The Phanatic Magazine

Temple's Jackson headed to Big % Hall of fame

2012-02-03T11:29:00.000-05:00

PHILADELPHIA - Former Temple University standout Marc Jackson will be one of five members that will be inducted into the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame on February 21. Jackson will become the 23rd men’s basketball player in TU history to be inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame.

Jackson, who was named the 1997 A10 Player of the Year, was a two-time all-A10 and all-Big 5 first team honoree (1995-96, 1996-97). Also a two-time NABC first team all-District performer, he scored 1,059 career points and grabbed 567 rebounds in his three-year collegiate career, including 1,001 points (15.9 ppg.) in his two seasons (1995-96, '96-97) at Temple. The Owls center led the team in scoring and rebounding his final two seasons with his best season coming as a junior in 1996-97 when he averaged 16.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. His Temple teams posted a 40-14 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament both seasons.

Jackson decided to forego his senior season and was drafted in the second round of the 1997 NBA Draft by Golden State. After playing overseas to start his professional career, he joined Golden State for the 2000-01 season where he was named to the NBA all-Rookie team. In all, he played seven seasons in the NBA, compiling 3,238 points and 1,655 rebounds. He now serves as a studio analyst for Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame Class of 2012 is comprised of Saint Joseph's Melissa Coursey, Jackson, Penn's Matt Maloney, La Salle's Kelly Greenberg and Jenn Beisel of Villanova. The induction ceremony will begin 11:30 a.m. at The Palestra on February 21. For ticket information, please contact the Philadelphia Big 5 at 215-898-4747 orbig5@philadelphiabig5.org.

Video: A look at the legendary Harvey Pollack

2012-02-03T11:18:00.001-05:00

Flyers ship Marshall to Caps

2012-02-02T17:21:00.002-05:00

In what can only be described as a depth move, the Flyers sent AHL defenseman Kevin Marshall to the Washington Capitals in exchange for AHL forward Matt Ford on Thursday. Ford was immediately assigned to Adirondack.

From the Flyers' release:

Ford, 27 (10/9/1984), has appeared in 39 games this season for Washington’s AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, where he posted 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points. He appeared in 76 games with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters last season, where he scored a career-high 26 goals and added 16 assists for a career-high 42 points. Ford has recorded 50 goals and 50 assists for 100 points in 190 career AHL games with Hershey, Lake Erie and the Hartford Wolf Pack. He was also the MVP of the 2009 ECHL All-Star Game while a member of the Charlotte Checkers.

Prior to turning pro, Ford played four years at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a member of the school’s 2006 national championship team. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the eighth round (256^th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Marshall, 22 (3/10/89), appeared in 10 games for the Flyers this season, including his NHL debut on November 21 vs. Carolina. He recorded two goals and three assists for five points in 32 games for Adirondack this season.

Underrated Sixers fight for respect | NBA - The News Tribune

2012-02-02T12:34:00.000-05:00

Underrated Sixers fight for respect | NBA - The News Tribune

2012-02-02T12:31:00.000-05:00

Underrated Sixers fight for respect | NBA - The News Tribune

ECWA fills out annual Super 8 tourney

2012-02-02T11:57:00.003-05:00

The seventh man entered into the 16th Annual ECWA SUPER 8 Tournament on April 7th, 2012 in Newark, DE is KYLE MATTHEWS.

Matthews is nine-year pro out of the Atlanta, Georgia area. He was trained by Georgia wrestling legend, "Nightmare" Ted Allen, as well as Jimmy Rave. Kyle also has tournament experience as he competed in the Chikara Young Lions VI, 2011 Shamrock Cup and the NWA North American Title Tournament.

Williams has had great matches with ROH Champion Davey Richards, World Champion Daniel Bryan and NWA World Champion Adam Pearce. Kyle has worked for NWA, ROH, DG-USA and EVOLVE. Most recently, Klye wrestled Jon Davis of the Dark City Fight Club at EVOLVE on January 14, 2012 at the last event at the ECW Arena before renovations.

Rounding out the field of 8 this year is BANDIDO JR, an eight-year pro out of North Jersey. He was trained by Homicide and his greatest inspiration, his father El Bandido. Bandido Jr has had many great battles in JAPW and many other northeast wrestling promotions. He recently joined the ECWA roster and has decided to wear the mask during his ECWA tenure to honor the tradition started by his father. With big wins over “Beautiful” Bobby Shields and Danny E, Bandido Jr has become one of the most popular wrestlers in the ECWA today. Bandido Jr. joins his tag team partner and good friend Azrieal (who he competed with in the recent ECWA K-CUP Tag Team Tournament and also holds the CZW Tag Team Titles with) in this year's SUPER 8.

The complete list of this year’s competitors in the 16^th Annual SUPER 8 is…

#1- “Greek God” Papadon

#2- Kekoa the Flyin Hawaiian

#3- Bobby Fish

#4- AMAZING RED

#5- Azrieal

#6- “Handicapped Hero” Gregory Iron

#7- Kyle Matthews

#8- Bandido Jr.

Union to host job fair

2012-02-02T11:53:00.003-05:00

Chester, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union will host a job fair at PPL Park on Saturday, Feb. 4 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. in an effort to fill a variety of seasonal, part-time positions. Candidates should enter through the Crozer Premier Gate located at One Stadium Drive in Chester, Pa.

The organization seeks candidates to fulfill the following positions: Housekeeping, Ticket Takers, Ushers, Concessions Cashiers, Catering Servers, Catering Supervisors, Guest Services, Event Security, Warehouse Workers, Cooks and Runners, Bussers and Dishwashers and Concession Supervisors.

Spirited, customer service-oriented candidates can apply by attending the fair, going onlinehttp://www.philadelphiaunion.com/ppl-park/employment or by filling out an application at the Career Link Office at 701 Crosby St. Suite B in Chester and dropping it off at the PPL Park main box office.

Rutgers' Flood on signing day

2012-02-02T11:52:00.002-05:00

Opening Statement: “We are very excited to announce the 2012 class of signees. To give you a little bit of an idea, there are 20 total players in the class, 18 of them signed today. I will read through the list and give you some information about each one.”

On WR Carlton Agudosi (Somerset, N.J./Franklin): “Carlton is cut from the same mold as a player like Brandon Coleman – tall, long and a guy who is going to win the one-on-one matchups. A guy that should be able to go out and catch the deep balls. We are very excited to have him in our program.”

On OL Brandon Arcidiacono (Holland, Pa./Archbishop Wood): “Brandon is going to be at center for us. He is very athletic, very quick to the second level. When I was the offensive line coach, I was really excited about coaching him. Now as the head coach, I know the next offensive line coach is going to love him just the same.”

On OL Ryan Brodie (Long Branch, N.J./Long Branch): “Ryan is going to be one of two guys that are going to be your prototypical NFL-type left tackles. We have two of them and we are very excited about having that. I have had Ryan in camp as the offensive line coach and he really has all the tools and the skills that you are looking for in an offensive lineman. He’s got the height, the size, the length, the ability to change directions with balance to keep his body centered. He is a player that is going to be fun to watch around here for a long time.”

On WR Leonte Carroo (Edison, N.J./Don Bosco Prep): “He is one of two players from Don Bosco that signed with is today from the national champions, Don Bosco Prep High School. Leonte is lightning fast, an All-American track athlete. He also plays on their basketball team, has excellent hands and great ball skills. A strong finisher, that shows up in football and in basketball. He knows how to finish.”

On OL J.J. Denman (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury): “J.J. is a young man that I have had in camp two years. J.J. is a road-grader type offensive lineman – big, strong, barrel-chested, physical, a guy that plays with an attitude. He is the type of offensive lineman that if you are a line coach, that is the kind of guy you want to start with.”

On OL R.J. Dill (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity [Md.]): “He is a transfer from Maryland. He had graduated from Maryland and has one year of eligibility left. He has 30-plus starts playing for them in the ACC at right tackle. That is where we project him competing for a job.”

On PK Kyle Federico (Ponte Verde, Fla./Ponte Verde): “He is also, like R.J. [Dill], on campus. [He has a] strong leg with good accuracy. Again, a guy that we think can come in and play for us right away.”

On DL Darius Hamilton (West Paterson, N.J./Don Bosco Prep): “I have seen Darius play live and he is as disruptive a force as I have ever seen at the high school level. A guy who makes plays in the line of scrimmage on the interior, he makes plays rushing the passer, he makes plays chasing the ball carrier down from sideline to sideline. We are really excited to have Darius in our program today. I think a lot of you are familiar with his father, Keith [Hamilton], who played a number of years in the NFL for the Giants.”

On DB Davon Jacobs (Paterson, N.J./DePaul Catholic): “We think Davon is a lock-down corner – excellent feet, good quickness, excellent change of direction, closing speed that you are looking for in a corner. He is going to be a good one for us.”

On LB Quanzell Lambert (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek): “Quanzell is going to be our middle linebacker. He is going to be the guy that makes the calls, makes the adjustments and ultimately, when the ball is snapped, makes the plays.”

On LB Steve Longa (Saddle Brook, N.J./Saddle Brook): “If I was going to compare Steve to somebody as a player, it would be Khaseem Greene. He is that type of player and in our defense, that is the will linebacker. A guy that can really run, is physically strong and a guy who is going to be fun to watch in the next couple years. Also, an excellent leader.”

On OL Chris Muller (Perkiomenville, Pa./Boyertown): “I would put Chris in the same classification as Ryan [Brodie]. He is another guy who going forward, has the speed set to be a left tackle, which is what everybody is looking for. Exceptionally strong and really runs well for a guy of his size. In this recruiting class, he was a tremendous leader for us. He, Darius Hamilton and many others really held this recruiting class together over the last four or five days. I think you guys are going to enjoy being around Chris, he’s got a good personality.”

On OL Derrick Nelson (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll): “We had Derrick live in camp this summer at our Big Man Academy. Derrick is going to be an excellent inside player, he runs really well and you are going to like the way that he pulls. He is already physically strong and he is just going to get stronger here in our weight program. We are excited to have Derrick and another young man coming up to us from Maryland.”

On WR Ruhann Peele (Linden, N.J./Linden): “Tremendous ball skills and tremendous ability to make the play and to make things happen when he has the ball. Ruhann is going to be an excellent receiver for us.”

On RB Desmon Peoples (Cheltenham, Pa./Archbishop Wood): “We really feel like Desmon is the quickest running back in the country, bar none. When he has the ball in his hands, boy is he tough to get on the ground. We are excited to get him here and see what he can do for us here at Rutgers.”

On DL Julian Pinnix-Odrick (Montclair, N.J./Montclair): “An extremely disruptive defensive lineman. I watched him play in his state title game. I watched him make [tackles for loss], I watched him personally sack the quarterback in the game. As a defensive lineman, he is not just the guy who is going to take up the blocks, he is going to take on the blocks, get off the blocks and ultimately make the play in the backfield for us.”

On QB Blake Rankin (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg): “Blake has the skills set of everything we were looking for in a quarterback moving forward. He’s got the height, he’s got the arm strength, he’s got the athleticism and he has the speed. He was a sub-4.7 [40-yard dash] in the summer when we timed him here live. Just an excellent young man and just embodies everything you want in a quarterback. He is going to lead your team in season and out.”

On ATH Delon Stephenson (Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville): “The last name you might recognize. A guy who can play a lot of different positions. He is the third player from Sayreville to sign with us in the last two years. Delon can do a lot of different things. I saw him in our stadium for his state title game and I walked out of the tunnel with the game already in progress and the first thing that I see is Delon Stephenson making an interception to help change the momentum of the game.”

On WR Ian Thomas (Baltimore, Md./Franklin): “Again Ian Thomas is another receiver who makes plays when the ball is in his hands. He makes people miss. He can go get the ball in a lot of different places, even if it is not thrown perfectly, and ultimately [he can] go get the ball in the end zone.”

On DB Jevon Tyree (Somerset, N.J./South Brunswick): “The same high school that Mohamed Sanu came to us from, the same high school coach there. Jevon is a guy who I really feel can help our cornerback depth as we move forward.”

Closing statement: “That is our class of signees. It is the top-recruiting class we’ve had here at Rutgers and we are very proud of it. Before I open it up for questions, really the people who are responsible for it are the coaches, the assistant coaches and the recruiting staff. Our recruiting staff here is led by Tariq Ahmad and his assistants Jimmy Worth, Sopan Shah and Jessica Larmony and I can’t stress enough the job that they do in that department, day after day after day. Recruiting is about relationships and everybody says that but relationships take time. They are not always the ones that are building the relationships out on the road but when theses players come to campus, they are building relationships with them. They are helping us set our schedules up as coaches so we can make sure we are in the right places at the right times, coordinating the efforts and I can’t thank them enough because really from Friday when I was named the interim head coach until Monday when I was named the head coach, this has been a 24 hour a day job. We always say this is a 24 hour a day job but usually we only work 20. Certainly the last four days they have been working 24/7, along with the assistant coaches and they’ve done a tremendous job. To assign this class the top class in the history of Rutgers football, I’m very proud of that, but they are the ones that deserve the credit in all of this.”

