Temple football kicks off their 2021 season on September 2nd against Rutgers. With this being just under a month away, the team returned to Temple this week after holding training camp at SUNY-Maritime Campus in the Bronx, New York.
Cameron Ruiz, a red-shirt Junior transfer from Northwestern, says that the camp is, “a generally good thing for the team” and says it has helped the team bond together. The cornerback also says that the defense schemes has been easy to pick up and team is full of guys who are ready to shine. Coach Road Carey also boasted about the defense saying the group has a lot of stand-outs.
In a press conference on Monday Coach Carey said that there was a lot to take away from the camp but the team is “not ready to play a game yet” and isn’t close to being where he would like them to be. Still, Carey is confident that the team has taken big steps and is improving as they head into the start of the season. According to Carey this camp was a chance for new players and transfers to get comfortable in their roles and build chemistry amongst the squads.
An area of question for the owls heading into the fall is the team’s starting quarterback outlook. Right now, Dwan Mathes, a transfer from the University of Georgia, is primed to make the start under center. Ruiz says when going against Mathes he sees “an elite talent” who is “one-of-a-kind”. Ruiz goes on to say that Mathes has been extending plays well on his feet and is excited for everyone else to see his special talents on gameday.
Mike Uremovich, the Co-Offensive Coordinator, says that despite the practice time together, he thinks the team has been playing sloppy. Especially in their scrimmage at the end of camp, where the offense started out poorly until they found a rhythm. However, Coach Uremovich is excited about the potential of utilizing Mathes’s dual threat playstyle, which resembles that of similar quarterbacks he has worked with.
With the announcement of a vaccine mandate in the city of Philadelphia, Coach Carey says that the decision for his players to get their shot is up to the individual and he will support all players equally. The timeline is shot however, as the timeline to become fully vaccinated with a two shot vaccine is 5 weeks and Temple has announced a vaccine requirement with an October 15th deadline.
Temple opens the season at Rutgers on September 2nd, a game that coach Carey says he has not addressed yet with his team. Kick off is at 6:30pm in SHI Stadium.
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