Rhule boots starting offense out of Temple practice

When reporters got to view the end of Temple's morning football practice on Tuesday, a big part of the team was missing: the first-team offense.

Coach Matt Rhule had kicked the entire offensive first unit out of practice and did not mince any words afterward.

"The first-team offense didn't want to be coached today," Rhule said. "They were using their feelings, emotions, on the football field instead of listening to what the coaches were saying. I threw them off the field and told them to go home for the day."

Rhule says he often throws people out of practice, but an entire unit?

One Temple observer recalled that the first-string defense was kicked out of a practice last year.

Throughout camp, which began Aug. 6, Rhule has praised the hard work of his team. He said Tuesday's instance with the first-team offense was not something that had boiled over from other practices. When asked if this was an ongoing thing, Rhule quickly replied, "No, just today."

The fourth-year coach went out of his way to praise his defensive unit while making some pointed comments about his offense.

"Our defense is great because our defense gets coached every single minute of every single day," he said. "They don't care who is talking to them, they all want to get better, they coach each other and we have some guys on offense - when they get tired all they care about is protecting themselves."

Rhule said he simply didn't like what he saw and he wasn't going to put up with it. "I wouldn't read too much into it," he said.

"This year if things don't go right, I will send people for the day, tell them to take the day off. There is a standard and if you don't do it, you don't get the privilege of practicing."

Temple has gone 2-10, 6-6 and 10-4 in Rhule's first three years.

"The first couple of years I had to yell and scream and all that," he said. "Now if you don't practice the way I want, somebody else will. We have so much depth that I want to utilize it."

Safety Jyquis Thomas, a redshirt sophomore, still has not been cleared for contact following offseason shoulder surgery. Freshman cornerback Linwood Crump remains out with an ankle injury. . . . Linebacker Stephaun Marshall and freshman defensive lineman Karamo Dioubate were among the players out with "hamstrings and pulls," according to Rhule. Marshall is projected as the weakside starter, a position occupied last year by consensus all-American Tyler Matakevich.

Freshman linebacker Shaun Bradley of Rancocas Valley, who had been bothered by a hamstring injury, is back in action and Rhule said he has made several big plays in camp. . . . Defensive lineman Haason Reddick was returning kickoffs in practice and didn't look out of place. The kick returner job is wide open.

Common Pleas Judge Charles Ehrlich will hold a conference Monday to see if the case against Temple's Reddick and offensive tackle Dion Dawkins is ready to go to trial, according to the football players' attorney, James Funt.

The two face felony aggravated assault and conspiracy charges in connection with an off-campus fight at a North Philadelphia nightclub on Jan. 18, 2015. Both are accused of seriously injuring Benjamin Wood, 21, another Temple student.

If the case is ready, a jury would be selected and the trial would begin Tuesday, Funt said.

mnarducci@phillynews.com

@sjnard