he dialed up.
Saturday's media availability will include defensive coordinator Brian L. Smith. The video recording of his availability will be posted to owlsports.com by the end of the day.
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Saturday, March 14
The third installment of the spring featured a high energy practice under clear skies with some gusty wind. The Owls were in pads for the first time this week, and head coach K.C. Keeler brought referees to today's practice to ensure the team played disciplined ball early in the spring season. Defensive Coordinator Brian L. Smith spoke to the media following today's practice and discussed his outlook of his newly tooled defensive personnel. "Getting guys here that are high character is something that we were looking for to be able to add to our culture that we've already established in year one," said Smith.
Offensive Highlights
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Transfer quarterback Jaxon Smolik continues to show off his arm talent through the third practice of the spring. He and redshirt freshman running back De'Carlos Young specifically have developed a repore early in spring camp. In an early team period, Smolik threw a perfect touch ball to a well-covered Young along the sideline that wowed the crowd of people watching practice. Young hauled in the pass with ease, as Smolik placed it right where it needed to be.
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Wide receiver Jayce Freeman has continued to show range in his catch radius throughout the week. Today, he had a Randy Moss-like grab over a defender along the sideline. The ball was thrown by quarterback Ajani Sheppard in a spot where only Freeman could make a play, and he did just that. He pulled in the ball over his defender and tapped his toes in for an impressive throw and catch.
Defensive Highlights
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Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Troy Cunningham has flashed in spring camp thus far. The Pennsylvania native has shown the ability to use his speed and strength to affect the quarterback and running back in the backfield. In today's practice, Cunningham shed a block with great hand movement to burst into the backfield and stop a handoff rather quickly.
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Returning redshirt senior safety Avery Powell picked off where he left off last season. He has continued to show his one-on-one coverage skills this week, and today was no different. He had sticky coverage on his defender in a team period today and used his hands perfectly to break up a pass. Powell put his hands at the point of the catch and ripped the ball out for an incomplete pass.
Next Tuesday's media availability will include head coach K.C. Keeler along with quarterbacks Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard. The video recordings will be posted to owlsports.com by the end of the day.
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Tuesday, March 17
Week two of spring ball was under the windy conditions of North Philadelphia. The gusts were big, but so was the energy at 10th and Diamond. The Owls hit the field looking to build upon the first week of practice, but head coach K.C. Keeler already likes what he's seeing out of his team. "I thought we had a really good day's work. The kids are working really hard, you never have to call them out on their energy level or their focus. It's been a pretty good first four days," said Keeler. Both Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard spoke to the media after today's practice and the duo has certainly turn the head coach's head their way. Keeler had this to say about his new signal callers, "They're just impressive kids. They're really competing. They feed off of each other and have developed a relationship in this competition. Any type of competition will make the team better, and we have two guys who are doing a really good job competing."
Offensive Highlights
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Today's offensive highlights are focused around the running backs and the offensive line. The running back room has some returning faces like Hunter Smith and Keveun Mason, but new guys like Sam Brown V have really stood out.
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Brown had a handful of plays today that got attention. The biggest one was during 11-on-11s where the 6-1,215-pound back took the hand off and squeezed himself through a tight hole on the offensive line. It's a good thing he found that hole, because there was no one behind it to stop him and the redshirt junior took the ball 45-yards for the score.
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Smith and Mason each had their moments on the day too in part thanks to the big guys up front like returning linemen Eric King and Giakoby Hills.
Defensive Highlights
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A few returning players to the defensive made waves in today's practice. In 11-on-11s linebacker Reggie Jones earned a big sack to stall any momentum the offense had on their side of the ball. The redshirt junior saw the play break down and the quarterback roll out of the pocket in hopes to escape, but Jones tracked him down with his speed and wrapped him up for the sack.
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Linebacker Willy Love had two massive plays today in which he got into the backfield to disrupt the quarterback almost in a blink. In a third down situation, Love blitzed up the middle of the line and got to the quarterback untouched and forced an incomplete pass. Not that long after, he did the same thing, but made the play on a handoff in the backfield.
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Cornerback Jett White got in on the fun and returned a 25-yard scoop-and-score towards the end of the day.
Thursday's media availability will include tight end's coach Chris Zarkoskie along with tight ends Peter Clarke and Ryder Kusch. The video recordings will be posted to owlsports.com by the end of the day.
| Date | Media Availability |
| 3/10/26 | K.C. Keeler - Presser |
| 3/12/26 | Tyler Walker - Presser |
| 3/14/26 | Brian L. Smith - Presser |
| 3/17/26 | K.C. Keeler, Jaxon Smolik, Ajani Sheppard - Pressers |
| 3/19/26 | Chris Zarkoskie, Peter Clarke, Ryder Kusch |
| 3/21/26 | |
| 3/24/26 | |
| 2/26/26 | |
| 3/28/26 | |
| 3/31/26 | |
| 4/2/26 | |
| 4/4/26 | |
| 4/7/26 | |
| 4/9/26 | |
| 4/1/26 |
