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He went looking for two-year players. This particularly made sense since Wallace also had to replace 13 full-time starters. Temple wound up with a class featuring 23 players from junior colleges. "We made that decision about a year ago that we would concentrate more on junior colleges," Wallace said. "Not totally. We signed five high school players, and I think five very good ones. But there's no question that [signing] 23 junior college players [is] going to bring some immediate impact into our program. Our junior class was a little bit small. It really wasn't that far off to do it anyway, but the conference [situation] had a lot to do with it." With the heavy graduation losses, many of the junior college players will have to prove they are ready for Division I-A football if the Owls plan to improve on their 4-8 record from a year ago. OFFENSIVE KEYS: Wallace convinced a pair of junior college All-Americans that playing in the Big East, and working in a spread offense, will get them all the professional exposure they need. Quarterback Walter Washington and wide receiver Phil Goodman both chose Temple over higher-profile suitors. Washington however, likely will begin the season No. 2 on the depth chart behind veteran Mike McGann."Mike McGann is our starting quarterback," Wallace says. "I think Mike is a very talented player. He played under a new system last year and we went through some growing pains." Senior Makonnen Fenton takes over for Tanardo Sharps, the school's second all-time rusher, as the Owls' featured back. Fenton played wide receiver last season because the coaching staff wanted to get him on the field. Goodman, who signed with Oregon out of high school, likely will emerge as the No. 1 receiver. But there are other options for McGann (or Washington). Zamir Cobb caught a team-high 45 passes last year and scored six touchdowns. Sean Szarka contributed 22 receptions as a true freshman. The biggest questions on offense are on the line, where the Owls have to replace four players who combined for 119 career starts. "We lost a lot of experience," Wallace said of the offensive line. "But I think we're going to be bigger than we've ever been, and more talented than we've ever been. And we have more depth than we've ever had." DEFENSIVE KEYS: The Owls lost All-American Dan Klecko, two other starters on the defensive line and four of the five starters in the secondary. As a result, Wallace will be counting on his junior college recruits to make a quick adjustment to Division I-A football."We lost a great defensive player in Klecko," Wallace says. "But I think it's important to acknowledge that we were one of eight teams who finished in the top 20 in total defense the last two years. We've had three years in the same scheme. We believe in it. Dan didn't play a down in the second half against Virginia Tech last season, and they struggled against us. I don't think we will have a drastic drop, so that we're not any good on defense." A strength could be at linebacker, where sophomore Rian Wallace was named a 2002 fourth-team Freshman All-American by one publication after making 76 tackles. Troy Bennett will start alongside Wallace in the Owls' two-man linebacking corps. SPECIAL TEAMS: Punter Garvin Ringwelski averaged 38.7 yards per kick last season. Senior Jared Davis is expected to be the new placekicker. Temple is billing the 5-foot-6, 145-pound Davis as the lightest player in Division I-A football.Fenton is a dangerous kickoff return man who ranked second in the Big East with a 27.1-yard average. FINAL ANALYSIS: Temple, the longtime Big East doormats, have ceded that role to Rutgers in recent years. To stay ahead of the Scarlet Knights, and anybody else, Temple will have to get immediate help from the junior college players brought in on both sides of the ball. Wallace is right when he talks about how Klecko wasn't a one-man defensive show last season. But most of the other key players also are gone from Temple's attack-oriented defense. That means the Owls' offense has to be more efficient, and the team must fill some big holes on the offensive line. McGann will get his chance to make the spread offense work. But Washington didn't sign with Temple to sit on the bench and wait for McGann to graduate.• Click here for complete index of 2003 team previews
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