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Temple linebacker Avery Williams ready for leading role

TYLER MATAKEVICH left Temple as the school's most honored football player. Now he's trying to start his NFL career as a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But life on North Broad Street will go on. It always does. You never replace someone of that pedigree. Yet there has to be a next candidate in line, awaiting his shot.

TYLER MATAKEVICH left Temple as the school's most honored football player. Now he's trying to start his NFL career as a linebacker with the Pittsburgh Steelers. But life on North Broad Street will go on. It always does. You never replace someone of that pedigree. Yet there has to be a next candidate in line, awaiting his shot.

In a lot of ways, that role will now be filled by redshirt senior linebacker Avery Williams, who has been one of the Owls' single-digit tough guys (he wears No. 2) for the past two seasons. A converted running back from Baltimore, he shared time at the strongside position in 2015 with Stephaun Marshall (No. 6), another fifth-year man who moved to the weakside spot that was Matakevich's. When it comes to leading, Williams - who started 12 times the last two years - sounds more than stoked to do whatever's necessary.

"I mean, the coaches have been preparing us the same way," said the 5-10, 225-pound Williams, who had 49 tackles a year ago, sixth-highest (and just ahead of Marshall) on a team that tied a program record by winning 10 games. "Tyler was an amazing player. Another guy just has to step up. All of us . . . can do what we do. No one came here to be a backup or be a bench player. Everybody came here to be a potential starter. Guys understand that.

"It's never been (about) just one guy. Tyler had my back. I had his back. We picked each other up. It can't be like, 'Oh, God, what do we do (now)?' It's never been like (anyone was) a godly figure. It's always been like an equal standpoint (for everyone)."

It still figures to be, well, different, especially with the added departures of defensive lineman Matt Ioannidis and cornerback Tavon Young, who were drafted higher than Matakevich. But it happens at most other relevant programs too.

The Owls, who lost four of their last seven after getting into the Top 25 and nearly beating Notre Dame, have been picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference East Division behind South Florida. They open next Friday night at Lincoln Financial Field against Army, which finished 2-10.

"Our big motto this year is (to go) 1-and-0 (each week)," Williams emphasized. "We ended the season losing two games. That's no good. We want to be the best Temple team ever, every year. When I leave, I want those dudes (coming back) to focus on being the greatest team that year. No one's complacent around here.

"We never pay attention to our opponent. It's (about), 'How can we get ourselves to play better?' That's the big thing. What are we doing wrong? That's life. You're never beaten by another person. You're beating yourself. You're messing up. In school, if you're not working as hard as you can, it's your fault. It's not the teacher's fault for making the test, you know. You always have to look at yourself."

The Owls have gone from two wins to six and then double digits. The defense went from one that couldn't stop anybody, particularly when it mattered most, to a unit that statistically ranked among the best anywhere. It's a process, an evolution. And it's ongoing. It might be time for the offense to actually become the side of the ball that has to carry more of the weight. Or maybe the folks on defense who've had supporting roles really have what it takes to keep what's been a good thing progressing.

"Even when those other guys were here, (Williams) was one of the guys everyone listened to in the locker room, listened to on the practice field," said coach Matt Rhule. "He just might not have been in front of the media like Tyler. When those voids come open, you have to make sure there are no vacuums. You need challenges.

"We're probably a quieter team on defense. Sometimes I think practice is quiet and I'll turn on the film and we're flying around. But last year I had Ioannidis standing right next to me screaming, or Nate D. Smith was saying off the wall things like, 'We're going to kill you.' They were so competitive verbally. It's a much different vibe. These kids are just quieter."

As long as the bottom line is comparable, does it matter? We'll start to get some answers soon enough.

"The last play against (Central Florida, in 2013), I was (rushing) off the edge," Williams recalled. "And I was tired. I'd never been part of a speedball situation, and I stopped. They threw a touchdown to win the game. Until like a year ago I wasn't like, 'Oh, maybe I lost that for the guys.' I didn't say that to myself. But that's where it starts. If you don't make plays, you're worthless. We say that all the time. It's about everyone being held up to the same standard, producing on the same level. If you have a hat on your head, you've got to produce. You never look at one guy and go, 'Yo, bro, you've got to make all the plays 'cause the rest of us suck.' Hat's on your head.

" (Rhule) sat me down in the office one day and said, 'Man, what do you want out of the season?' I said I wanted to be the most violent player you've ever seen in the NCAA. I want to make all-conference. He's like, 'All right, we're going to do that.' But the first week in camp I'm out there running, running as fast as I can, and he came over to me like, 'That's not good enough.' I look at him and go, 'What do you mean, that's not good enough?' He's basically grooming me to be a perfectionist. If I'm doing a play as good as I can, he wants me to look at it and say, 'How can you make it better?' He's grooming me to take the extra step, even if it's not an extra step. I've got to create an extra step, you know."

Maybe that's how it has to be, when it comes to filling the biggest voids.

@mikekerndn