Temple tight end Cody Booth bulks up and moves to tackle

In February, Cody Booth was still a tight end trying to piece together his thoughts about Temple's disheartening 2012 season.

When the Owls (4-7 last season) take the field at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Cherry and White game at Edberg-Olson Hall, fans will see him as something else entirely.

A left tackle.

With a new system, one that will utilize the passing game, one might have assumed that Booth would be gearing up for a standout season at tight end. The Millersville native caught 17 passes for 137 yards and four touchdowns last season. But there should be plenty of opportunities to double those numbers next season, especially if the strong-armed Connor Reilly adjusts to being the starting quarterback.

But instead of catching more passes from Reilly, assuming he remains the starter, Booth will be working on protecting the quarterback.

Temple coach Matt Rhule "actually threw it out there as an idea," the fifth-year senior said of switching positions. "And I was like, 'Yeah, I want to go with it.' We will attack it together."

Eating eight meals a day, Booth now weighs more than 270 pounds, up from his 260-pound playing weight last season. The goal is to head into summer training camp at 286.

"I'm eating, like, 10,000 calories a day," said Booth, who has a steady diet of pasta, meat, and rice. "It's a lot of discomfort. But if you want to sacrifice, you have to do it."