As Ajani Sheppard settles in as Temple’s starting QB, he’s adding some extra steps to his routine
Meanwhile injured quarterback Jaxon Smolik is making his way back from a foot injury.
Ajani Sheppard added something new to his routine after taking over as Temple’s starting quarterback.
Each week, he mentally walks himself through the Owls’ game plan, visualizing the defense and making sure he knows where to go with the football.
“I’ll go through the game for about an hour and just walk through each play, each call, and make sure I’m right every single time,” Sheppard said Monday.
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The extra preparation is part of Sheppard’s adjustment to a role he spent years waiting for. After two seasons at Rutgers and one at Washington State, the redshirt junior has started Temple’s last two games in place of the injured Jaxon Smolik.
Sheppard helped Temple snap a three-game losing streak Saturday with a 17-13 win over previously unbeaten South Florida. He threw for 92 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-14 passing and rushed for 87 yards on 14 carries, including the go-ahead 34-yard score with 3 minutes, 8 seconds remaining.
“Personally, I would say my eyes,” Sheppard said of his biggest improvement. “I feel like my eyes have gotten better from Game 1 to now.”
Moving on from the mistake
Before Sheppard scored the winning touchdown, he fumbled near the goal line late in the third quarter.
“Part of you wants to hang onto it and think, ‘Damn, I can’t make that mistake,’” Sheppard said. “But my teammates are looking at me and trying to make sure I’m good. … I’ve got a job to do. I just have to move on to the next play.”
His teammates helped him do that.
“If I remember correctly, literally everybody on the team came up to me and was like, ‘We got you. You’re going to be all right,’” Sheppard said.
Temple coach K.C. Keeler noticed the response, too. Sheppard later led Temple on the game-winning 96-yard touchdown drive, finishing it himself with the 34-yard run.
“Those are moments you have to live through to grow from,” Keeler said. “He lived through that moment, and I think he grew from that moment.”
Smolik nearing full strength
Sheppard’s emergence has come while Smolik works back from the foot injury he suffered against Toledo on Sept. 19.
Smolik dressed against South Florida, but Keeler said Temple considered him an emergency option. Keeler said Smolik is about 98% when moving straight ahead, and rolling out remains the larger concern.
“He looked pretty good today,” Keeler said. “I thought he moved around really well.”
Keeler said he has not decided whether Smolik could be used in a situational package. For now, Temple is waiting until he is completely healthy.
“I don’t know that he necessarily becomes a package guy,” Keeler said. “I think we’re just waiting until we can say, ‘He’s 100%.’”
Keeler added that the competition has not hurt the relationship between the quarterbacks.
“They battle against each other, and I think they’ve made each other better,” he said.
Another challenge ahead
Sheppard still sees plenty to improve as Temple prepares to host Connecticut.
He pointed to tight end Peter Clarke, who caught one pass for 23 yards against South Florida. He said he missed an opportunity to find Clarke while scrambling in the red zone.
“I definitely put that on me,” Sheppard said. “I have to do a better job of getting him the ball.”
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Sheppard said the same applies to JoJo Bermudez, whom Temple has moved around the formation to create touches. Bermudez had three catches for 18 yards on Saturday.
“My biggest thing throughout this week and the next couple of weeks is just getting those guys the football,” Sheppard said. “I have to find a way.”
“I just have to continue getting these experiences,” he added. “It’s only going to get better and better.”
