Temple football is in a weird spot. Honestly, if you follow the Owls, you know the vibe around 10th and Diamond has shifted from the "Temple Tuff" glory days of Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins to a grind-it-out rebuilding phase that feels, well, difficult. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program, but Temple University football recruiting faces a set of challenges that most Power Four schools couldn't even imagine. It’s not just about finding fast kids anymore; it’s about navigating the chaos of the Transfer Portal while trying to keep local kids from fleeing to the Big Ten.
Stan Drayton stepped into a situation that was, frankly, a mess. After the Rod Carey era left the roster looking a bit thin, Drayton—a guy with a serious pedigree from Texas and Ohio State—had to figure out how to sell North Philly to recruits who were increasingly being lured by NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals at bigger programs.
The "Local" Problem in Temple University Football Recruiting
You’d think being the only FBS show in a city as talent-rich as Philadelphia would be a massive advantage. It’s not that simple. Every Friday night, scouts from Penn State, Rutgers, and even West Virginia are draped over the fences at schools like St. Joseph’s Prep, Imhotep Charter, and Northeast High.
The reality? The best kids in Philly often leave.
When a four-star linebacker from the Public League gets an offer from Georgia or Ohio State, Temple is usually the first one off the list. It’s brutal. To combat this, Drayton and his staff have leaned heavily into the "city" identity. They aren't trying to out-spend the SEC; they’re trying to find the kids who have a chip on their shoulder. They want the guys who feel overlooked.
Take a look at the 2024 and 2025 cycles. You see a lot of three-star talent from the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) and Jersey. Why? Because these are regions where Temple has historical ties and where the competition, while stiff, isn't always a locked door. The coaching staff has been grinding in the "215" area code, but they’ve also realized they have to be "regional" recruiters to survive in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).
The Transfer Portal vs. High School Development
College football changed forever about three years ago. Now, Temple University football recruiting is basically a two-front war. You have the high school kids you want to develop over four years, and then you have the immediate-impact guys coming out of the portal.
High school recruiting is a gamble. You're betting on a 17-year-old’s growth spurt. The portal? That’s where you find a 22-year-old defensive tackle who’s played 30 games of college ball but wants more playing time or a fresh start.
Drayton has been vocal about wanting to build through high schoolers. He wants to establish a culture. But look at the roster. When you lose key playmakers to graduation or, increasingly, to bigger schools via the portal, you have to plug holes fast. Temple has become a destination for "bounce-back" players—guys who went to a Power Five school, sat on the bench for two years, and now want to prove they can play. This creates a weird roster dynamic where you have a mix of "Philly-tough" freshmen and "journeyman" seniors.
How NIL Changes the Math
Let’s be real for a second. Money talks. While Temple doesn't have the $10 million collectives that a school like Oregon or Texas boasts, the TUFF Collective has been trying to keep the program competitive. For a recruit looking at Temple, NIL isn't usually the reason they come to North Philly, but it’s often the reason they stay.
If a wide receiver has a breakout freshman year at Temple, he’s going to get calls. Tampering is rampant in college football. Other schools will offer six-figure deals to get that kid to transfer. Temple’s recruiting pitch has to be about more than just the NFL—it has to be about the degree, the city, and the immediate playing time that a bigger school might not guarantee.
The Strategy: Finding the "Diamonds"
Temple has always survived on "Evaluation." That's the buzzword scouts use when a team finds a kid no one else wanted who turns into a star. Think Haason Reddick. He was a walk-on. He ended up as a first-round NFL pick.
The current recruiting staff is looking for those specific traits:
- Position Versatility: Can this safety play linebacker?
- Track Speed: They love kids with verified 100m dash times.
- The "Grind" Factor: Does the kid come from a program that wins?
They’ve also doubled down on international recruiting. It’s a niche, but it works. We’ve seen a pipeline of punters and even some linemen coming from overseas or through programs like PPI Greatness. If you can’t win the bidding war for a kid from Florida, you go find a 6'7" monster from Germany who’s only been playing football for two years but has an NFL frame.
