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.)
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Inside
Villanova recruits cite academics, proximity as selling points equal to its winning ways.
D8.
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