Spring Football Recap: Linebackers

Last season, nine different linebackers recorded at least 14 tackles for the Temple football team. Only one of those nine, sophomore Alex Joseph, was practicing at linebacker for the Owls this spring. Talk about a rebuilding effort! Between several emerging newcomers and promising recruits, Coach Al Golden plans on filling those gaps before the 2007 campaign gets underway.

On a defense filled with youth and inexperience, the Temple Owls weren’t so troubled at linebacker last season.

Seniors Walter Mebane and Ryan Gore were the team’s top tacklers, reliable though unspectacular. Leyon Azubuike and Brian Sanford both contributed as they split time at the rush linebacker position. True freshman Junior Galette made a positive impact from day one, and walk-on freshman John Haley was a nice addition. Pittsburgh transfer Ryan Herting provided depth.

Here’s the problem: None of those players practiced at linebacker for the Owls this spring.

Coach Al Golden started from scratch in March, hoping to mold a finished product in time for the linebackers to learn their assignments for the season-opening contest against Navy. With more than a half dozen walk-ons and transfers, and just one scholarship returnee (sophomore Alex Joseph) on the roster, the linebacking corps was definitely a work in progress during spring drills.

“The depth is shallow right now,” Golden said in reviewing that progress. “But we’ve got a couple guys coming in that should help there.”

The starting point in this offseason rebuilding effort was Golden’s decision to stick with the 4-3 alignment that the Owls employed at the tail end of the 2006 campaign – moving Azubuike, Sanford, Galette and others to defensive end. Next, Syracuse transfer Lamar McPherson moved from strong safety to linebacker.

“We’re just trying to become faster,” Golden explained. “A lot of the linebackers move to defensive end, and we become faster. The strong safety-type guys move to linebacker. And the corners move to safety. So we’re just trying to get faster.

“We weren’t a fast team and we weren’t a physical team a year ago. And that’s a bad combination. We’re a lot faster now and a lot more physical, and we know the defense better. We’re better right now than we were at any point during the year last year.”

McPherson became one of the highlight performers this spring, along with fellow Philadelphia native Omar McDonnaugh-Hales, a transfer from Lackawanna (Pa.) Junior College. Those two, along with Joseph, claimed the three starting linebacker jobs heading into the summer.

“McDonnaugh came up big for us in the spring, really had a good spring,” Golden said. “McPherson made the adjustment to outside linebacker for us. And Alex Joseph has a lot of potential and just has to learn how to play the game a little bit better.”

The Owls signed two junior college transfers in February, hoping for some immediate help from both of them. But one-time Oregon State signee Wallace Bates was slowed by injury and never stepped to the forefront. Former Middle Tennessee State signee Tommie Weatherspoon arrived on campus in May.

“Certainly Wallace today will know a lot more about the defense than he did two months ago,” Golden said in reviewing Bates’ spring performance. “And we expect him to learn even more and get more comfortable as the season approaches.”

One good thing about having so many newcomers at linebacker – none of them had to unlearn the 3-4 alignment that the Owls utilized most of last season.

The talent level will rise when true freshman Amara Kamara arrives and veteran junior Keith Holt returns to practice in August. Holt missed spring drills for failing to meet team standards. Haley did, too. Add him to the mix and the linebacking corps suddenly becomes positively deep.

“There should be a lot of competition there,” Golden said. “When you throw in Bates and Weatherspoon and Seth Amoah and (Robert) Feeley and the return of Keith Holt, I think you’re looking at a group that needs to make a lot of progress, but it’s not short of talent. It’s just short of experience and continuity. And that’s something that we’ve been missing at that linebacker spot really since I’ve been here.”

These Owls will grow together.

McDonnaugh-Hales, Weatherspoon, and walk-on sophomore Dave Chiavacci are penciled into the middle linebacker spot. McPherson and Amoah are stationed on the strong side. Joseph, Bates, and Lycoming transfer James Ritter are on the weak side.

Last season, Holt and Haley both played on the weak side. On those numbers alone, somebody figures to make a move to the strong side.

Despite the many question marks, the Owl linebackers emerged from spring drills talking confidently.

“I think we’re all just going to grow over the summer and as a corps you’re going to see the linebacking corps play really good and aggressive,” McPherson said.

Golden sounds confident, too.

“There’s a good group there,” he concluded. “It’s just inexperienced. And we’ve got to get those guys enough continuity and develop some experience and we’ll be fine. And hopefully these guys will have an impact not only on defense, but on special teams, too.”

TEMPLE OWLS POST-SPRING DEPTH CHART – LINEBACKERS

SLB
11 Lamar McPherson (5-10, 210, R-So.)
35 Seth Amoah (6-0, 222, So.)

MLB
17 Omar McDonnaugh-Hales (5-11, 225, R-So.)
53 Dave Chiavacci (6-0, 220, So.)
Tommie Weatherspoon (6-2, 235, Jr.)

WLB
38 Alex Joseph (6-2, 228, So.)
6 Wallace Bates (6-2, 230, Jr.)
26 James Ritter (6-2, 225, R-Sr.)