Temple opens up quarterback competition
DURING A FOURTH straight loss of 24 points or more, this time a 34-10 drubbing at the hands of Cincinnati, Temple quarterback Chris Coyer was benched at halftime for Clinton "Juice" Granger.
DURING A FOURTH straight loss of 24 points or more, this time a 34-10 drubbing at the hands of Cincinnati, Temple quarterback Chris Coyer was benched at halftime for Clinton "Juice" Granger.
Temple coach Steve Addazio, who said he has been looking at the "body of work" when it comes to picking his starting quarterback, will now have a three-man race in practice this week among Coyer, Granger and Kevin Newsome to see who takes the first offensive snap against Army on Saturday.
Before being pulled, Coyer was 5-for-16 for 56 yards and an interception, with 34 yards rushing on six carries. Granger was 7-for-16 for 86 yards and a touchdown, with 4 yards rushing on two carries.
"What we're doing right now is that we're going to have a really great, spirited, competitive week, evaluate it day by day and rotate who's taking first reps, who's taking second reps and let these guys compete a little bit," Addazio said Monday during the weekly Big East teleconference.
"The object is to give the opportunity to the guy who gives us the best chance in this game, and that's what we're doing. We feel like we need a little spark and I always think competition is especially good for those kinds of things. At the end of the week, I'll look at the whole picture, the body of work, the last game, this week's practice and however we decide to go, the other guys would be right there, and I just made a commitment to that kind of concept. So I'm going to let that thing fight out a little bit. I think that it brings the best out in everybody."
It has been a tough year for Coyer, who was benched in favor of Granger midgame for the second consecutive week. Coyer has seen his playing time diminish more and more this season during out-of-reach games.
Addazio compares this season's supporting cast to last year's as a possible reason for Coyer's regression.
"I don't want to speak for somebody, [but] I'd say he's probably a little frustrated at times," Addazio said. "I try to look at everything through the eyes of the players and that guy works really hard, he's really well-prepared and he works really hard, he's a great guy with a great attitude. He's done some really terrific things and his play has been a little inconsistent, but sometimes that's a byproduct of what's going on around you.
"Part of that is that he has a different supporting cast around him right now. We graduated four out of five offensive linemen and we had a tight end drafted by the Chicago Bears [Evan Rodriguez], a receiver that's starting for the Oakland Raiders [Rod Streater] and a running back that was drafted in the third round by the Baltimore Ravens [Bernard Pierce].
"What happens is that we have to reload this team and Chris is in a situation where he can't be just a piece, he's now in a position where he has to help us make those extraordinary plays to help you get over the top with a young team."
Syracuse kickoff
Temple will play its final home game of the season against Syracuse at the Linc on Friday, Nov. 23 at 11 a.m. The Owls' seniors will be honored before the game, which will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Giving Owls
Temple's players will be delivering canned goods and turkey dinners to two homeless shelters on Thursday. Deliveries will be made to the Bethesda Project (722 North Broad St.) and to St. John's Hospice (1221 Race St.).
