Temple tries to straighten out FG issue

FOR 4 YEARS, Brandon McManus was one of Temple's rocks, someone the Owls could usually count on. He made field goals. His kickoffs mostly went into the end zone, if not beyond. And his last two seasons, out of necessity, he even became a really good punter, which was something he hadn't done since early in his high school career at North Penn.

In short, he was a weapon. But eventually everyone runs out of eligibility and you have to move on.

And once again, just as they did with McManus in 2009, the Owls are trying to go with another local freshman. South Jersey's Jim Cooper Jr., whose dad was a pretty good kicker on North Broad Street back in his day, was considered a very good get as recruits go. And first-year coach Matt Rhule still very much feels that way. But two games into his career, it has been, well, a rough go. It can happen, even to some of the best.

In the opening, 28-6 loss at Notre Dame, Cooper missed two field goals and had a PAT blocked. He made no excuses, came right out and faced the media afterward. Last Saturday against Houston at the Linc, he missed another conversion following his team's first touchdown. So Rhule turned to punter Paul Layton, a senior who transferred in this season from Albany. Layton made his only PAT, but later missed a short FG that would have put the Owls ahead in the third quarter. They wound up losing, 22-13, when Houston tacked on a TD near the end.

We'll never know how much of a difference those misses made. But it sure didn't help.

Layton has told Rhule he'd prefer to concentrate on punting. Which means it's either going to be Cooper or another freshman, Nick Visco, tomorrow afternoon when 0-2 Temple hosts FCS Fordham (2-0), which is coming off a home win over Villanova. It's one the Owls really need to get, just because. Maybe it won't come down to any kicks. But just in case . . .

"I have all the confidence in 'Coop'," Rhule said. "He's been doing it all his life. Now I think it's just become more of a between-the-ears thing. He just has to get one to go through the uprights. He's been doing it in practice.

"Jim missed two extra points his whole time in high school [at Mainland Regional]. He's missed two his first 2 weeks [here]. It's not his ability to kick. I was great the first week. This time I got after him. I said, 'You need to just kick it. Because I believe in you.' If I didn't believe in him I'd treat him [differently]. He'll get one to go through and then all will be forgotten. Same with Nick. They're talented guys. They'll settle down at some point. And they're all going to say, 'I got it.'

"Even when he'd miss, nobody could shake Brandon's confidence. He'd probably blame somebody else and move on. These guys are so young and they're kind of fragile right now. So those are our options. They're going to compete at it, and they'll be fine. They're not perfect in practice, but we're making some."

Rhule likes to say that his team controls the way it plays. But life can be a lot easier when your kicker is coming through. It's just that for a long time now, it was sort of taken for granted. Maybe that'll be the case again, hopefully sooner than the alternative.