Questions
On getting news last night from three different recruits within 10 minutes: “I think what it does is it helps us build momentum. It is the second year in a row now that the top player in the state of New Jersey has committed to Rutgers. But they are not the only great players that committed to Rutgers over the past two years, or the last three or five years. But every year we’ve been able to – more and more – build that wall around the “State of Rutgers,” so that the players in our area are coming to play for us – the top players. And when a guy like Darius Hamilton does that on TV, what it does is it gives more validity to what we tell the people in this local area. Nineteen of our 20 signees in this class are from the “State of Rutgers.”

On being happy with the class that Rutgers got: “We are ecstatic. We really are ecstatic. What I said to the players and what I said to the recruits when I became the interim coach on Friday was that I plan on being the head coach and on Monday I was the head coach. And then what I said to them again “hey the vision of Rutgers football goes forward and the recruits bought into that. The recruits that were committed to us, they are here on paper today.”

On the difficulty of holding this class together: “It has been a great testament to what I have always believed about recruiting and I think sometimes this gets distorted. If you recruit good people and you deal with them honestly, you can get through any situation. That was what we were able to do with this recruiting class, because at every stage of events from Friday to Monday to Wednesday we were completely open, completely honest and one of the best things that we did was bring Tim Pernetti on the road with us as an assistant coach to show them that. We didn’t hide anything. When I said that night that I fully expected to be the head coach at Rutgers they believed me and they stayed with us. When that came true on Monday it just gave more credit to that way of dealing with people. I think if you deal with people like that in recruiting you have a chance to get through anything.”

On it being more challenging than usual: “Certainly. It was a little trickier this year than most because you had to deal with questions you normally don’t deal with in a normal year.”

On having well known recruits in the area sticking with Rutgers even before Kyle Flood was named head coach: “I think that’s important. The first that we sell at Rutgers football isn’t Kyle Flood. The first thing that we sell is Rutgers football. The second thing that we sell is Rutgers University. Both of those are made up of people and I am one of those people. So it is important to me [that recruits are stuck with Rutgers] but it is important to everybody. In the 2013 class that’ll be pretty important too.”

On the offensive line recruits: “I’ll tell you what, it’ll be hard for me not to coach these guys. So if you see me over there by the O-line drills in the fall you’ll know why. I believe this is the top offensive line recruiting class in the country. I’m not really concerned with what the rankings say. I think that will play out. We had three of the five offensive linemen down on the same weekend and I was able to sit them all in a row and talk to them a little bit and say ‘okay lets talk a little bit about what’s going to happen when you come to Rutgers and what it’s going to be like two, three or four years from now. I think when people look back on this recruiting class of offensive linemen they are going to say there is no doubt that that was the best offensive linemen class in the country.”

On this elevating the expectations of fans: “I think you embrace all the pressures of this job regardless of what people say or think about your recruiting class, at the end of the day everybody gets judged on wins and losses.”

Union continue to remake roster, trade Nakazawa

2012-02-01T18:14:00.001-05:00

Chester, Pa. (The Phanatic Magazine) – The Philadelphia Union has traded midfielder Kyle Nakazawa and a 2013 natural second round draft pick to the LA Galaxy in exchange for an international roster spot.

The Union are now permitted to have up to nine international players on their roster.

A California native, Nakazawa was selected by the Union in the third round (33rd overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Nakazawa played in 22 games this past season, including 14 starts, scoring one goal and adding three assists in 1,208 minutes. In his first two seasons, Nakazawa has accumulated 2006 minutes played over 36 appearances and 22 starts.

Temple signs 27

2012-02-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

PHILADELPHIA (2/1/12) – The Temple University Football Program, under the leadership of second-year head coach Steve Addazio, signed 27 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.

Geographically, the states best represented in the Owl class are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Fourteen student-athletes list their hometowns in the Keystone state, while six hail from the Garden state. Eight signees are from Southeastern Pennsylvania, including seven from the Philadelphia metro area.

Additionally, four signees call Maryland home; two signees come from Florida and one from Virginia.

Temple’s 2012 recruiting class is ranked No.1 in the Mid-American Conference by Rivals.com. The top ranking is the Owls’ fourth, also earning the distinction in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Twenty of the 27 high school signees attended the Temple Football Camp (74 %).

Additionally, QB Kevin Newsome (Chesapeake, Va.) signed as a transfer student.

Freshmen WR James Whitfield (Ft. Myers, Fla.) and LB Tyler Matakevich (Stratford, Conn.) enrolled in classes in January 2012 and have been added to the 2011 signing class.

The Owls begin spring practice on March 12 in preparation for their sixth season of Mid-American Conference play in 2012. The squad’s annual Cherry & White spring game is slated for Saturday, April 14. Temple (9-4, 5-3 MAC in 2011) returns 38 letterwinners, including nine starters, for the 2012 season.

2012 Temple Football National Letter of Intent Signees

Name Pos. Elig. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School / Other
Shahbaz Ahmed DL Fr. 6-3 220 Lindenwold, N.J. Paul VI
Samuel Benjamin WR Fr. 6-0 195 Baltimore, Md. Mount Saint Joseph
Romond Deloatch WR Fr. 6-4 213 Hampton, Va. Phoebus
Rob Dvoracek LB Fr. 6-2 220 Fogelsville, Pa. Parkland
Avery Ellis LB Fr. 6-2 225 Montclair, N.J. Montclair
Michael Felton DB Fr. 6-0 190 Hanover, Pa. South Western
Kyle Friend OL Fr. 6-2 300 Carlisle, Pa. Cumberland Valley
Jamie Gilmore RB Fr. 5-8 185 Ocala, Fla. North Marion
Nathan Hairston WR Fr. 6-0 176 Frederick, Md. Gov. Thomas Johnson
Khalif Herbin ATH Fr. 5-7 158 Montclair, N.J. Montclair
Matt Ioannidis DL Fr. 6-4 245 Ringoes, N.J. Hunterdon Central
Michael Kalaman LB Fr. 6-3 220 Casselberry, Fla. Trinity Prep
Raymond Korang OL Fr. 6-7 296 Mount Holly, N.J. Rancocas Valley
Stephaun Marshall DB Fr. 5-11 181 Montclair, N.J. Montclair
Tyler Matakevich $ LB Fr. 6-1 220 Stratford, Conn. St. Joseph’s / Milford Academy
Brendan McGowan OL Fr. 6-4 288 Barnesville, Pa. Marian Catholic
Shakur Nesmith WR Fr. 6-4 186 Philadelphia, Pa. Imhotep Charter
Kevin Newsome # QB R-Jr. 6-2 231 Chesapeake, Va. Hargrave Military Academy / Penn State
Bret Niederreither DL Fr. 6-3 265 Etters, Pa. Red Land
Bryan Osei DL Fr. 6-2 225 Abington, Pa. Abington
Brandon Peoples RB Fr. 5-10 180 Abington, Pa. Archbishop Wood
Averee Robinson DL Fr. 6-1 285 Harrisburg, Pa. Susquehanna Twp.
Damiere Shaw DB Fr. 5-11 170 Crum Lynne, Pa. Cardinal O’Hara
Brandon Shippen DB Fr. 5-11 175 Norristown, Pa. Norristown Area
Nate L. Smith DB Fr. 6-1 183 Philadelphia, Pa. Archbishop Wood
Kiser Terry DL Fr. 6-3 234 Feasterville, Pa. Neshaminy
James Whitfield $ WR Fr. 6-1 190 Ft. Myers, Fla. North Ft. Myers / Hargave Military Acad.
Alkwan Williams LB Fr. 6-1 210 Johnstown, Pa. Greater Johnstown Senior
Avery Williams ATH Fr. 5-10 198 Baltimore, Md. Archbishop Curley
Tavon Young DB Fr. 5-10 159 Oxon Hill, Md. Potomac

# Transfer student
$ Mid-year transfers; signed with Temple as part of 2011 class

Pronunciation Guide
Shahbaz Ahmed SHA-bazz Ah-med
Romond Deloatch Ruh-MOND Da-loh-tch
Rob Dvoracek Duh-VOOR-check
Matt Ioannidis I-an-NYE-dis
Bret Niederreither NEED-er-rider
Bryan Osei Oh-say
Tavon Young TAY-von

Signee Biographies

Shahbaz Ahmed
Defensive Line • Freshman • 6-3 • 220
Lindenwold, N.J. • Paul VI HS

High School: Three-year letterwinner at defensive end for coach John Doherty at Paul VI HS … also saw action at offensive line and linebacker … 2011 first-team All-Parochial Defensive Team selection … 2011 first-team All-Conference pick … team won three consecutive conference championships (2008-10) … as a senior, had 57 tackles, six sacks, and a forced fumble for the Eagles … 2010 second-team All-Conference selection … 2010 Honorable Mention All-Parochial Team pick … as a junior, had 63 tackles and 10 sacks … participated in the 2011 Chesapeake Bowl … Honor Roll student … volunteered with Special Needs Basketball in Cherry Hill … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Connecticut, Iowa, and Western Michigan.

Personal: Shahbaz Ahmed, Jr. … born June14, 1994, in Lindenwold, N.J. … parents are Tonya Ahmed and Shabaz Ahmed, Sr. … uncle Willie Whitehead was a walk-on football player at Auburn before an eight-year career at DE with the New Orleans Saints … intends to become a pharmacy major.

Samuel Benjamin
Wide Receiver • Freshman • 6-0 • 195
Baltimore, Md. • Mount Saint Joseph HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Scout.com … played wide receiver for coach Blake Henry at Mount Saint Joseph HS … 2011 Private School All-State honoree … two-time All-MIAA conference selection … named to the Super 22 Team … also saw action at quarterback, cornerback, kick returner and punt returner … as a senior, had 40 receptions for 700 yards and seven touchdowns … as a junior, had more than 1,000 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns … played for the Baltimore All-Stars in the 2011 Crab Bowl … participated in the 2011 BTC All-Star Game … two-year letterwinner in track and field … 2011 All-MIAA in track … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Marshall, Massachusetts, and Ohio.

Personal: Samuel Benjamin … born February 1, 1993, in Baltimore, Md. … guardian is uncle Reggie Gresham … has two older brothers-- Simon (27) and Joseph (25)-- and an older sister Sara (20).

Romond Deloatch
Wide Receiver • Freshman • 6-4 • 213
Hampton, Va. • Phoebus HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Rivals.com … played wide receiver and linebacker for coach Stan Sexton at Phoebus HS … … helped Phoebus to four consecutive VHSL Division 5 state championships … as a senior, had five receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the 2011 state championship game … 2010 All-District honoree … team went a perfect 15-0 in 2010 … as a junior, caught 24 passes for 422 yards and five touchdowns … had six catches for 125 yards and a touchdown in the state championship game alone … selected to the 2012 U.S. Under-19 Team that will participate in the International Bowl … selected Temple over Virginia Tech.

Personal: Romond Deloatch … born February 12, 1993 … parents are Wanda and Romeo Deloatch.

Rob Dvoracek
Linebacker • Freshman • 6-2 • 220
Fogelsville, Pa. • Parkland HS

High School: Two-year team captain … played fullback and linebacker for coach Jim Morgans at Parkland HS … 2011 first-team PIAA 4A All-State honoree at running back … 2011 first-team EasternPAFootball.com All-State pick on defense … 2011 Morning Call first-team All-Area at linebacker … 2011 first-team Lehigh Valley Conference All-Star at linebacker … 2011 Lehigh Valley Conference Defensive MVP … 2011 Joe Gerenscer MVP Award winner as MVP of the Parkland-Whitehall game … Trojans finished the 2011 season at 9-2, advancing to the district semifinals … finished prep career with 2,221 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns on 320 carries and 236 tackles, nine sacks and four forced fumbles with two recoveries on defense … as a senior, had 1,246 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns on 161 carries, averaging 7.7 yards per carry … also had eight receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown … defensively, had 89 tackles, four sacks, 13 TFL, and 12 hurries … as a junior, had 674 rushing yards and nine touchdowns … as a sophomore, rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in the District 11 Class 4A semifinal win over East Stroudsburg South … defensively, had 95 tackles, eight TFL, 12 pressures, and a forced fumble … also a three-year letterwinner in basketball … 2009 Sixth Man Award recipient … Honor Roll student … named to the Lehigh Valley Conference Student Athletic Council ... attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Buffalo, Connecticut, and Illinois.

Personal: Robert Wayne Dvoracek … born March 14, 1994, in Allentown, Pa. … parents are Kathy and John Dvoracek … has an older sister Jenn (22) … loves to cook.

Avery Ellis
Linebacker • Freshman • 6-2 • 225
Montclair, N.J. • Montclair HS

High School: Played linebacker and tight end for coach John Fiore at Montclair HS … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger second-team All-Group 4 honoree … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger second-team All-Essex County pick … 2011 All-Conference and All-Section honoree … team advanced to the NJSIAA North I Group 4 final against North Bergen … finished 2011 season at 11-1 overall … team won the 2011 SEC conference championship … finished prep career with 169 tackles … as a junior, had 84 tackles … also participated in track and field … Honor Roll student … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Massachusetts and Miami.

Personal: Avery Malcolm Ellis … born October 3, 1994, in Newark, N.J. … parents are Lisa Hunter and Byron Ellis … has three younger sisters-- Britney (13), Christine (7), and Danyelle (5) … Montclair HS teammates Khalif Herbin and Stephaun Marshall are also Temple signees … the trio grew up together in the same neighborhood … plays the piano … intends to study kinesiology.

