K.C. Keeler's Owls hoping to get healthier in time for Saturday's trip to Army
Temple has three more chances to get its sixth win gain bowl-eligibility status for the first time in five seasons.
If the Owls achieve that goal, they’re going to have to manage several injuries along the way.
During his weekly Monday media availability following Saturday’s 45-14 loss to East Carolina, Temple head coach K.C. Keeler talked about his depleted secondary, one that will be tested again when the Owls play at Army Saturday (noon, CBS Sports Network) at Michie Stadium.
Temple took the field against ECU without starting cornerback Jaylen Castleberry and then lost fellow starter Ben Osueke during the game, and safeties Avery Powell and Dontae Pollard also sustained injuries early in the first half as the Owls weathered their blowout loss to the Pirates.
Keeler said Monday that he’s hoping to get some good news soon about Castleberry’s status for Saturday’s game. Most notably, he mentioned that the team might consider holding defensive lineman Sekou Kromah out at Army with the hope that he will be a bit healthier for the last two games of the season – at home against Tulane Nov. 22 and on the road to close out the regular season at North Texas Friday, Nov. 28.
Kromah, who has 14 tackles and three sacks this season, played just 14 snaps against ECU as he continues to work through an oblique injury, as well as a shoulder ailment.
“Sekou was not really 100%, and he got a couple snaps,” Keeler said. “That shoulder keeps on bothering him. I think it’s one of those things where we might shut him down this week and see if we can get him back for the last two weeks, plus because we have a bye coming up also (between the Army and Tulane games.)”
Army (4-4 overall, 2-3 in the American Conference) won’t test Temple as much through the air, as quarterbacks Cale Hellums and Dewayne Coleman and wideout Noah Short have combined to attempt just 84 passes this season, an average of 10.5 per game. Rather, the Owls need some capable tacklers against the nation’s fourth-best rushing offense. Army averages 265.2 rushing yards per game and has scored 19 touchdowns on the ground.
When Temple suffered its last-minute loss to Navy back on Oct. 11, it could have used safeties Javier Morton and Louis Frye, especially on that 51-yard Blake Horvath run that saw the Midshipmen quarterback go untouched up the middle of the field and into the end zone to set up the game-winning, two-point conversion. But they missed the game with their respective ankle and hand injuries.
Two days after the Navy loss, Temple defensive coordinator Brian L. Smith said his defensive backfield was lined up too wide on Horvath’s run. This time, against Army’s triple-option offense, Keeler and Smith will have Morton and Frye back on the field and healthy. Keeler said Morton, “is a good matchup for playing an academy because he’s a really good tackler, and he’s physical. So that limits some of the problems in the back end. And same thing with Lou Frye. Lou now might be able to get a bigger role.”
Monday’s practice was once again open to the media, and Kromah, fellow defensive end Cameron Jones, defensive tackle Demerick Morris and linebackers Tyree Alualu and Eric Stuart did not practice. Alualu missed Saturday’s game with an injury, while Stuart played just 12 snaps after showing up as questionable on the American’s pregame injury report.
Strong side linebacker Ty Davis spent more time looking like a safety Monday, playing the Viper role as a linebacker/safety hybrid.
Listen to K.C. Keeler’s full interview from Monday’s media availability here.
