Stroud Commits To Temple

Temple picked up another big verbal commitment on Sunday. Brooklyn native Keith Stroud, a highly-rated wide receiver now attending Fork Union Military Academy, pledged to sign with the Owls. Among the five wideouts that Coach Al Golden has recruited this year, Stroud just might be the best.

Stroud visited North Broad Street on the weekend of the Temple-Penn State game. A week later, he took an official visit to Mississippi. He had interest from a bunch of BCS schools. But nothing was certain because he’s still awaiting word on whether he’ll be academically cleared to play next season.

When Mississippi fired head coach Ed Orgeron on Saturday, Stroud’s decision was made.

A former teammate of Owls freshman Jaiquawn Jarrett at Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton High School, Stroud found a comfort level at Temple, which he ultimately picked over the discomfort of extending the recruiting process.

“It was nice,” Stroud said of his official visit. “I have a bunch of friends down there. They are pretty nice people. I would say their team is going to come up because they play so many of their freshmen. They are not far away.”

Stroud (6-3, 190) caught 36 passes for 680 yards and seven touchdowns at Fork Union this fall. He and fellow Temple recruit Jeffrey Howie helped Fork Union to a 9-2 record.

If he’s cleared academically, Stroud could join the Owls in January. He’s the 23rd player to commit to Temple this recruiting season. Conceivably, the Owls could recruit 8 to 10 more players, assuming a few of them won’t qualify to play in 2008 and a few more could be asked to delay their full-time enrollment until January 2009 (known as grayshirting).