Michael Felton
Defensive Back • Freshman • 6-0 • 190
Hanover, Pa. • South Western Senior HS

High School: Selected to play in the 2012 Big 33 Game at safety … played running back and safety for coach Don Seidenstricker at South Western Senior HS … also punted, returned kicks and played wide receiver … 2011 York Daily Record & York Dispatch Division I Player of the Year … 2011 All-Area Player of the Year … 2011 York Dispatch first-team All-Conference … 2011 Hanover Evening Sun first-team All-Area pick on offense and defense … All-Area Team honoree at running back, safety, and punter … first Mustang to receive a Division I football scholarship in more than a decade … team won the district championship his senior and sophomore seasons … set six schools records, including career scoring (302 points), career touchdowns (47), and career TD receptions (16) … in prep career, rushed for 1,876 yards on 258 carries, had 1,156 receiving yards, and 47 touchdowns … defensively, had 192 tackles, 23 break-ups, and seven interceptions … as a senior, had 1,447 yards of total offense, rushed for 1,038 yards on 142 carries, had 409 receiving yards, and 25 touchdowns … defensively, had 92 tackles, 11 break-ups, three interceptions … set the season records for scoring (156 points), touchdowns (25), and punting average (41.5) … had five touchdowns against William Penn in his last home game … 2010 York Daily Record and York Dispatch first-team All-Conference at running back and defensive back … 2010 Hanover Evening Sun first-team All-Area on defense … 2009 Hanover Evening Sun second-team All-Conference at wide receiver … as a sophomore, invited to Schuman’s National Underclassman Combine … attended Nike training camp … four-year letterwinner in track and two-year letterwinner in basketball … All-Conference honoree in track … second-team All-Conference in basketball … Honor Roll student … participated in the 2010 Nike Combine, 2010 Under Armour Combine, and the 2009 Top Prospect Combine ... volunteered at youth football and basketball camps… attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Maryland.

Personal: Michael James Felton … born December 3, 1993, in Gettysburg, Pa. … parents are Jacki Ernst and Michael Felton … has a younger brother Maeson (10) … cousin Raymond Felton, who played basketball at North Carolina (2002-05), now plays for the Portland Trailblazers … plans to major in kinesiology.

Kyle Friend
Offensive Line • Freshman • 6-2 • 300
Carlisle, Pa. • Cumberland Valley HS

High School: Selected to play in the 2012 Big 33 Game … two-way lineman for coach Tim Rimpfel at Cumberland Valley HS … 2010 and 2011 Associated Press All-State selection …. 2011 Harrisburg Patriot-News first-team All-Area pick … 2011 Mid-Penn All-Conference selection and Defensive Player of the Year … team won back-to-back district championships in 2009 and 2010 … as a senior, played offensive guard … also had 70 tackles on defense … started at defensive tackle and guard as a junior … as a junior, had 95 tackles … as a sophomore, started on the defensive line … also wrestled at heavyweight for three seasons … had a 27-5 record as a junior, placing fourth in the district …Honor Roll student every semester … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Massachusetts and Rutgers.

Personal: Kyle Allen Friend … born April 3, 1994, in Harrisburg, Pa. … parents are Cindy and Mitch Friend … has an older brother Travis (20) and younger sister Renae (16) … brother is a sophomore at Bucknell where he is two-time All-Conference fullback … intends to study business.

Jamie Gilmore
Running Back • Freshman • 5-8 • 185
Ocala, Fla. • North Marion HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Rivals.com … two-year team captain … played running back for coach Craig Damon at North Marion HS … ranked the No. 9 all-purpose back by Rivals.com … two-time first-team All-State honoree … all-time all-purpose yards leader for Marion County (ahead of Dante Culpepper) … finished prep career as North Marion’s career leader in touchdowns … as a senior, had 1,866 rushing yards, averaging 8.1 yards per carry … in playoff game against Fivay, scored all four of team’s touchdowns on just 13 carries for a 28-0 shutout … finished the game with 162 yards., averaging 12.4 yards per carry … District MVP as a junior … selected Temple over Marshall, Maryland, South Florida, and Western Kentucky.

Personal: Jamie Gilmore, Jr. ... born Sept. 3, 1993 … parents are Rometha and Jamie Gilmore, Sr. … has two brothers-- Eddie Rocker and Tyron Gilmore … Eddie is a sophomore defensive back at Florida A&M … interested in business.

Nathan Hairston
Wide Receiver • Freshman • 6-0 • 176
Frederick, Md. • Gov. Thomas Johnson HS

High School: Played wide receiver and defensive back for coach Ben Wright at Governor Thomas Johnson HS … attended the 2011 Chicago Nike Combine … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp.

Personal: Nathan Hairston … nickname is Nate … born June 30, 1994 … parents are Robinette and Nathan Hairston.

Khalif Herbin
Athlete • Freshman • 5-7 • 158
Montclair, N.J. • Montclair HS

High School: Played quarterback and wide receiver for coach John Fiore at Montclair HS … also returned kicks … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger Offensive State Player of the Year …2011 All-State honoree … 2011 first-team All-SEC Conference selection … team advanced to the NJSIAA North I Group 4 final against North Bergen … finished 2011 season at 11-1 overall … team won the 2011 SEC conference championship … became the school’s all-time leader in career touchdowns with 70 … set the single-season record for touchdowns scored … as a senior, rushed for 1,940 yards and 43 touchdowns on 139 carries … averaged 13.1 yards per carry … also a two-year member of the track team … 2010 second-team All-County pick for the 100m dash and the 200m dash … member of Brother to Brother Club … member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Arizona.

Personal: Khalif Amir Herbin … born September 30, 1993, in Newark, N.J. … parents are Linda Jones and Antoine Tucker … has two brothers-- Eric (25) and Malik (16)-- and a sister Khadijah (18) … Montclair HS teammates Avery Ellis and Stephaun Marshall are also Temple signees … the trio grew up together in the same neighborhood … loves to write poetry and draw … would like to pursue a career as an athletic trainer.

Matt Ioannidis
Defensive Line • Freshman • 6-4 • 245
Ringoes, N.J. • Hunterdon Central Regional HS

High School: Team captain … three-year letterwinner at defensive end for coach Matthew Perotti at Hunterdon Central Regional HS … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger Defensive second-team All-State selection … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger first-team All-State Group 4 honoree …MSG Varsity All-New Jersey selection … 2011 Courier News All-Area pick … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger All-West Jersey honoree … Hunterdon Democrat All-County selection … 2011 Mid-State 39 Coaches All-Conference pick … 2011 HC Bradshaw Coach’s Award recipient … Red Devils won three consecutive Mid-State 39 Delaware Division Conference championships (2009-10-11) … as a senior, had 101 tackles, including 65 solo stops and 14 TFL, eight sacks, three fumble recoveries, a blocked punt, and a touchdown … in 2010, team was the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association North Jersey Section 2, Group 4 finalist … 2010 Courier News All-Area selection … 2010 Newark Star-Ledger All-West Jersey pick … 2010 Hunterdon Democrat All-County selection … 2010 Mid-State 39 Coaches All-Conference honoree … as a junior, had 41 tackles … 2009 All-West Jersey and All-Conference honoree … also played lacrosse as a sophomore … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Boston College, Buffalo, and Massachusetts.

Personal: Matthew J. Ioannidis … born January 11, 1994, in Marlton, N.J. … mother is Betsy Ioannidis … has two brothers-- Andrew (19) and Kevin (16) … would like to pursue a career as a professional trainer … plans to study kinesiology.

Michael Kalaman
Linebacker • Freshman • 6-3 • 220
Casselberry, Fla. • Trinity Prep School

High School: Four-year starter for coach Drew Nemec at Trinity Prep … played linebacker, defensive end, and tight end for the Saints … Orlando Sentinel Super 60 Team … 2011 Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-District 11 honoree at linebacker… 2011 Touchdown Club honoree … in career, had 335 tackles, eight sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three blocked kicks … as a senior, had 94 tackles and four sacks … also scored two touchdowns … played offensive tackle as a freshman … participated in the 2012 Central Florida All-Star Game … also played lacrosse … participated in the shot put, discus, and long jump for the track team … three-year Honor Roll student … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp.

Personal: Michael Kalaman … born November 16, 1993, in Altamante Springs, Fla. … parents are Brenda and Mike Kalaman … has an older sister Heather (20) … plans to major in finance.

Raymond Korang
Offensive Line • Freshman • 6-7 • 300
Mount Holly, N.J. • Rancocas Valley HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Rivals.com … played offensive tackle for coach Dan Haussman at Rancocas Valley HS … 2011 Philadelphia Inquirer second-team All-South Jersey … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Louisville.

Personal: Raymond Korang … born September 20, 1993 … parents are Deborah and David Korang.

Stephaun Marshall
Defensive Back • Freshman • 5-11 • 181
Montclair, N.J. • Montclair HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Scout.com … played running back and safety for coach John Fiore at Montclair HS … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger Defensive second-team All-State selection … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger first-team All-Group 4 honoree … 2011 Newark Star-Ledger first-team All-Essex County pick … team advanced to the NJSIAA North I Group 4 final against North Bergen … finished 2011 season at 11-1 overall … 2011 SEC conference championship … as a senior, rushed for 1,13 yards, averaging 8.5 yards per rush … also had 110 tackles … played linebacker as a junior … also ran track … Honor Roll student … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Maryland and Massachusetts.

Personal: Stephaun Anthony Marshall … born June 17, 1994, in Montclair, N.J. … parents are Janet Mino and Robert Marshall … has two older brothers-- Tarik Mino (28) and Jaron Mino (23)-- and an older sister Angelica Mino (22) … Montclair HS teammates Avery Ellis and Khalif Herbin are also Temple signees … the trio grew up together in the same neighborhood.

Tyler Matakevich
Linebacker • Freshman • 6-1 • 220
Stratford, Conn. • St. Joseph’s HS • Milford Academy

Postgraduate: Ranked No. 38 in the country by 247Sports … also ranked the No. 10 recruit in the state of New York and the No. 5 outside linebacker … played linebacker for coach Bill Chaplick at Milford Academy for one season .

High School: Graduated in 2011 … played linebacker and running back for coach Joe Della Vecchia at St. Joseph’s HS … 2011 All-State honoree at linebacker … helped the Cadets to a 10-2 record his senior season en route to back-to-back state championship titles … 2010 Connecticut Post Male Athlete of the Year … set the school record for touchdowns in a game with five against Trumball as a junior … also played baseball … 2010 first-team Connecticut Post All-Star … 2010 All-FCIAC honoree … led the team as a junior with a.372 batting average, 32 RBI, and five homeruns.

Personal: Tyler John Matakevich … born December 22, 1992 … parents are Kim and David Matakevich.

Brendan McGowan
Offensive Line • Freshman • 6-4 • 288
Barnsville, Pa. • Marian Catholic HS

High School: Played offensive guard for coach Stan Dakosty at Marian Catholic HS … three-year letterman … PFN Class A first-team All-State honoree … first-team Eastern Conference Small School selection … two-year letterman in baseball … track team member as a junior … four-year member of Student Council … two-year member of Future Business Leaders … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Connecticut.

Personal: Brendan McGowan … born July 9, 1993, in Hazelton, Pa. … parents are Timothy & Donna McGowan and Michele Martz (mother) … has three older brothers-- Jason (35), John (32), and Quinn (21)-- and two older sisters-- Sarah (24) and Colleen (23) … loves to play golf.

Shakur Nesmith
Wide Receiver • Freshman • 6-4 • 186
Philadelphia, Pa. • Imhotep Institute Charter HS

High School: Played wide receiver, safety, and kicker for coach Marc Wilson at Imhotep Institute Charter HS …
Panthers advanced to the 2010 Public League championship game, his junior season … as a junior, had 107 receiving yards and a touchdown on five receptions … averaged 69.5 yards per catch … defensively, had two interceptions while helping Panther defense hold opponents to 12.1 points per game … also played basketball for the Panthers … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp.

Personal: Shakur Nesmith … born June 25, 1994 … parents are Sharon and Mike Nesmith … plans to major in physical therapy.

Kevin Newsome
Quarterback • Redshirt Junior • 6-2 • 231
Chesapeake, Va. • Hargrave Military Academy • Penn State

Transfer student.
College: Spent three seasons at Penn State before transferring to Temple.
2011: Redshirted.
2010: Played in six games … went 6-of-13 for 78 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
2009: Played in 10 games … one of eight true freshmen to see action … completed 8-of-11 passes (72.7) for 66 yards … on the field for 50 snaps.

High School: One of the nation's top prep quarterbacks for coach Robert Prunty at Hargrave Military Academy … ranked the No. 10 quarterback in the nation by Scout.com … rated him among the Top 40 prep players in the nation by Rivals.com … selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American game … as a junior at Western Branch HS in Chesapeake, threw for more than 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns and ran for more than 500 yards and 11 scores … captain of the track and field team … All-American sprinter … accomplished sprinter and hurdler … two-time hurdles state champion … ranked No. 5 in the nation … finished 10th at the Virginia state championships as the only freshman in the field … compiled a 3.7 grade-point average … president of his junior class … National Honor Society member.

