ODJ: Spring Football Journal

There isn’t a quarterback race. The top wide receivers are back from last season. The battle for the running back job will obviously carry over to preseason camp. And Coach Al Golden proved last year that he’s committed to playing two full waves of defenders.

So what exactly are we supposed to be looking for as the Temple football team goes through spring practice?

For the Owls, the task is simple: Get better.

Given the results of the 2007 campaign – Temple’s best in five years – and the expectations for next season (to fight for a bowl bid), it’s probably a good thing that the players won’t be “distracted” by the race to reach the top of the depth chart.

Among other things, Golden has also proven through his first two years at Temple that the depth chart following spring practice often bares little resemblance to the team’s week one lineup. While Golden stresses the four phases that go into preparing for each season – winter workouts, spring practice, summer conditioning, and preseason camp – even he would have to admit that the last phase matters most.

And, in many ways, spring practice matters least.

While winter workouts and summer conditioning are all about individual dedication (an invaluable asset), and preseason practice is all about getting ready to play, spring practice offers a chance for experimentation, and the focus is on learning.

Think about it: When are mistakes most tolerable? Spring practice. How many players are lining up at new or multiple positions this spring? Many. How many new schemes will the coaching staff noodle with this spring, only to see them land on the scrap heap when they review the practice tapes at the end of April? More than you think.

Against that backdrop, it’s ironic that Golden has decided to release an updated depth chart after each practice session this spring. I guess it never hurts to leave that carrot dangling out there for those wascally wabbits.

But do we need to pay attention to the day-to-day changes on the two-deep?

In a few instances, it’s worthwhile.

If you accept the hypothesis that spring practice is all about getting better, then it’s a scientific fact that everything starts with the running game. Golden stated before camp that he intended to run the ball 70 percent of the time this spring. And, no, he wasn’t including quarterback scrambles in that calculation.

Even at their best last season, the Owls were inconsistent and fumble-prone when they ran the ball. At their worst, they were terrible.

Yet it’s not the battle for the top tailback job that deserves the most attention this spring. It’s the abacus-like shifting of the offensive line.

Several times, Golden has pointed to senior center Alex Derenthal as the only sure thing on the offensive front. That has to change before the final whistle at the Cherry and White Game on April 19. Even if the alignment and positional assignments are unclear, the team needs to start the summer with two or three sure things.

What about the tailback job? With speedy sophomore Daryl Robinson now stationed at cornerback, the Owls are learning this spring whether newly-arrived rookies James Nixon and Jared Williams can handle the job. Redshirt freshman Joe Jones is set to return from his Achilles injury this summer, while this year’s new recruits look to avoid the non-arrival “curse” that plagued nearly every running back who signed with Temple in 2007.

However, all things considered, it’s hard to imagine anybody but veteran junior Jason Harper taking the first handoff against Army this fall – as long as he’s addressed the fumbling issue that caused so much damage last season (particularly against Army).

So you were hoping to watch a dramatic depth chart battle on Cherry and White Day?

Take a look at Jeff Wathne and Jake Brownell as they vie for placekicking and punting duties.

Though he never lost the kicking job last year, Brownell never seemed like a sure thing. Wathne, meanwhile, should be better after a strong start and a little bit of a peetering finish to his true freshman campaign. You never want your punter to peeter.

More important is the long snapper position, which was also a bit of an adventure last season. The same candidates are back, and hopefully better. If you recall, long snapping was an eyesore in last year’s Cherry and White Game. As with every other position, they have to get better.

Next, we’ll take a snapshot of every position this spring, focusing not so much on the depth chart as much as where and how the Owls have to get better.

After all, that’s what spring practice is all about.