Temple coach K.C. Keeler didn’t lose any starters to the transfer portal: ‘They saw the vision’

When K.C. Keeler was hired as Temple’s football coach in 2024, his goal was to make the Owls into American Conference contenders.

In his first season, Temple finished 5-7 and 3-5 in the conference. The Owls missed a bowl game for the sixth consecutive season but showed they are heading in the right direction.

Now, it’s back to the drawing board. Keeler said the first step was to get Temple’s key players from this season to remain on the roster. The Owls have lost serval starters to the transfer portal in years past, but that wasn’t the case this offseason.

Temple didn’t lose a single starter to the transfer portal and kept its core group of players to ensure some continuity heading into the 2026 season.

» READ MORE: K.C. Keeler addressed Temple’s needs in the transfer portal. First, he recruited his locker room.

“We’re probably one of the only G5 schools in the country that didn’t lose a single starter,” Keeler said. “And that was a lot of work in terms of making sure that they saw the vision moving forward and we were all comfortable with getting this thing done in the world of revenue share we now live in — you have to work through some things. But to get all of our starters to come back ... and there’s a number of our starters that were highly coveted prizes out there in the open market.”

Temple was close to making its first bowl game appearance since 2019 under coach Rod Carey. This time, the Owls were a few points away from being 7-5.

Temple lost to Navy, 32-31, after quarterback Blake Horvath ran 51 yards for a Midshipmen touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. The Owls also fell to Army, 14-13, when the Black Knights held the ball for the final nine minutes.

“We’re building something special around here,” guard Eric King said. “We were two points away from being 7-5 and being in a bowl game. So a completely different culture in the facility and throughout the organization. In order to keep building on that, you don’t want to have to bring in 60 people in the portal. You want to keep the guys who have played and who have been through the system and who understand what this new brand of football is about.”

King is one of the main players returning to Temple next season. He had no intention of leaving, either.

The Owls kept the offensive line intact. Alongside King, left tackle Giakoby Hills, who initially served as the backup to Kevin Terry, was inserted as a starter after Terry suffered a sprained knee ligament on Aug. 9. Hills never gave up the job.

After the redshirt freshman started every game this past season, Hills was on the radar of some Power Four schools. However, Hills and Temple worked out a multiyear deal in December, which made him one of the highest-paid players in the Group of 5.

» READ MORE: Report: Temple makes offensive lineman Giakoby Hills among highest-paid Group of Six players

Temple’s biggest returner, though, is tight end Peter Clarke, a native of London who finished with 483 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and earned a second-team all-conference nod in 2025. Clarke wanted to stay with the same team that gave him a chance three years ago.

“I had nothing before I came to Temple,” Clarke said. “I’m a foreign guy who a lot of schools didn’t want to take a chance on. Temple gave me hope. They promised me a dream that I could chase here, and they fulfilled every single promise.”

Clarke became an instrumental part of Temple’s retention plan, hosting recruits on visits and speaking about his journey to the team at alumni events. It has given him the chance to connect with potential teammates and higher-ups at the university.

The tight end had been a highly coveted player with Power Four programs attempting to sign him. However, Clarke rejected those offers, which came with more money, to remain an Owl.

“When a guy like [Clarke] chooses to stay, maybe another guy who could make another $5,000-$10,000 somewhere else [will stay as well],” general manager Clayton Barnes said. “When someone’s leaving thousands of dollars on the table, that really sends a message to the rest of the locker room: ‘There’s a reason why I stayed. There’s reason why you should stay.’”