Personal: Kevin Leonardo Newsome, Jr. … born January 21, 1991, in Portsmouth, Va. … parents are Theresa and Kevin Newsome, Sr. … has an older brother Tory and younger brother Keevon … father was a running back at Saint Paul's College … avid piano player … communications major.

Bret Niederreither
Defensive Line • Freshman • 6-3 • 265
Etters, Pa. • Red Land HS

High School: Three-star recruit by Scout.com … played defensive tackle and offensive guard for coach Chad Weaver at Red Land HS … helped the Patriots to the District 3-AAA semifinals in 2011 … participated in the 2011 Chesapeake Bowl … selected Temple over Georgia Tech, Kent State, and West Virginia.

Personal: Bret Niederreither … born August 3, 1993 … parents are Kim and Mike Niederreither.

Bryan Osei
Defensive Line • Freshman • 6-2 • 225
Abington, Pa. • Abington HS

High School: Played defensive end, tight end, and offensive tackle for coach Tim Sorber at Abington HS … moved to offensive tackle as a senior … 2010 first-team All-Area … team won the conference championship his junior season … team captain of freshman team … also wrestled … as a junior, went 39-6, won the PIAA District I Class AAA Section 3 title, and placed fifth in the Southeast Region championships … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Buffalo and Massachusetts.

Personal: Bryan Osei … born November 25, 1993 … parents are Grace and William Osei … has two older brothers-- Will and Dave-- and a younger brother Justin … Will played football at Muhlenburg … Dave is a junior center at Rutgers … interested in psychology.

Brandon Peoples
Running Back • Freshman • 5-10 • 180
Abington, Pa. • Archbishop Wood HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Scout.com … played running back and defensive back for coach Steve Devlin at Archbishop Wood HS for two seasons … 2011 Sports Illustrated All-American … 2011 first-team All-State honoree … 2011 and 2010 first-team All-Catholic League pick … Vikings won 2011 state championship and four consecutive Philadelphia Catholic League titles … finished prep career with 2,190 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns … as a senior, rushed for 1,013 yards and 21 touchdowns … participated in the 2011 Under Armour Combine … played sophomore season at Abington HS … selected Temple over Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Wisconsin.

Personal: Brandon A. Peoples … born January 6, 1993, in Indiana, Pa. … parents are Charles and Yolanda Peoples and Wadeea Hines (mother)… has two brothers-- Charles Peoples (21) and Nasir Peoples (12)-- and a younger sister-- Charde Hines (17) … father played football at IUP (1989-92) .. uncle Darrien Peoples played at Kutztown (1993-96) … Wood teammate Nate Smith is also a Temple signee … interested in communications/business.

Averee Robinson
Defensive Line • Freshman • 6-1 • 285
Harrisburg, Pa. • Susquehanna Township HS

High School: Played defensive tackle for coach Joe Headen at Susquehanna Township HS … 2011 Harrisburg Patriot-News first-team Defensive All-Star … as a junior, had 46 tackles and eight sacks … also wrestled … won the 2011 PIAA wrestling championship in the 285-pound division … attended the 2010 Temple Football Camp … selected Temple over Connecticut and Syracuse.

Personal: Averee Robinson … born October 17, 1993 … parents are Terry and Adrian Robinson, Sr. … older brother is former Temple Owl and three-time first-team All-MAC DE Adrian Robinson (2008-11).

Damiere Shaw
Defensive Back • Freshman • 5-11 • 170
Crum Lynne, Pa. • Cardinal O’Hara HS

High School: Selected to play in the 2012 Big 33 Game … played defensive back and wide receiver for coach Danny Algeo at Cardinal O’Hara HS … three-year starter … two-time first-team All-Catholic League honoree … 2011 first-team All-Delaware County pick … 2011 first-team All-City selection … as a senior, had five interceptions and scored 22 touchdowns … as a junior, rushed for 216 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries … also caught nine passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns … participated in the Chesapeake Bowl … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … volunteered with the Feed the Hungry Program … selected Temple over Buffalo.

Personal: Damiere Shaw … born June 7, 1994, in Chester, Pa. … mother is Tammy Weathers … has five brothers-- David (27), Darryl (26), Dennis (22), Raheem (22), and Dion (18)-- and five sisters-- Kaheira (32), Kamyra (30), Tamyra (28), Talaya (26), and Tamika (24) … intends to study business.

Brandon Shippen
Defensive Back • Freshman • 5-11 • 175
Norristown, Pa. • Norristown Area HS

High School: Played running back and cornerback for coach Ernest Smith at Norristown Area HS … also returned kicks …
2011 AAAA Honorable Mention All-State at defensive back … 2011 first-team Suburban One Conference at running back and defensive back … Honorable Mention Southeastern PA at defensive back … first-team All-Area … in his career, had 61 tackles, seven interceptions, 2,074 rushing yards, 27 touchdowns, and 439 receiving yards … as a senior, had 1,200 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, 184 receiving yards, three interceptions, and 20 tackles … as a junior, rushed for 760 yards and had 15 receptions … team won the Suburban One Conference championship his sophomore season with a 9-1 record … also a three-year letterwinner in track for the Eagles …2011 second-team Suburban One Conference in the 100 meters (10.80) and 200 meters (22.1) … placed fourth in the 2011 state championship in the 4x100 … placed sixth in the 100 meters in the 2011 district championship … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Navy.

Personal: Brandon Alexander Shippen … born May 17, 1994, in Philadelphia … parents are Yvonda Shippen and Douglas Bowsky … has four brothers-- Vonte Shippen (21), Devin Bowsky (17), Dars Bowsky (11), and Joshua Bowsky (8)-- and two sisters-- Nya Shippen (10) and Liyah Bowsky (9) … former high school teammates Anthony Robey, Ikeem Boyd, and Khalif Wyatt (basketball) are Temple Owls.

Nate L. Smith
Defensive Back • Freshman • 6-1 • 183
Philadelphia, Pa. • Archbishop Wood HS

High School: Played safety and wide receiver for coach Steve Devlin at Archbishop Wood HS … also returned punts … team won the 2011 state championship game against Bishop McDevitt … team captured the District 12 Class AAA city championship over Dobbins with a 49-0 shutout … had two TDs in the game, a 62-yard punt return and a 30-yard TD reception … named MVP of the 2011 Chesapeake Bowl … returned opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown … selected Temple over Michigan State, South Carolina, Toledo, and West Virginia.

Personal: Nate Lee Smith … born May 12, 1993 … father is Nate Parquett … Wood teammate Brandon Peoples is also a Temple signee.

Kiser Terry
Defensive Line • Freshman • 6-3 • 234
Feasterville, Pa. • Neshaminy HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Rivals.com … selected to play in the 2012 Big 33 Game and the 2011 Chesapeake Bowl … team captain … played defensive end and tight end for coach Mark Schmidt at Neshaminy HS … 2011 PA Football News Honorable Mention All-State honoree … 2011 EasternPAFootball.com Honorable Mention All-State selection … 2011 Philadelphia Inquirer first-team All-Southeastern PA pick … 2011 Suburban One first-team All-Conference honoree … 2011 Neshaminy Mr. Lineman coaches’ award recipient … 2010 second-team All-Conference selection … Redskins went 12-2 in 2010, his junior season, and advanced to the District 1 AAAA championship game … as a junior, had 47 tackles, including 40 solo stops, a team-best six sacks, and three forced fumbles… selected Temple over Iowa, Rutgers, and Villanova.

Personal: Kiser Terry … born August 11, 1993 … mother is Betty Terry.

James Whitfield
Wide Receiver • Freshman • 6-1 • 190
Ft. Myers, Fla. • North Ft. Myers HS • Hargrave Military Academy

Postgraduate: Ranked No. 39 in the country by 247Sports … ranked No. 27 recruit in Virginia and No. 7 wide receiver in the nation … played one season for coach David Tavenner at Hargrave Military Academy … selected Temple over Indiana and Tennessee.

High School: Played wide receiver and defensive back for coach Sammy Sirianni at North Ft. Myers HS … missed most of his junior season with a knee injury … also excelled at basketball.

Personal: James Jabbar Whitfield … born May 21, 1992 … mother is Katrina Carter.

Alkwan Williams
Linebacker • Freshman • 6-1 • 210
Johnstown, Pa. • Greater Johnstown Senior HS

High School: Three-star prospect by Scout.com … played linebacker and wide receiver for coach Robert Kraemer at Greater Johnstown Senior HS… four-year starter … 2011 first-team Class AAA All-State honoree … three-time first-team Tribune-Democrat All-Area Team selection … helped the Trojans to the 2010 District 6 AAA championship … as a junior, had 137 tackles and five sacks … also had 25 receptions for 516 yards and eight touchdowns … had a season-high 12 tackles against Forest Hills in the regular-season finale … as a sophomore, had 113 tackles and a team-high nine sacks … Honorable Mention Tribune-Democrat All-Area Team selection as a freshman … selected Temple over Pittsburgh.

Personal: Alkwan Lamar Williams … born April 23, 1993 … parents are Kimberly and Chuck Wyatt.

Avery Williams
Athlete • Freshman • 5-10 • 198
Baltimore, Md. • Archbishop Curley HS

High School: Played running back, wide receiver, linebacker, and defensive back for coach Sean Murphy at Archbishop Curley HS … 2011 Private School All-State honoree … 2011 Baltimore Sun second-team All-State … 2011 All-MIAA B Conference pick … 2011 Baltimore Sun second-team All-Metro selection … as a senior, rushed for 1,325 yards and 12 touchdowns … had 76 tackles, 10 break-ups, and eight sacks … also had 1,586 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns … also an All-State, All-Metro, and All-Conference selection in wrestling … All-Conference and All-Metro honoree in track … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Duke.

Personal: Avery A. Williams … born September 2, 1994 … parents are Willinette and Anthony Williams.

Tavon Young
Defensive Back • Freshman • 5-10 • 159
Oxon Hill, Md. • Potomac HS

High School: Played defensive back and wide receiver for coach Ronnie Crump at Potomac HS … 2011 All-Met Defense selection … 2011 first-team All-League … 2011 Chick-fil-A Challenge All-Star … helped the Washington All-Stars to a 14-6 win over Baltimore in the 2011 Crab Bowl … 2010 first-team All-State honoree … 2010 All-County selection … 2010 first-team All-League … as a junior, had 31 tackles, 12 break-ups, seven interceptions, and a fumble recovery … had three touchdowns on a interception return, fumble recovery, and punt return … had 35 receptions and nine receiving touchdowns … attended the 2011 Steve Addazio Football Camp … selected Temple over Marshall.

Personal: Tavon Antonio Young … born March 14, 1994 … parents are Tawana Jackson and Tony Young.

* * *

FAST FACTS

Across State Lines
The 2012 Class represents five states-- Pennsylvania (14), New Jersey (6), Maryland (4), Florida (2), and Virginia (1). All but two of the signees live within 200 miles (or less) to campus.

Home Grown Talent
Fourteen new Temple Owls call Pennsylvania home.

Gone Camping
Twenty of the 2 high school signees attended the Temple Football Camp (74 %).

Quick Hits
-- Three signees hail from the same high school. Known as the Montclair trio, Avery Ellis, Khalif Herbin, and Stephaun Marshall grew up together in the same neighborhood and have been lifelong friends.

-- DL Averee Robinson is the younger brother of three-time first-team All-MAC DE Adrian Robinson (2008-11).

-- Ten signees played in All-Star Games following their senior season. Four-- Michael Felton, Kyle Friend, Damiere Shaw, and Kiser Terry-- will participate in the 2012 Big 33 Game on June 16 at Hersheypark Stadium.

-- The Temple roster now sports two players with the name Nate Smith. Redshirt freshman Nate D. Smith (Highland Park, N.J.) is a linebacker who joined the Owls in 2011. Nate L. Smith (Philadelphia, Pa.) is a defensive back in the 2012 signing class.

Soul add kicker from open tryout

2012-02-01T11:27:00.000-05:00

PHILADELPHIA (The Phanatic Magazine) – The Philadelphia Soul signed kicker Phil Marfuggi after an open tryout on Saturday. The open tryout drew 285 prospective players to the Philadelphia Eagles’ NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia.

“Phil really impressed the coaching staff during the tryout,” said Soul head coach Doug Plank. “We are counting on him to restore consistency to our kicking game.”

Marfuggi, a New Jersey native, spent the 2011 season with the Iowa Barnstormers. Appearing in three games during the 2011 season, he was successful in 15 out of 22 extra point attempts. Prior to joining the Barnstormers, Marfuggi was a member of the Harrisburg Stampede (2010) of the American Indoor Football Association. With the Stampede he recorded 94 kickoffs with 49 touchbacks, while scoring a total of 129 points for the team on the season.

Prior to joining the Stampede, Marfuggi was drafted in the first round of the 2007 Major League Soccer (MLS) Supplemental Draft and was signed by the New England Revolution. Before being drafted by the Revolution, Marfuggi was a highly-acclaimed soccer player earning All-American honors at Clemson University (2003-06). His collegiate honors included being named team MVP and Captain in 2006 and First Team All-American by Soccer America and soccertimes.com in 2005

The day was also highlighted by those who attended to view the tryout: current Soul Co-Majority Owner and former Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Ron Jaworski, as well as current players on the Soul’s roster including All-Arena wide receiver Donovan Morgan. Two players signed from the previous tryout held back in October, Alfonso Hoggard and Jesse Cooper, were also in attendance.

