Recruiting Central: Temple football looks for commitments in Class of 2013

Concerned Temple football fans need to chill, according to one recruiting analyst.

It's too early to panic because Temple doesn't have a commitment for the Class of 2013, said Bob Lichtenfels, the East regional manager for Scout.com recruiting service.

Judging by last summer, Lichtenfels may be on to something. Temple didn't get its first commitment for the Class of 2012 until May 27, 2011. By July 11, the Owls had secured 21.

But some Temple fans believe the expectations are now higher, considering the team is going into the Big East Conference.

Lichtenfels said the opposite is true.

"[The Owls] are changing the level of kids that they are going after," he said. "They are going after bigger fish. So when you are competing against bigger schools, it's going to change recruiting - the time these kids take, the visits . . .."

In other words, several targets want to visit as many campuses as they can before making a commitment.

But for argument's sake, some might point to Penn State and say recruits aren't taking that wait-and-see approach with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State already has eight commitments for the Class of 2013.

Louisville has eight commitments to lead the Big East. Temple is the conference's lone team without a commitment.

"There's a lot of kids now looking at Temple that in previous years would not have," Lichtenfels said.

"Very good players are mentioning the Temple offer. In years past, a lot of kids wouldn't even tell you that Temple did offer them, once they got bigger offers."

Imhotep Charter tailback David Williams is one of the more high-profile recruits who was offered a scholarship from Temple.

It is unlikely, however, that the junior will find his way to North Broad Street.

Earlier this month, Williams narrowed his list to South Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin, Southern California, and Tennessee.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder is regarded as the nation's 118th-best prospect in the Class of 2013 by ESPN.com. Scout.com lists him 122d, while Rivals.com has him at No. 197.

The four-star recruit rushed for 1,938 yards and 18 touchdowns at West Catholic last season. He transferred to Imhotep in March.

Harris interested in USF: Former North Carolina State small forward Tyler Harris plans to take an official visit to South Florida, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pounder has already visited Temple, Providence and Alabama at Birmingham. He plans to pick a school to transfer to early next month, his father Torrel Harris told the newspaper.

Harris averaged just 1.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 6.9 minutes this past season as a freshman. He left N.C. State after the season due to lack of playing time.

Temple's football team still is in the mix for Timber Creek's Myles Nash. The junior defensive end, who is being recruited to play outside linebacker, narrowed his list of schools to Temple, West Virginia, Clemson, Rutgers, Virginia, and Kentucky.

The 6-5, 205-pounder is athletic enough to play multiple positions in college.

Rivals.com lists him as the nation's 35th-ranked athlete in the Class of 2013.

In an effort to spruce up the Liacouras Center, Temple will have a $2-million LED scoreboard in the basketball arena by next season. The high-tech addition, plus the school's moving to the Big East, could help attract recruits.

Zaire Anderson is expected to start at weakside linebacker for Nebraska next season. The Frankford High product inherits the position vacated by Lavonte David, who was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' second-round pick.

Anderson, a junior, spent the last two seasons at Riverside (Calif.) Community College. The 6-1, 220-pounder had 83 tackles, 14.5 for a loss, and three sacks last season at Riverside.