The road to National Signing Day is often a long, winding one that sees college coaches often travel hundreds of miles to the living rooms of recruits in an attempt to sway the player to their school.
But after the most successful season in program history, Temple head coach Matt Rhule didn’t have to do much swaying. And he was able to do something he’s wanted to for a long time — create a distinctive recruiting footprint in Philadelphia and its western suburbs.
Eight members of the Owls’ 2016 recruiting class hail from Philadelphia or the city’s western ‘burbs. Three others hail from South Jersey, an area that has been rich in Temple talent over the past several years.
But getting the local Pennsylvania kids to sign their letters of intent on Wednesday is something Rhule is very proud of.
“We made strong inroads into Pennsylvania,” Rhule said Wednesday afternoon. “We’ve always been a really strong Jersey recruiting outfit. But this year is probably the strongest we’ve done in Philadelphia and suburban Philadelphia out into Pennsylvania.”
One of the headliners of that group is Philadelphia native and Prep Charter four-star defensive lineman Karamo Dioubate, who chose Temple over the likes of South Carolina, Alabama and Penn State.
Rhule was unavailable for comment when Dioubate announced his decision on Wednesday evening.
The other headliner is Doylestown native and Archbishop Wood High School quarterback Anthony Russo.
The three-star recruit originally committed to Rutgers but decommitted shortly after Scarlet Knights head coach Kyle Flood was fired and Chris Ash was hired.
Rhule admitted Temple has long had interest in the 6-foot-4, 220-pound signal-caller, who earned last season’s Philadelphia Catholic League MVP award by tossing a league-record 35 touchdown passes.
“He’s tremendously accurate and he’s got a great arm,” Rhule said. “He’s a big kid. But the biggest thing I like about him is that he’s a competitor. He’s played with an elite football program. I like being around him. At the end of the day, in the organizational structure, it’s probably something like head coach then quarterback. You want to have a guy you can really relate to. It was clear with Anthony that he’s like-minded. He sees things the way I do.
“I think he and his family had to get comfortable with, 'Is this a great fit?’ I think as they got down here and met us and saw the people here and saw the plan here — that’s the biggest difference. It’s not just about who we are. It’s about the plan we have.”
Other local Temple recruits in this year’s class include:
• DL Dan Archibong — Springfield (Delaware County), Pennsylvania /Springfield High School
• LB Shaun Bradlery — Mount Holly, New Jersey/Rancocas Valley High School
• DB Kimere Brown — Penns Grove, New Jersey/Penns Grove High School
• OL Darien Bryant — Philadelphia/Chestnut Hill Academy
• DB Isaiah Graham-Mobley — King of Prussia, Pennsylvania/Upper Merion High School
• ATH Branden Mack — Wyncote, Pennsylvania/Cheltenham High School
• RB Tyliek Raynor — Philadelphia/Imhotep Charter
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• DB Benny Walls — Cinnaminson, New Jersey/St. Joe’s Prep
• FB Taiyir Wilson — Schwenksville, Pennsylvania/Perkiomen Valley
What’s the key to keeping the local kids home and bringing them to North Broad Street?
Rhule said it’s as simple as telling them the truth.
“Each kid is different,” he said. “Some kids shouldn’t come here. Some kids should go somewhere else and some kids should be here. The key for us is figuring out who will thrive here.
“A lot of times when you recruit a local kid, he doesn’t want to stay home. He wants to go off to college. He gets worried about his mom knocking on the door and they want to get away from home and spread their wings. But, at the end of the day, college football is a year-round deal. Our kids are here 12 months a year. You have a chance here at Temple to go home and see your family. We tell them that.”
Rhule admitted this year’s recruiting season in the northeastern U.S. was a “mess” because of coaching changes at schools like Rutgers, Maryland and Syracuse, and that the last two weeks in particular have been a “grind” as schools tried to flip recruits.
But that’s all over until next year and Rhule is pleased with the haul he and his staff put together this year.
Maybe now he can get a normal night’s sleep again.
The rest of Temple’s 2016 recruiting class:
• DB Keyvon Burton – Norfolk, Virginia
• DB Linwood Crump – South Amboy, New Jersey
• ATH Sam Franklin – Crystal River, Florida
• DB Kareem Gaulden — Jersey City, New Jersey
• OL Matt Hennessy — Bardonia, New York
• WR Freddie Johnson — North Ft. Myers, Florida
• WR Randle Jones — Miami Beach, Florida
• LB William Kwenkeu — Waldorf, Maryland
• TE Steve Petrick — North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
• DL Quincy Roche — Randallstown, Maryland
• DL Chris Tucker — Jackson, Tennessee
• DB Amir Tyler — Lakewood, New Jersey
• WR Isaiah Wright — West Hartford, Connecticut
• TE Kenny Yeboah — Allentown, Pennsylvania