“This was a truly special day,” said Plank. “Not only did we draw a very large number of players but the level of talent exceeded all expectations. It was an honor to have Ron attend the tryout and demonstrate his passion for this team. I want to make sure the entire Soul organization receives recognition for their handling of the large amount of athletes that showed up.”

Transcript: Andy Reid finally meets the media

2012-02-01T11:23:00.002-05:00

Opening remarks:

“I appreciate your patience over the last few weeks here and I’ll give you a summary of my feelings on the season. I thought it was important that I step back and, particularly coming off an 8-8 season, take a thorough look at things, in particular starting with myself and the job that I did this year, then the coaching staff, the players, the direction we might decide to go in free agency and begin on the draft. So I was able to do that over the last few weeks and we were able to finalize the spot that was vacant on our staff by bringing in [secondary coach] Todd Bowles. And I had a chance to, obviously, evaluate the coaches and what we did as a team; coming out of that I felt that both sides of the football and special teams we have to room to improve, a tremendous amount of room to improve. And starting with the defensive side, I know the obvious question amongst you [all] was [defensive coordinator] Juan Castillo, and to address the situation, Juan will remain as defensive coordinator, Todd will coach the secondary and then we’ll move on. Everything else will remain the same. [Safeties coach Michael] Zordich will also work with the safeties. So the secondary, with the exception of Todd, will stay exactly how it was. [Saints defensive coordinator] Steve Spangnoulo, I know, was another topic and one that I understand. He’s a fine football coach. Steve and I are good friends and we talked throughout the season as we do every year. When Steve was released from the Rams I did offer him a spot here to coach, if he needed one, a place to land with open arms. And my feeling was that you can have two great coaches on defense and that’s even better than just having Juan himself, so that’s about as far as it went there. We didn’t talk about titles. We didn’t go into any of that. He had opportunities to look at other places. He wanted to do that, which I completely understand. And he ended up going to New Orleans. And he had a couple other teams that were interested in him. So I think that’s a positive for him, he feels good about it and that’s the most important thing. So finishing out the staff, I wanted to make sure that I brought somebody in - and I felt this way going through the process – that just as [offensive coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg] and I have an opportunity to bounce things off of offensively, that Juan had somebody with some experience to bounce things off of defensively that had somewhat the same scheme. And that’s where Steve fit in nicely and it also fits in nice with Todd. So the things that Todd has done in the secondary and back end are very similar to the things that we do here and the things that we evolved into doing as the season went on and we became a little more experienced down the middle of our defense. So this should be a nice fit. Todd is an individual who has a nice resume and had an opportunity to sit in the head coaching position down there in Miami as interim head coach, interviewed with the Raiders as a head coach, and had a couple offers to be a coordinator in the league and decided that he would like to come here, kind of back home where he went to school and his family – his fiancé lives here, her parents live here. So it was a nice fit and we were able to bring in a heck of a football coach. Juan and he have a good relationship, they’ve met the last couple of days and they get along well, so it will be a good fit, there. On the offensive side really everything remained the same. On the offensive side, we need to go back and make sure that we take care of business with the turnover situation there. We have five games which we lost in the fourth quarter, which was something that I really wanted to focus on over the last few weeks. And in those five games we only scored three points, so we’re better than that and we need to make sure that we dig in on that. And again, I thought we made progress as the season went on on both sides of the football. And then, we have to work on the return game and special teams; the special teams staff will remain the same. We just have to get better in the return phase of special teams. Alright, so with that I’ll leave the time with you, if you have any questions.”

On whether he listened to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie’s season ending press conference:

“I understand this is a business, firsthand. I completely understand that and I’ve always appreciated the support that Jeffrey’s given me, along with Joe Banner. And they’ve given me every opportunity here to win games and have been positive influences. So I appreciate that. I do know though that 8-8 is not good enough. So what he said I agree with, there’s no different feeling on this end and as coaches and players who are sitting here watching, and we don’t like to watch, it’s that simple. And again, even though we finished strong and hot and all that stuff and that wasn’t good enough. And every season I’ve told you that the National Football League is different and it wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t good enough for the coaches and players that we have.”

On his thoughts about the final four games of the season:

“I think there’s some positives that we can take out of it just as far as the attitude of the football team, guys coming together, the young guys improved and there’s some good things there that you can take out of it; the bottom line is, and this is where the fool’s gold comes in, is we’re sitting right here. So we won the last four games but it wasn’t good enough. And so, I’m big on the reality of things and we have to do better, the bottom line is we have to do better.”

On his thoughts about fourth quarter struggles and his thinking about the decision to stick with Castillo as defensive coordinator:

“Yeah, let me just say this, the point is it’s not offense, defense, or special teams and you can’t single one of them out. My point is it’s everybody together and when you go back and analyze this, that’s what you see. And as we got better throughout the season, obviously we started winning games when we came together as a team and played together as a team as one group. Whether it was the offense gaining 500 yards and having four or five turnovers, even though the numbers are good that’s not good enough. Whether it was the other team scoring in the red zone that was a problem we need to fix, third downs, we need to fix that. Now when it was all said and done you can look at the numbers and compare them to other teams, and the numbers aren’t bad; you can take the defense and you can say listen, in the NFC we were second in points allowed and third in total defense and that whole deal, but it wasn’t good enough. Right, it wasn’t good enough. You can put all of the stats together, all the yards you want to put together offensively, but it wasn’t good enough to win the game. And so, we have to do a better job collectively. And that was a positive that I saw at the end, the guys actually pulled together and played as a football team, so there’s something you can pull out of that and take with you into the next year. That’s one of the things that you can pull out and do.”

On whether Bowles, with his experience and background, will have more input in terms of scheme and game day decisions:

“Well Todd’s the secondary coach is what Todd is. Now, I know Juan and how Juan operates so he pulls the best out of all of the guys. And the one thing Todd has is he does have experience and he’s a sharp guy. Juan and I were able to put him through an interview process and he did a nice job with that. [And] the recommendations from guys like Bill Parcells and the guys that he’s worked with are phenomenal, the [Tony] Sporano’s, Mike Nolan’s, all of the guys that he’s worked with carry this guy at such a high level. And listen, I haven’t worked with him so I was just a curious as everybody else was bringing him in here, I had heard such great things and he came in here and did a nice job.”

On when he decided Castillo would return as defensive coordinator:

“I never really was at that point. I just sat back and kind of evaluated the whole situation, it never really came down to that and that didn’t even work into the equation. Juan was going to be there. And as you know in this league titles are thrown all over the place and my feeling was with Spags that those two together I just thought could be dynamite. And when that didn’t come about, then I went and said alright that’s not the only [candidate], we could open it up and look at a couple of other guys. And so, I went about that process and looked at different people that I thought could fit in there and work and make us stronger as a football team, as a staff, and no different than I would on the offensive side or the special teams side.”

On his thoughts about Castillo’s perceived confusion at the Senior Bowl about his status:

“I talked to Juan throughout the process but that never came about. We never went in that direction and just that part I never addressed. We never went there. I know a lot of things were out there and written and that’s all part of it.”

On whether he was open to the idea of hiring a new defensive coordinator when he was talking to Spagnoulo:

“I never really…I just thought the two of them together would be tremendous. They have a great relationship, it’s the same defense, so you have two great coaches; that’s how I felt.”

On his thoughts about why he never spoke to Castillo about his status with the team:

“Listen, he knew that I was going to step back, starting with myself, because I’ve always told you that 8-8 isn’t Juan Castillo and Marty Mornhinweg, but that you have to look in the mirror first and so I needed to do that. So that’s where I started first. And so that I don’t share with people, I just do it and analyze and go through it. I surely didn’t want to put you in a position like I did last year with Sean McDermott where you felt like things were happening and so on. So I wanted to step back and make sure I looked at it and analyzed every phase of it offensively, defensively and special teams, starting with Andy. So that’s how I went about doing it.”

On why Castillo seemed to be vague about his status on the team:

“Yeah, well I never went there. I never talked to him about that part as far as status and all of that. I never talked to Marty about it either. So I don’t know if you asked Marty, maybe you did, but I didn’t really go, with anybody, in that direction.”

On whether Castillo just assumed there was going to be a change:

“Yeah, he could have assumed. I don’t know. I don’t exactly know what he said either. You probably asked him the question so I don’t know that. But I think they all knew that I was stepping back and analyzing things and that’s the important part.”

On what he saw in Castillo during his first year as defensive coordinator:

“Well, I saw us get better. And I said before we had some moving parts on the defensive side and I understood that and I knew it would take a little bit of time to come together, that’s how I felt. I’m not sitting here with a crystal ball but I anticipated that it would take some time to bring together. And then I saw progress and I liked the schemes that we were teaching them and I liked the way that we went about executing the schemes. You could tell that the players were all-in, and there are some ex-players out there who can vouch for this that normally if there’s an issue and if somebody, if the coach doesn’t know what he’s talking about the players normally voice an opinion. And so the players were all-in and they believed in Juan and the scheme he was doing and I think it ended up working the way we hoped it would work a little earlier and it didn’t.”

On whether he is feeling more pressure in 2012 after Lurie came out and spoke to the media:

“I’m going to tell you I’m not a very patient person when it comes to winning, that’s why we’re in this business because we want to win every game. So there’s no more pressure than there has been. That’s why we do this. We do this to bring a championship to the city of Philadelphia, to get the ring and that’s why players play, that’s why coaches coach. And when we go about our business in the offseason that’s how we do it and we crank on that. We spend a lot of hours and are involved in it. So I understand where he’s coming from and I’m right there with him on that. He didn’t say anything in there that ruffled my feathers or anything else that I don’t completely agree with. And listen, I know that’s how the fans feel and I understand that. I completely understand that. And it’s a frustration, I understand that. My point is that we’re going to bust our tail to get it right, that’s where I’m at.”

On whether he thought they tried to implement too many new schemes and packages in a shortened offseason:

“Listen, I would tell you that there were moving parts, in particular on the defensive side there were moving parts with new players and that. But all of those, from my standpoint, from a coaches standpoint those are excuses for me to sit up here and say that. It’s a different seat than Jeffrey sits in. This is his football team so that’s what he does. But from where I sit I can tell you the same things I told you during the season that there were moving parts. I anticipated the offense to be a little ahead of the defense and allow the defense to grow because of all of the moving parts, and we didn’t do that. We were 30^th in the National Football League in turnovers. Okay, you can’t do that and I’m responsible for both of those things, the whole shebang of it. So I would just tell you that I don’t want to sit up here and give you any excuses, I don’t want to do that, but at the same time I’m very optimistic going forward and I feel very good going into next year. I know there’s a lot of hard work and I know there are things we have to correct; the positives are that we have some young players in here that got better and showed what kind of football they can play. [QB] Michael Vick gets his first offseason with us since he’s been here as a starter, which is an awesome thing. [Offensive line coach] Howard Mudd’s coming back here the offensive line coach and that was an unknown going into this. We weren’t sure exactly how many years we would have him, so that’s a plus; we’ll be able to keep continuity up front. We have some good, young players up there that improved. And we’re going to attack free agency and the draft aggressively like we have in the past. I know Joe made a couple of statements about the pool of players out there is tremendous. And so [general manager] Howie [Roseman] and I are going through and we’re evaluating those guys and making sure that we get those guys down and we know them like the back of our hand, and then be selective there, be selective about who we bring on to this football team. And then, we have a ton of draft picks that Howie’s accumulated over the last couple of years so we can go in aggressively with that. And so there’s some opportunities. Does that mean I’m happy about the 8-8? No. I’m not happy about it, but I’m not going to sit here and cry about it either. I’m going to go forward and attack that issue and get better for next year.”

On whether he ever offered Spagnoulo the job as defensive coordinator:

“Listen, we never really got into that. Remember now, Spags and I talk all of the time and that’s an important part of this. When he was released I had obviously talked to him and said, ‘If you’d like to come back here this door is always open. You and Juan would be spectacular together.’ No different than what I’m telling [all of] you here. And he wanted to think about it for awhile, and then he had an opportunity to take a couple looks at other places. He knows how things operate here so he went and looked at other places; never came in here. So he went and visited other places and he loved the situation in New Orleans and I’m happy for him. We’re still friends (laughing), until we play them next year but we’re still friends and I just wish him the best.”

On whether he thinks Vick believes in cutting down turnovers as much as he does:

“I do. I think he understands…and not that every one of them was Michael Vick’s but there were too many. I think he would tell you the same thing, not to say anything different than I think he would say and how he feels. I think this offseason will give him an opportunity to go back and study those things and what you can do and what you can’t do, how to move subtly in the pocket to make throws so the ball might not be tipped whether it’s a screen, whether it’s a short intermediate pass, the timing of each route and getting it coordinated with your two receivers that really didn’t have training camp, how important that is, absolutely important. And then one thing I thought he really learned this year was how to utilize the tight end and we gave him more opportunities to do that as coaches, which I thought was important - [TE] Brent [Celek] ended up having a pretty good year. But there are some things he can, specifically, attack this offseason and he’s in the right frame of mind to do that. He’s been in constant communication with me since the season’s been over and he is ready to go. Now we have some new rules in the three different phases that we can have in the offseason that are a little different than seasons before, but he’s ready to get in and get better.”

