For Cherry and White Game observers, it was easy to pick the winner between Owls quarterback candidates Adam DiMichele and Vaughn Charlton.On eight possessions, DiMichele’s team managed one sustained drive into scoring territory. The 6-1, 188-pound junior totaled 91 yards passing with an interception. And it wasn’t DiMichele, but wide receiver Bruce Francis who threw the best pass for the Cherry squad – a 70-yard TD hookup with fellow wideout Dy’Onne Crudup.
Charlton had no such problems, completing 19 of 30 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown. He directed four impressive drives, including the game-winning two-minute drill. You want poise? Charlton was 8 of 10 for 145 yards on third down pass attempts.
“I thought Vaughn did very well,” DiMichele said after the game. “Every time I’d see 3rd-and-long, I was like, ‘All right, we’re going to get the ball back.’ And he would complete a pass. And I was like, ‘God!’
“But it was good to see him do well. I’m 100 percent behind Vaughn. I’m sure he is the same with me. He did very well.”
While Charlton finished strong, it wasn’t enough to displace DiMichele, who started eight games and took about three-quarters of the snaps last season. DiMichele fared better in the team’s two earlier spring scrimmages.
“The first two were a little rough for me as far as trying to get the offense, trying to get comfortable,” Charlton said. “But this one I felt like I was the most comfortable I’ve been on the field with my team. And it showed.”
So, once again, the signal callers are fit to be tied.
“Adam and Vaughn, they’re pretty much even right now,” Francis observed. “In practice, in one period Adam will go ones and Vaughn will go twos, the next period Vaughn will go ones and Adam will go twos. There’s no favoritism.”
Coach Al Golden was hesitant to put one ahead of the other last season -- even on paper -- though Charlton looked every bit the nervous true freshman at times. Now the two are performing at an even level.
“I think they both showed that they’re winners,” Golden said after the spring finale. “They both have made really big league throws. And you start throwing 20-yard slants and making plays like that, and throwing the outs the way they did, that means you’ve got a good arm. And both those guys have good arms.”
Charlton added more bulk to his 6-4 frame this winter. Maybe that’s why he looked so strong in the pocket on those third down passes in the Cherry and White Game.
“When I got here (last summer) I was about 200 pounds,” Charlton said. “Last season in the fall I was about 215. I’m about 228, 230 right now. So I gained about 15 pounds in the offseason, which has really helped my strength.”
A little maturity and poise never hurt a quarterback, either.
“I feel a lot more comfortable than I did in the fall,” Charlton continued. “I think that’s due to more knowledge of the game, more knowledge of the playbook, having confidence in myself and everyone else around me.”
Ironically, for Charlton, the same thing happened at spring practice that happened last season. Just when it appeared that DiMichele might claim the top spot for himself, Charlton came up huge at the last possible minute.
His best game -- by far -- last season was the finale at Navy. When DiMichele faltered, Charlton came in and completed 11 of 14 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s a competitor,” Golden said after Charlton guided the White team to victory last Saturday. “That was kind of reminiscent of what he did for Navy. He’s poised. He’s a lot more poised now than he was a year ago. And he had some poise a year ago. So I think he’s got his feet wet now and he’s ready to compete.
“And obviously he can conduct a game, just watching him in the huddle looking into those guys’ eyes and getting them moving and running the two-minute drill. So I think it was a good effort by him.”
But that doesn’t mean you can count out DiMichele, perhaps the best all-around athlete on the Temple campus. Behind a makeshift offensive line, the three-sport prep star completed 61 percent of his passes and threw for 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.
“We’ve both been competing, and that’s something that Coach (Golden) stresses, competition is going to be for every spot,” DiMichele said. “And I thought [Charlton] did well today in the first half. I really didn’t do too well. But in the second half I thought I came out and did a little better.”
In a sense, it was odd that DiMichele performed better in the earlier scrimmages and Charlton outplayed him in the Cherry and White Game.
“We would sort of run a little more plays during practice (scrimmages),” DiMichele explained. “They sort of had plays scripted. This was all unscripted.”
DiMichele is clearly the better runner. He figured to do better in an unscripted setting. But that’s not how things happened.
“I’m not sure where we stand right now, to be honest with you,” DiMichele said. “I don’t think Coach is going to announce anything anytime soon. We’ll probably go through the summer program the same way, with Colin (Clancy) behind us and then Chester Stewart coming in and the two other guys (walk-ons Rob Beckey and Andrew Case).”
Golden confirmed that scenario.
“It would be nice and convenient for everybody to sit down on April 21st and say, ‘This guy is the starter, and we’re moving forward,’” the coach said. “But you know what? We need 29 more practices to figure it out. We’re not going to figure it out.
“These guys are competing. They’re both leaders. They both do well in the classroom. And obviously we’re excited to have those two and we’re going to have to set a date in summer camp when we decide what we’re going to do there.”