Skip to content
College Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Temple football set to sign 24

When Anthony Robey arrived at Temple to participate in the Al Golden Football Camp last July, nothing was definite about college for the star wide receiver and defensive back from Norristown High.

When Anthony Robey arrived at Temple to participate in the Al Golden Football Camp last July, nothing was definite about college for the star wide receiver and defensive back from Norristown High.

But that changed quickly, probably after the Temple coaching staff saw the 5-foot-10 175-pound Robey display his 4.33 speed.

After the one-day session was over, Robey said "yes" when he was invited to come play for the Owls. Today on national-signing day, Robey will be one of 24 players who are expected to make official their decisions to attend Temple. There are four other Owls recruits who already are enrolled.

Robey said one other coach who was recruiting him asked why he made his decision so fast.

"It was an overall good school for academics, and it's on the uprise," Robey said. "It seemed like a good fit for me."

Robey is one of 21 players Temple hopes to sign today who attended the camp that is named for the Owls' football coach.

Golden, who has emphasized recruiting locally while combing the East Coast from New England to Virginia for talent, is looking to add seven players from the Philadelphia area and nine from New Jersey today.

This year's is the fifth recruiting class for Golden, whose teams went 10-26 during his first three seasons as he was building the Owls' program from the ground up. Last fall, Temple had a monumental year with a 9-4 finish that was the team's first winning season since 1990, and which culminated with the Owls' first bowl-game appearance in 30 years.

Temple lost to UCLA, 30-21, in the EagleBank Bowl in Washington on Dec. 29.

"I just want to be a part of something like that," Robey said. "Go to a bowl game?"

In Olaniyi Adewole, a 6-3, 220-pound linebacker from Upper Darby High, and Wyatt Benson, a 6-0 215-pound linebacker for Haverford School, Golden has at least two other players who could make an immediate impact.

With 25 players coming off the redshirt list, and just 16 seniors leaving the team, playing time for first-year players will be hard to come by.

In addition, Temple brought in two players who were allowed to transfer with immediate eligibility after their previous schools dropped football: 6-0, 165-pound redshirt freshman defensive back Zamel Johnson (Hofstra) and 6-6, 300-pound offensive lineman Martin Wallace (Northeastern).

Both were interested in Temple coming out of high school.

The Owls also have a pair of junior-college wide receivers in 6-4, 185-pound Rod Streater of Alfred State in New York, and 5-10, 185-pound Darryl Shine of Fullerton (Calif.) College, who say they will commit to the Owls.

Robey will compete for a defensive back spot at Temple. As a receiver at Norristown, he had 21 receptions for 447 yards and 3 touchdowns.

"Anthony is not only a good student-athlete, he is a good person, and will be a good addition for Temple," said Norristown coach E.J. Smith. "He's the type of young man you want to coach. We knew he had the speed, but now he's applying it on the field. When we went into man coverage, we knew his man was shut down."

Temple Recruits

Enrolled in school

Player             School/College       Pos.    Ht.    Wt

Aaron Hush         Fork Union         DE   6-4   235

Zamel Johnson   Hofstra            DB   6-0   165

Deon Miller         Fork Union         WR   6-6   205

Rod Streater      Alfred State         WR   6-4   185

Transfers

Darryl Shine       Fullerton College   WR    5-10   185

Martin Wallace    Northeastern      OL    6-6   300

Oral commitments

Player             Pos.    Ht.    Wt       High school

Olaniyi Adewole    LB    6-3   220    Upper Darby

Antonio Belt       WR    6-1    170    Forestville Military

Wyatt Benson       LB    6-0    215    Haverford School

Brian Burns       DB    6-0    170    Riverside Baptist

Joe Cenatiempo    OL    6-9   300    Garnet Valley

Desmond Coble    QB    5-10    175    Meadowbrook (Va.)

Taray Carey       DE    6-3   215    Whitehall

Andrew Cerett       P       6-5   240    Huntingdon Area (Pa.)

Sean Daniels       LB    6-3    220    Highland Regional

Josh Ford          WR   6-3    188    Coolidge (D.C.)

Marquise Goods    DB    5-11    175    Orange (N.J.)

Elijah Grant         OL      6-6    340    Fork Union

Tyler Johnson       TE    6-7    240    Lakeland (N.J.)

Adam Metz          OL      6-6    310    Lower Dauphin

Jaimen Newman    DE   6-4    250    Matoaca (Va.)

Connor Reilly       QB    6-4    180   W.T. Woodson (Va.)

Anthony Robey    DB    5-10    175    Norristown

Myron Ross       RB    6-1    205    Wissahickon

Gerald Silvera       WR    6-0   180    West Orange (N.J.)

Nate Smith         LB      6-0    220    Highland Park (N.J.)

Hershey Walton   OL    6-4    320    Reading

Dante Weaver       DT    6-2    320    New Brunswick (N.J.)

EndText

Follow The Inquirer's special coverage of college football's signing day today at www.philly.com/rally.

Inside

Villanova recruits cite academics, proximity as selling points equal to its winning ways.

D8.

EndText