On whether he thinks Vick will play a different style and not take so many chances:

“I think Michael will tell you this: you look at the last four teams that are playing in the playoffs and all four quarterbacks didn’t miss a start. So he’s aware of that and he understands how important he is to this football team when he’s healthy. And that means as healthy as you can be playing this sport. So you limit your contact points that he had. And I think that he was able to see that this year. Now does that mean that he’s never going to run the ball again? No. I would tell you that I’m sure he’s going to run the ball. But when you do that, is there a time to get out of bounds and a time to get down? Absolutely, so that you live to play the next play.”

On whether he ever felt that he wouldn’t be back as head coach when he was going through his evaluation process:

“The primary thing was that I can do my job to the best of my ability. Was I doing my job to the best of my ability and what can I improve on? Why did we end up 8-8? Why did we start off 1-4? Why did that take place? What can I do different with the new rules of training camp? And all of those things. But as a head coach in the National Football League, if you do it the right way, you better be putting the pressure on yourself to figure those things out and to make sure that you’re presenting things and teaching things in the right way to your players – are you demanding enough out of your players? Are you too hard on your players? You have to find that balance and make sure that it’s right. And so I made sure that I stepped back and did that. You come off a season and those press conferences the day after the season you’re tired and you haven’t made the playoffs, you’re probably not in the best position to sit in front of you guys here and give you the whole scoop exactly what you’re thinking. So this gave me time to step back and look at all of that and go forward.”

On whether there was a time when he had to figure out if he wanted to come back as head coach:

“No, there wasn’t. But I wanted to make sure I stepped back and looked at it. I wanted to make sure that I can still do the things that I think are the responsibilities of the head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl. So that’s what you do. You step back and you analyze those things.”

On whether there was a time when he thought Jeffrey Lurie would not want him back as head coach:

“Jeffrey was very good throughout the year. He’s very competitive too, so he wants to win. I think in this business you understand that. It’s a business. As close as Jeffrey and I are, as close as Joe [Banner] and I are, I understand the bottom line is to win football games. That’s why I’m here, to win games and to win a Super Bowl. I’m real about that and I’m very stand up about it. I’m not afraid to stand up and look that in the face. I understood his disappointment; I think he understood my disappointment. I think he sees that going forward we have an opportunity to do some good things. I’m kind of speaking for him here, but that’s why I think I’m sitting here at this time.”

On whether he is trying to be more forthcoming in his press conferences, based on the fact that he was forthcoming about his interest in Steve Spagnuolo:

“I am. Am I trying to do that? No, I’m telling you the truth is what I’m doing. The press conference directly after the season, you have no time to put everything together. You guys are eager, you’re doing a job. You’re under pressure yourselves to make sure that you’re doing your job. So you’re going to throw fastballs at me. There’s a time where you have to buy time and step back to give you the right answer. I tried to do it a little bit different this year than I did in past years. I just didn’t think that was a smooth transition into the offseason. I felt like if I stepped back, I could kind of analyze things and then present it to you in a better way.”

On why he handles press conferences in an aggressive way:

“Again, that’s a good question. My primary thing here is to win football games for the organization and for the city of Philadelphia. At the same time, I’m juggling a lot of different players, a lot of different personalities. It’s important that you stay together as a team. Many questions are directed towards players and my opinion on them, directed towards coaches and my opinion on them. It’s important that I let those players and coaches know my feeling. Once you take it out of that, then the team doesn’t hang together any longer. Once the head coach starts dispersing things amongst the multitudes, then all of a sudden the team starts to dismantle. Then you have players who are going to criticize players, players who are going to criticize coaches, coaches who are going to criticize—and you don’t maintain that unit that you need to win in this league. So, it’s not that I’m being mean or rude. I’m trying to make sure that number one we stay together as a football team.”

On whether he thinks continuity is important on the roster going into next season:

“I think we have a good nucleus of people under contract. We’re in a position where we can keep them here. We are going through that process right now of looking at that, but I think we have a good, young nucleus that we’ve been able to bring in here over the last couple of years that can help us down the road. But, remember, we’ve got free agency coming up but we also have the draft and we have a number of draft picks. We want to make sure we utilize those as best as we can.”

On how different his self-evaluation was this season compared to others:

“I think you had to divide some things up. You had to separate the last four games, because I felt one of the positives was that as a head coach, as coaches, and as players, if you are stale then that thing never comes to fruition. You’re going to lose those last four games as opposed to winning. But then you take the first five games and you better analyze those babies right there, because that was not a good picture. [You have to figure out] what happened there, and try to be real. So you start with yourself, your presentation, your training camp, your presentation to the players, were you trying to do too much offensively or defensively? So you have to go through and analyze that and try to come up with an answer.”

On whether he did anything this year that he had not done in previous years:

“I think the obvious is training camp. Training camp was different by rule and then because of the lockout, we didn’t hit and we didn’t push it like we normally push it in training camp because we didn’t have all the players and you have to worry about injuries and so on and so forth. You look at that part. It was different. Not that it was different from what other teams do, but it was different from what we do.”

On whether he is regretful about his relationship with the fan base:

“I think the fans, they want to win a championship. Do I completely understand that? I completely understand it. I’ll tell you on the other hand, when I’m out in public, the fans have been tremendous. They’ve been good to me. I appreciate their support, them showing up to games. One of the things we’ve looked at is our home record and doing better at home. We have to do a better job of that. We finished strong, but we have to do better at home throughout the season. Do I understand? Absolutely, I understand. I have always said the fans and myself are on the same page as far as, when we stink, I’m probably the first one that knows we stink and the fans are right there with me. When we do well, it’s the same.”

On whether he feels like he could have been more aggressive with Spagnuolo:

“I’m not going to get into exactly what we said, I’ve never done that, that’s not where I go, but I didn’t just say ‘This is the doormat, come lay on it.’ That’s not what it was. I invited him back.”

On whether he feels like his future is tied to the current coaching staff that he brought here:

“I don’t think it’s any different than in years past. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I’m responsible for how my coaches perform and how my players perform. Jeffrey said it exactly right. I understand that. I completely understand it.”

On whether he thinks there were some turnovers that were because of bad luck:

“You have to have a little luck in this game; I think everybody who has played it understands that. The ball has to bounce the right way in a few different situations. That’s a few different situations, that’s not being 30^th in the NFL in that category. There are no excuses for that many turnovers. Zero excuses. To answer your question, there is a little bit of luck in certain situations, yes.”

On whether his desire to win may have led him to overestimate how quickly all the moving parts could come together this season:

“I think the best thing I could tell you on that is I knew there were a lot of moving parts on defense. I understood that. I thought it would take some time. How much time, you don’t know that, but you felt like it would take some time to get everybody working and pulling the rope in the same direction. On the offensive side, really everybody was coming back. We did have a new line coach and a new scheme there, but it wasn’t that dramatic, so I anticipated the offense carrying the defense, allowing the defense to grow. That didn’t happen. If you just take the yards, did we function at a high level? Yes. But there are a bunch of things there we can do better. In particular, in crucial times—fourth quarter, red zone, turnovers. All of those things, we have to do a better job there.”

On whether he has any reason for optimism about WR DeSean Jackson and his contract situation coming up:

“I was proud of DeSean for standing up. I thought he showed maturity this season. I think he’s done that every year he’s been here, but he showed it. He stood up and admitted to everybody that he didn’t handle things the right way. I will tell you that the last six games, he did a nice job for us. I was proud of him for that. We’re going through all of that right now, so we’re looking at everything right now. We haven’t come to any conclusions on anything, but we’re going through that. Again, you saw progress there, you saw a different attitude the last five or six games there. You’ve got to make sure you look at that part too.”

On whether he thinks this is a make-or-break season for him:

“I think every season is that way. I think every season you come out as a coach and a player, it’s a make-or-break season. That’s how you look at it, and if you don’t, you’re wrong. You’ve taken the wrong approach. That better drive your tail through the offseason where you busted every minute that you had an opportunity to bust it to get yourself right when you come in here as a player. You better do the same thing as a coach. You better get yourself right and make sure that you study, spend the time at it, know your football team, both personnel-wise and scheme-wise better than anybody. That’s how you have to approach it and if you don’t do that, that’s the wrong way to do it.”

On whether the team devalues linebackers:

“The thing I could tell you is we did draft a couple guys, not that they were first round picks, but we did draft some young guys. We understood that the safety position and linebackers were young guys and we decided to go that direction. You saw growth at those positions that should help us down the road here into this season and seasons [to come]. We don’t devalue that position, that’s not where we are at the linebacker position.”

On whether he can commit long term to DeSean Jackson:

“We are going to go through and look at all that. I really haven’t gotten to that point. I have been making sure that we are kind of analyzing the free agents, we’re analyzing what we did, we went through our team, we’re going to analyze the draft and then you kind of put that all together and talk through it and have a feel on the whole picture on the personnel side of it.”

On the moves the team made in the scouting department by bringing in Player Personnel Executive Rick Mueller and promoting Anthony Patch to Director of College Scouting:

“Ryan Grigson became a GM, so that kind of snowballed this. I’ll tell you, Rick has great experience and Anthony Patch has done a heck of a job for us. He started out as an intern and has worked his way up and really done a nice job for us. I think both of those two are quality evaluators. Do we need to do a better job? Absolutely, we need to do a better job in the personnel department as we do in other areas. That’s what we are working on.”

On the team’s perceived struggles to be able to draft defensive talent:

“I think we still have to see about where [DE] Brandon [Graham] is because of his injury. I thought his last pass rush, before he got hurt, was his best pass rush. So he was making progress there. We’ll just see how things go. Time tells, you’ll have to see over the next three or four years how things go with that. Can you do better? Yes, you can do better, so you go back and try to improve in all areas.”

On whether there were any thoughts of making Bowles the defensive coordinator, and whether there is any fear that players might gravitate too much towards him:

“I don’t worry about that at all. I know what kind of person Todd is. I also know how strong Juan is. Juan is a heck of a leader of men. The players believe in him, as Todd does. In the coaching profession, if you talk to coaches that know this situation here, they’ve studied us and the teams that have studied us. They can tell you that we’re pretty solid. I know the perception is out there, I understand that. I think that’s different within the coaching ranks. Todd obviously has respect for the things we’re doing here, wants to be a part of it, is positive and upbeat about it. I know how much our players care about Juan and respect Juan, so I don’t worry about that at all. Juan is the defensive coordinator.”

On whether Bowles will have any input into the gameplan:

“That’s what you do as a staff. If somebody has something to say, you put it out there and you do that. That’s how it works. I will tell you that he has great experience, so that’s a positive. Will he have input? Absolutely. He and Juan will talk, they’ll communicate, absolutely. That can be taken two different ways. I expect him to share his ideas, absolutely. That experience, I think, is very valuable.”

On whether he has a timetable for the return of LB Jamar Chaney and TE Brent Celek:

“Chaney is doing well. He can’t do much right now, but he’s doing well. They say the surgery went well. I don’t think we’ll know here for a little bit. Likewise with Celek, he was up and moving right away, even though he was on crutches. He’s off the crutches, it looks like he’s moving around pretty well. So we’ll see. He had two things done, so it was a little different.”

On whether DT Mike Patterson had his brain surgery:

“Patterson had the surgery, I talked to him yesterday and he’s doing very well. Early on they had him sedated pretty well. I want to say [he had the surgery] Friday of last week. He’s doing well—very upbeat and positive. It was a very long surgery. They had to dig in there to get to the spot and they felt like it was successful.”

On a timetable for his return:

“By training camp I think he’ll be good, unless there is a setback of some kind. The doctors were optimistic that he’d be able to get himself back by training camp.”

On whether the parameters with Spagnuolo were that Jim Washburn and Castillo would also be here:

“I’m not going to get into all the [details]. Spags is okay with Juan and they have a great relationship. He respects Juan like no other. Washburn, he knew from the NFL Europe, so they had a relationship and felt comfortable there. He was good. He had a couple other opportunities to go out and look at things and he liked one. So he ended up taking it and like I said, that’s great for him. That’s a great thing for him.”

Transcript: New Rutgers coach Kyle Flood talks with media

2012-02-01T11:22:00.000-05:00

COACH FLOOD: Thank you for coming today. When I go on the road recruiting and talk to other coaches I know, people I've grown up with, they always say what's the difference between being the assistant head coach and being the head coach? My old line used to be the head coach drives a red Escalade, and the assistant head coach doesn't.

The other difference would be one, two, three, four, five ‑‑ about eight video cameras up here when you're speaking to a group of people.

Before I go any further, I would like to thank President McCormick, the board of Governors, and Tim Pernetti for the honor of being head football coach here at Rutgers University.

It's an honor to be the head football coach, but it's even more of an honor to be hired by somebody who's one of our own. Tim Pernetti is a product of the Rutgers football program. I think everybody knows ‑‑ and he makes it very clear how cherished this program is to him, how important it is to him, and to be the person that he entrusts with it is just a tremendous honor for me. I want to thank you personally, Tim, for that.

I'd also like to thank my parents, Jerry and Louise, who are here today. My wife, Amy, who I believe is right there. Thank you. The greatest support system that I think any husband could have, the love of my life. My children, Kyle, Isabella, James. My son Joseph, who's about to be born here in about four weeks. Three weeks, my daughter Isabella says. Sorry, Isa. As big a fans as Rutgers has, that's for sure.