The Facilities Race and the Stadium Question
You can’t talk about Temple University football recruiting without mentioning the stadium. Every recruit asks about it. Currently, Temple plays at Lincoln Financial Field. "The Linc" is a world-class NFL stadium. On one hand, coaches tell recruits, "You get to play where the Eagles play." That’s a huge selling point.
On the other hand, it’s off-campus.
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When a kid visits a school like Cincinnati or UCF, the stadium is right there. The student body is buzzing. At Temple, the "game day experience" is a bit disconnected. While the talk of an on-campus stadium has cooled down significantly due to political and neighborhood pushback, the university has invested in the Edberg-Olson Hall complex. They’ve upgraded the weight rooms and the nutrition centers because, honestly, if your facilities look like they’re stuck in 2005, you aren’t signing four-star talent.
What Recent Classes Tell Us
If you look at the 2024 class, there was a clear emphasis on the lines. You can't win in the AAC if you're getting bullied upfront. Drayton, being a former running backs coach, knows that his offense is dead in the water without a mean offensive line. They’ve brought in several big-bodied guys from the JUCO (Junior College) ranks to provide immediate depth.
JUCO recruiting is a bit of a lost art for some, but for Temple, it's a lifeline. It's a way to get "older" without the high price tag of the Transfer Portal's top tier.
Recruiting the DMV
The Maryland and Virginia corridor has been huge for Temple. Schools like DeMatha or St. John’s produce more talent than they can keep in-state. Temple has positioned itself as the "next best option" for those kids who don't want to go too far from home but want a different environment than College Park or Charlottesville.
What Most People Get Wrong About Temple's Rankings
Fans love to obsess over recruiting rankings. They see Temple ranked 80th or 90th nationally and they panic. Here’s the truth: those rankings are heavily skewed by "star" averages. A school that signs ten 4-star players will always rank higher than a school that signs twenty-five 3-star players.
For a program like Temple, the number of players who actually contribute is more important than the stars next to their names. The Owls need "culture fits." They need guys who won't quit when it's 20 degrees at a Tuesday night "MACtion" style game in November.
The Coaching Factor
Recruiting is about relationships. When Stan Drayton hired his staff, he looked for guys with deep ties to the Northeast. Everett Withers, for example, brought a ton of veteran experience. When a coach can walk into a high school in North Jersey and the head coach knows him by his first name, the recruiting process is 50% done.
But it’s a revolving door. If a Temple assistant coach is too good at recruiting, a Power Five school will poach them with a bigger paycheck. This constant churn makes it hard to maintain long-term relationships with high school sophomores and juniors.
Actionable Insights for Following the Owls
If you want to actually track how the program is doing, don't just look at the commitment list in December. The landscape is too fluid for that.
- Monitor the "Second Wave": Watch the portal in the spring. This is when Temple usually picks up the "disappointed" Power Five players who realized they weren't going to start. These are often the most impactful recruits.
- Look at the Trenches: If Temple isn't signing at least 4-5 offensive and defensive linemen with "size" (6'4"+, 290lb+), the season will be a struggle. Skill players are easy to find; big men are rare.
- The "Homegrown" Count: Check how many kids from the Philadelphia Public and Catholic Leagues are on the roster. If that number drops too low, the program loses its "Temple Tuff" identity, which hurts both ticket sales and locker room morale.
- Evaluate the "Group of Five" Competition: Temple isn't competing with Penn State. They are competing with East Carolina, Charlotte, and South Florida. If they are losing recruits to those specific schools, it's a red flag.
The future of Temple University football recruiting depends on stability. If the coaching staff can stay together for more than two years and the NIL collective can provide a modest "living wage" for the starters, the Owls have a path back to bowl eligibility. It's not about being the biggest school in the country; it's about being the toughest school in the city. The blueprint is there, but in the modern era of college football, the margin for error has never been thinner.