I also need to thank Greg Schiano and his wife, Christie. Without Greg's vision and drive 11 years ago, the Rutgers football program would not be what it is today. He's a mentor to me. He's a friend to me, and somebody that I consider a lifelong friend. Thank you, Greg.

This has really been humbling going through this process. So many people have reached out beforehand. So many people have reached out since. I can give you some of the names. I wrote them down because I didn't want to forget them. Former football players here, Dino Mangiero, Marco Battaglia, who I went to high school with and came here today and didn't tell me he was coming, I didn't ask him to come, but he's here because of what Rutgers football means to him.

Bill and Chris Pickel. I don't know how many of you are historians of the program, but there were four Pickel brothers that played here. I think all four were captains. Bill was the oldest, Chris was the youngest. All four of them are from my high school. Bill and Chris both reached out to me. I haven't been able to get back to them yet, but if you're watching, I appreciate it. Bill Pickel left me a nice message saying we never met, but actually we did meet. He spoke at my banquet my junior year of high school. I have his autograph back home. I wouldn't expect him to remember, but I remember it because it affected my life.

More current players like Ray Rice, Darnell Stapleton, Brian Leonard, Anthony Davis, Jeremy Zuttah, and many others. They reached out, saying to me, you know, Coach Flood, you're the right guy. You're the guy we need at Rutgers, and I appreciated that. I appreciated that.

Lastly, before I answer questions, what I would say to you and what I would say to everybody in the State of Rutgers, players, parents, and the like, is the core values of Rutgers football don't come and go with any one person. This program is built on a philosophy of family. Forget about me, I love you, which is about sacrifice. That's a part of Rutgers football. That's not a part of any past coach, that's not a part of Kyle Flood, and that's not a part of any future coach. That's something our players carry with them everywhere they go. It's how they live their lives. It's really what we're about here at Rutgers.

My message to the team was very simple. We're going to do things here in the Rutgers football program. We're going to raise you from young men to grown men, and we're going to win championships while we do it. It's an honor to be the head coach at Rutgers. I'm looking forward to doing the job. I'm as excited as I've ever been, and I can't wait for tomorrow. Thank you.

Q. If you could just address the need to move quickly because of signing day and everything and also the reaction you got from the high school coaches in New Jersey about Kyle.

TIM PERNETTI: Five days ago, when we started this, I think I said to you guys that I thought it was important ‑‑ I wasn't going to lock into any deadline, but I thought it was important to have someone in place before signing day. But I wasn't going to lock into that. I was going to take the time I needed, the time necessary to find the right person. Fortunately, those two things matched up.

The response from the high school coaches in New Jersey, the community and the State of Rutgers, as Kyle said, has been just outstanding. That was a key piece of my evaluation for him, outside of meeting him for several hours, was his relationships. And the relationships are, not only are they there, they're deep and they've gone back a long time.

Q. Kyle, you talked about having 19 years to prepare for this, having never been a head coach. Who would you say your influences are throughout your coaching career? Who's had the greatest impact, and what will be your philosophy going forward?

COACH FLOOD: Well, certainly, the first head coach that I worked for was Vince O'Connor. He was the head high school coach at St. Francis Prep High School in Fresh Meadows, queens. He's been there as the high school coach, the head football coach for over 55 years. And just a tremendous person in the way he cared for his players. Whether you were Kyle Flood, who had gone on to play Division III football or Marco Battaglia going on to play in the NFL, when you spoke to Mr. O'Connor, you were the most important person in the world. It was a valuable lesson to learn as a young football coach.

And most recently, working for Greg, tremendous motivator, great organizer, and having the pleasure of sitting next to him for seven years had a big effect on me.

Q. Kyle, a major influence during the search was the ability to try to keep as many people on staff as possible. How hard are you working on that, and what are your goals?

COACH FLOOD: From the moment Tim made me the interim head coach, I said to the team, and I said to the coaching staff that the vision of Rutgers football is going forward. We have quality people here. People are aware of that. I've been able to advance in my career because people have seen something in me, and it would not surprise me if somebody on the outside saw something in our staff.

But I think the difference now is Rutgers is not a stop along the way place anymore. Rutgers is a destination, and I think the people in this program know that.

Q. Tim, you've conducted several coaches searches now. How is this one different given the compressed time frame and also the high profile nature of the position?

TIM PERNETTI: Jerry, the timing. People say, well, the timing's got to be different. That's got to be the biggest thing. It's not. I went through this with basketball. I put myself ‑‑ and it was really due to my own doing, put myself behind on timing and was able to execute that. Early returns, at least, were good on that one.

Quite frankly, this one was a lot different because I think what we were doing with men's basketball was we were trying to set the vision for that program in the midst of the search. We know the vision for this program. We knew it. We knew what it stood for. We wanted to try to find somebody that believed in all the same things. That probably would be the biggest difference.

Q. Kyle, you've been here for all of the bowl games that this team has gone to under Greg Schiano. What can you and will you do to bring this program to that next level now?

COACH FLOOD: I think consistency is the most important thing in any program. Consistency of relationships in recruiting has allowed us to advance our recruiting every year. As we go forward, consistency in coaching is going to allow our players to be trained in the same manner year after year.

The vision of Rutgers football ‑‑ offense, defense, special teams ‑‑ goes forward as it is today. That doesn't mean it stays the same. It gets better. But what the players are doing and the vision of it will be the same.

Q. Kyle, could you give a ‑‑ congratulations, first of all.

COACH FLOOD: Thank you.

Q. Could you give us an update on Brody and Hamilton. Have you heard anything from them since you've been hired?

COACH FLOOD: By NCAA rule, I can't comment on that until tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to commenting on it.

Q. Kyle, what makes you think now you could succeed where Greg couldn't in 11 years, since you were here most of the time? Obviously, the goal is to win a Big East title and championships. Greg came close, didn't get it. Why you as opposed to Greg, who put 11 years in?

COACH FLOOD: I don't think it's Kyle Flood as opposed to Greg Schiano. I think the time is right for Rutgers to win championships.

Q. Kyle, can you just talk about your relationships with a lot of the, I guess you say, prominent coaches in New Jersey, the high school coaches, and how you got to know them and everything.

COACH FLOOD: I don't really put the high school coaches in those kinds of classifications. Every high school coach in the State of Rutgers is important to us. What I've been fortunate enough to do through my career at different places is recruit the same geographic area for a little over 15 years now. I think, when you do that, you find that the coaches that stay, even if they're not at the same high school, you still have a relationship with.

And even at times, maybe former players that you've coached, guys like Sammy McDonald, are now out there coaching in high schools locally, and that certainly helps.

Q. Kyle, what was your first response or actions once Tim hired you.

COACH FLOOD: Thank you. The first thing I did, if you're asking what that was, was to call my wife.

Q. Obviously, being on Greg's staff, you and he are somewhat like minded in philosophy. But can you talk a little bit about your own philosophy? Will anything differ as far as offense, defense goes? You've been thinking a lot about recruiting and getting all those kids here, but any thoughts on that?

COACH FLOOD: I think the biggest difference for the players is going to be the personality. I'm not here to try to be Greg Schiano, nor is my personality the same as Greg Schiano's. So going forward, they'll see the differences.

Like I said to the team the first day, the vision is the same, and the vision is constant and consistent. That's not going to change. Will there be certain personality things that change? Absolutely. What they are, I'll experience them as I go through this process. But it's not about trying to change something on purpose that's not broken.

Q. Tim, what's it been like for you the last few days becoming a college football recruiter, and how helpful have staff members been in successfully keeping the recruiting class together?

TIM PERNETTI: It's been great. And I think it couldn't have happened at a better time. I think initially, when we talked about it last Thursday and I asked him to step in as interim head coach, he said I think we need to put you on the staff and have you sit down with recruits and their families and explain what's going on. Initially, I didn't think much about it, but it was the best thing I could have done because I was hearing on the other side what's important to this great class we put together.

I tell you, I enjoyed it. I really did enjoy it. I'm a product of this program. I want to know what's coming in and going out and how we're developing people. But in the end, I just followed Kyle's lead.

Q. Kyle, what was yesterday like for you? There were some reports that this job might be going to another person. I could imagine this, you've had some highs and lows yesterday. Can you maybe take me through a little bit of what your day was like.

COACH FLOOD: Most of my day yesterday was spent recruiting. I wasn't following anything to see what was going on. Our job right now as football coaches getting close to that signing date is about recruiting and continuing to build our relationships.

Q. Kyle, you talked about your personality maybe being a little different. From a team on the field perspective, what do you think the personality of Kyle Flood, how will that be embodied in your team? What kind of team are you looking to put out there?

COACH FLOOD: Every team embodies a little bit of the personality of their head coach. The only thing is it's not about me speaking of any one particular character trait. We'll play on the field on game day the way we practice. It will be much more about Khaseem Greene, D.C. Jefferson, Betim Bujari. It's going to be much more about them.

Q. Kyle, could you just talk a little bit ‑‑ most first time coaches step into a job similar of what Greg stepped into, a rebuilding job. Can you just talk, is that how you assumed your first job would be, and how are you prepared to handle the pressures that come off a nine‑win season?

COACH FLOOD: I don't make any assumptions in this business, that's for sure. I think, if you just watch TV every day, you know not to do that. When you're given the opportunity to do a job and it's a job you're really excited about, you take that opportunity without hesitation. The Rutgers football program is going to go on and do some great things here. I'm excited to be in charge of it.

Q. Kyle, could you just talk about the type of offense you want to run at Rutgers.

COACH FLOOD: I could actually speak to all three phases. The vision of the Rutgers football program ‑‑ the offense, the defense, and the special teams ‑‑ you saw that this year. That is not going to change.

TIM PERNETTI: Thank you everyone for coming today.

All-Star broke: Jets slip by Flyers in shootout

2012-01-31T19:00:00.015-05:00

by Bob Herpen
Phanatic Hockey Editor

The Philadelphia Flyers are a proud organization with a long history of tough play at all areas of the rink. But the mysteries of the shootout are apparently on par with the Riddle of the Sphinx.

In the club's first game back from the All-Star break, it was the Winnipeg Jets who managed to escape with another one-goal victory, but this time it was a 2-1 decision in the shootout on Tuesday night.

After five previous shooters came up empty, Bryan Little managed to end the game with the final shot of the third round, slipping a shot between the legs of Ilya Bryzgalov.

“I just decided to give him a little fake and see if it might open up again, so it worked," said Little. "I think you have an advantage when you go third because you get to watch the replay of what the goalie does each time the guy shoots, so I definitely made my decision based on that."

When they find themselves in times of trouble, it falls upon the chief to try and provide some answers, but none were forthcoming as Philly fell to 1-4 this year in the breakaway competition.

"We score a lot of goals every year. We're one of the highest-scoring teams and I'm not sure I have an answer for it," said Philly head coach Peter Laviolette. "I think we have enough talent."

Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr -- all capable hands around the net -- all failed to dent Jets netminder Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 27-of-28 shots in regulation.

"He's generated offense his whole life and I wanted to change it up, try a few different players," Laviolette said about his decision to place the 39-year-old last in the sequence.

Chris Thorburn was the only Winnipeg player to score in the first 65 minutes, but there was enough in the tank to give the franchise its sixth straight win here since January of 2009.

Bryzgalov acquitted himself well and came up one stop short, eventually a game where he halted 23-of-24 shots will go on his ledger despite the loss.

The frantic action and non-stop offense which defined the first two games in this four-contest season series was nowhere to be found early on. No shots on goal were recorded for either team through game's first 10-plus minutes.

A break for the hosts came with 6:28 left in the opening period. Scott Hartnell, fresh off his goal-scoring tear two weekends ago and an All-Star berth of two assists, goaded Thorburn into a retaliation penalty after mercilessly working him over in the right corner.

It led to the game's first score.

Matt Carle swung in from his position at the left point and ripped a shot on goal from near the boards. It hit the left post then the back of Pavelec. All he had to do was lay prone in the crease to stop the puck, but Brayden Schenn keeps digging at the left side of the crease until the puck trickled in with 4:49 to go before intermission.

But Thorburn got his revenge just 2:06 into the middle period, with a sizzling wrister that caught net just inside the crossbar at the near post from the right circle. The tally tied the score and also snapped a 59-game goal drought.

Hartnell could have sent the faithful home happy, but Pavelec slid across to stop his dead-on chance from a Giroux dish with 8:38 remaining in regulation.

The Flyers also survived an ill-advised and ill-timed bench minor taken with 4:18 to play, and received a huge dose of good luck as the clock ticked under one minute to go, as Jets captain Andrew Ladd fell down while staring at a wide open net and his shot caromed off the outside of the cage.

Breath was held once again because of Ladd less than a minute into overtime, but his blast careened off the post and kicked back out into play. Andrej Meszaros also provided a reason to hold it in during the waning seconds, but his open chance from between the circles sailed way high and wide.

Notes: Thorburn's last goal came on March 19 at Buffalo in an 8-2 loss...The last time the Flyers participated in three consecutive shootouts occurred from March 17-24 when they played in four straight shootout-decided games...Jagr picked up an assist in his first action since re-aggravating a groin injury on January 21 at New Jersey...Giroux saw his goal-less streak extended to 12 games...Atlanta/Winnipeg has gone 9-1-0 against Philadelphia since November of 2009, after the franchise snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Orange and Black...Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk took a seat for the Flyers, while Dustin Byfuglien and Evander Kane were out of action for the Jets.

Union lock up Torres

2012-01-31T15:43:00.001-05:00

Chester, Pa. (The Phanatic Magazine) - The Philadelphia Union have exercised their option to retain the services of midfielder Roger Torres; completing the transfer of Torres from América de Cali.

Torres had been on loan from the Colombian side for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms of the transfer will not be disclosed.

Torres has emerged as one of the league's most exciting young playmakers in his two seasons on loan with Philadelphia. In 46 appearances, including 19 starts, the 20-year-old Colombian has scored three goals and registered eight assists in only 1,889 minutes. All three of Torres' goals came in 2011, including his first MLS goal against the New York Red Bulls in a 1-0 win on April 9.

"We're very happy to keep Roger in Philadelphia and see the benefits of the investment we've made in him," said Union Team Manager Peter Nowak. "Roger has shown the ability to be a valuable playmaker and we look forward to helping him continue his development."

Torres debuted with América de Cali in 2009, starting all 15 games in which he played. In 2008, he played his first professional game with Colombian First-Division-B club Alianza Petrolera.

"I'm thrilled to remain in Philadelphia, where I've become comfortable with my teammates and the coaching staff," Torres said. "I love to play in front of our fans at PPL Park and will continue working hard so I can help the team reach its goals."

Ask Men's Top 99 women of 2012

2012-01-31T14:15:00.000-05:00

Phillies sign veteran reliever Chad Qualls

2012-01-31T13:48:00.002-05:00

The Phillies have signed veteran righthanded reliever Chad Qualls to a one-year deal worth $1.15 million.

The journeyman is an innings eater and has pitched with the Astros, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego, toiling in 77 games and going 6-8 with a 3.51 ERA for the Padres last season.

Since 2005, no Major League pitcher has appeared in more games than Qualls (512).

Rutgers tabs Flood to replace Schiano

2012-01-31T13:03:00.000-05:00

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tim Pernetti announced on Tuesday the appointment of Kyle Flood as the 29th head coach at the Birthplace of College Football.

Flood, who served on Rutgers’ coaching staff for the previous seven seasons, assumes the head coaching vacancy created after Greg Schiano resigned his position to become head coach of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

One constant on any coaching staff with Flood is how successful those teams have fared. As an assistant coach, 16 of Flood’s 17 seasons his teams have finished with winning records, including earning a National Championship at Delaware.

The last time Rutgers promoted an assistant coach on staff to the head coaching position was the naming of Frank Burns to replace John Bateman in 1973 — and Burns became the winningest coach in school history.

A highly respected figure in the coaching profession, Flood has served as the assistant head coach of the program since 2008 and has been a key part in Rutgers’ six bowl appearances over his seven-year tenure in Piscataway. In addition to his four years as the assistant head coach, Flood has been in charge of the offensive line since coming to RU in 2005.

Known as an excellent tactician with strong recruiting ties, Flood has served on the coaching staff of the team with the nation’s longest active bowl winning streak at five games. While being part of a program producing victories at a rate unprecedented in Rutgers’ history, Flood has understood the value of academics for the Scarlet Knights. In 2010, Rutgers’ football program ranked first in the nation in Academic Progress Rate and in 2011 the team followed up with the nation’s No. 2 ranking.

During his time 'On the Banks', the Rutgers offensive line has consistently produced top-level talent, including several of which who have gone on to the National Football League. Most recently, Anthony Davis became the highest player ever drafted in Rutgers history as the 11th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft. Davis has started every game of his two-year career with the San Francisco 49ers at right tackle and helped guide the 49ers to the NFC Championship game this season.

In 2011, Flood helped tutor true freshman right tackle Kaleb Johnson into one of the nation’s premier rookie offensive linemen, earning Freshman All-America honors. In addition, senior offensive guard Art Forst collected All-BIG EAST first team honors while senior offensive guard Desmond Wynn was named to the All-BIG EAST second team.

Since arriving at Rutgers, Flood has coached 10 All-BIG EAST first or second team selections on the offensive line, one All-American and two Freshman All-America honorees.

Flood has helped engineer some of the most potent offenses in Rutgers history – evident in a record-breaking 2007 season. The Scarlet Knights' offensive line ranked second in the nation with just 10 sacks allowed in addition to an RU offense that became the first in NCAA history to have a 3,000-yard passer, 2,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season.

The Rutgers offense was ranked 18th nationally in total offense in 2007. The offensive line featured two of the top tackles in the nation in Pedro Sosa and Jeremy Zuttah. Both players earned All-BIG EAST honors and were also invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, with Zuttah becoming a third round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Flood added run game coordinator to his duties in 2007 and his offensive line helped pave the way for All-American running back Ray Rice, who rushed for a school and then-BIG EAST record 2,012 yards that season. Rice went on to become one of the most-recognizable faces in the NFL en route to consecutive Pro Bowl appearances in 2010 and 2011.

In 2006, Flood coached an offensive line that helped Rutgers to one of its most productive seasons as the group relinquished the fewest sacks in the nation with just eight. His unit was regarded as one of the best in the country and featured Cameron Stephenson and Darnell Stapleton, both who played in the NFL. Flood's corps of hard-nosed blockers helped guide Rice to an All-America season, as he finished second in the nation with 1,794 yards.

Flood came to Rutgers after three seasons at the University of Delaware, where he helped the Blue Hens to a 30-11 record, including a 15-1 mark in 2003 en route to the NCAA FCS National Championship and a share of the Atlantic 10 title in 2004. He also served as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator during his stint.

Prior to his three seasons at Delaware, Flood was offensive line coach at Hofstra from 1997-2001. While at Hofstra, he helped the Pride earn berths in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 1997 and 1999-2001. The Pride were among the top offensive teams in the nation during his tenure, ranking second in total offense, fourth in passing and fifth in scoring in 2001.

Van Gundy vents after latest Magic disappearing act | NBA (AP) | Sports News and Videos on th...

2012-01-31T12:48:00.000-05:00

Van Gundy vents after latest Magic disappearing act | NBA (AP) | Sports News and Videos on th...

Union deal Le toux to Vancouver FC

2012-01-31T12:36:00.000-05:00

Chester, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - After a lackluster tryout overseas, the Union's all-time leading scorer Sebastien Le Toux won't be sold to Bolton after all but he also will not be returning to Chester.

Le Toux announced via Twitter that he's been traded to Vancouver.

"Just got traded to Vancouver ! Saddest day for me in my Philadelphia Union story. Still can't believe it," the former All-Star Tweeted.

The Union announced via press release that the trade was for allocation money. Terms of the deal, per MLS rules, were not disclosed.

"While this decision wasn’t easy, we are confident that the allocation money we receive will provide the flexibility for us to compile the best possible roster for 2012 and beyond," said Team Manager Peter Nowak. "Sebastien has been a valuable member of our team for two years and we thank him for his many contributions to the club."

Le Toux scored 26 goals and had 17 assists in 64 games over the Union's first two seasons. He is the second high-profile player to leave the club in as many days after the team allowed All_Star goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon to sign with Colombian team Deportivo Cali.

"We feel that in the best interest of our club these decisions need to be made for our short and long-term benefit," said Union CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz. "Although we achieved great success making it to the semifinals of the playoffs last year we are not in any way content with that. We operate in a highly competitive and demanding marketplace and we believe the moves we have made and continue to make improve our roster and give us a better chance to advance past the semifinals. We thank Sebastien for his significant contributions both on and off the field and wish him the best in Vancouver."

Video: Blake Griffin's Dunk of the Year

2012-01-31T11:11:00.001-05:00

Union officially releases Mondragon

2012-01-30T16:04:00.006-05:00

Chester, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union and goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon announced that the they have mutually decided to part ways, allowing for the veteran to return to his native Colombia and play for Colombian First Division team Deportivo Cali.

The 40-year-old Mondragon made his professional debut with Cali in 1990 at the age of 21.

“It has been an absolute honor and a privilege to be part of the Union family,” said Mondragon. “My time in Philadelphia has proven to be unforgettable, and I am tremendously proud of having led the team for what proved to be a successful 2011.

"We achieved most of our goals and continued the club's growth into becoming the best club in MLS. For family reasons, I have requested the club to allow me the opportunity to finish my career where it started. I am extremely thankful with our fans, especially Sons of Ben, the best fans in MLS, our ownership, technical staff, my teammates and everyone in the city of Philadelphia whom always made me feel at home and made the 2011 season one I will never forget. I look forward to coming back to PPL Park as an avid fan and part of the Union family. I wish the club continued success.”

Mondragon signed with the Union on January 20, 2011 on a free transfer from FC Cologne of the German Bundesliga and immediately helped to transform the Union into one of the league's top defensive units in '11.

Given the captain’s armband at the beginning of the season, he started in 27 matches and posted a 62% save percentage with seven clean sheets. Mondragon became the Union’s second straight All-Star representative, starting against Manchester United in the 2011 midseason showcase.

The 40 year-old fractured his right finger against Real Salt Lake on September 3, sidelining him for seven matches, but returned for the final two matches of the regular season and the Union’s first ever playoff appearance. Mondragon capped off his stellar season, with a second place finish in 2011 Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year voting, behind only Kasey Keller.

“We’d like to thank Faryd for his service to our team and his incredible leadership last season,” said Union Team Manager Peter Nowak. “We understand that family is important above all else and we decided that it was of the utmost importance to grant him his request of finishing his career with his childhood club. We wish him the best of luck as he ends his career at Deportivo Cali, the club where he started his career.”

After beginning his professional career with Cali, Mondragon joined several other Colombian teams before landing with Argentinean First Division club Atletico Independiente in 1995. After his time in Colombia and Argentina, he moved to Europe where he starred in Spain’s La Liga (Real Zaragoza FC, 1999), the French Ligue 1 (FC Metz, 2000-‘01), the Turkish First Division (Galatasaray S.K., 2001-’07, won titles in 2002 and 2006), and finally the Bundesliga (FC Cologne, 2007-’10).

The Union open up the 2012 season on March 12th with a nationally televised game against Portland at 9:30 p.m. EST and return home to PPL Park on Sunday, March 18th with a match against the Colorado Rapids at 4:00 p.m.

Report: Union's Mondragon back to Columbia

2012-01-30T11:58:00.001-05:00

Colombian soccer league Liga Posotbon reported on its website Monday that Union All-Star goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon will be returning to Deportivo Cali.

The 40-year-old Mondragon, who began his career with Deportivo in 1990-91, started 27 games last season, allowing 1.06 goals per game and had a 62 percent save percentage.

If he does in fact leave, second-year goalkeeper Zac Macmath would likely be elevated. The 20-year-old Maryland product was 3--0-3 last year, with a 1.07 goals against average, and a 64 percent save percentage when Mondragon went down with an injury.

Eagles to keep Castillo, hire Bowles

2012-01-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

Embattled Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo will return to the team in the same capacity for the 2012 season and will be joined by former Miami Dolphins interim coach Todd Bowles, who will coach the team's cornerbacks.

Castillo made a surprising switch to defensive coordinator last season after 13 seasons coaching the team's offensive linemen and was hardly a success while trying to implement a wide-9 scheme up front with a cover-2 behind it.

Bowles, who coached the Dolphins' secondary before being elevated after Tony Sparano was fired, was 2-1 as Miami's interim coach.

Under Bowles, the Miami defensive backs contributed to a defense that held opposing quarterbacks to a 58.1% completion rate, fifth-best in the AFC and seventh in the league. His tutelage also helped safety Yeremiah Bell earn a Pro Bowl berth in 2009 after reeling in three interceptions.

From 2005-07, Bowles was the secondary coach for the Dallas Cowboys. During that span, Dallas compiled 52 interceptions, tied for third-most in the NFC, and were also the NFC’s fifth-ranked defense, allowing 310.4 yards per game. He coached three defensive backs to five Pro Bowl appearances: safety Roy Williams (2005-07) along with cornerback Terence Newman and safety Ken Hamlin in 2007.

Bowles was a four-year defensive assistant for Cleveland from 2001-04 as the secondary coach (2004) and the defensive nickel package coach (2001-03). In 2004, the Browns held their opposition to just 181.3 passing yards per game, fifth in the league. Cleveland set a franchise record and led the NFL in 2001 with 33 interceptions, 28 from defensive backs and 10 from rookie Anthony Henry. Bowles made his NFL coaching debut as a defensive backs coach with the New York Jets in 2000, when the team was sixth in the league allowing 183.3 yards per game via the pass.

A native of Elizabeth, NJ, Bowles was a four-year letterman as a defensive back at Temple University (1982-85), and went on to play eight NFL seasons with the Washington Redskins (1986-90, 1992-93) and San Francisco 49ers (1991). He recorded 15 interceptions and two sacks in 117 career games. In addition to his NFL coaching and playing experience, Bowles was a collegiate defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach for three seasons at Grambling State (1998-99) and Morehouse College (1997) as well as a member of Green Bay’s personnel department (1995-96).

Time to take the Sixers' temperature - Sports: NBA | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

2012-01-30T11:23:00.000-05:00

Time to take the Sixers' temperature - Sports: NBA | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news