PHILADELPHIA, PA – NOVEMBER 17: A football rests on the pylon prior to the game between the South Florida Bulls and the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field on November 17, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
On Saturday afternoon, the Temple Owls will start the son of a Hall of Famer at quarterback.
According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, Temple will start true freshman quarterback EJ Warner. He’s the son of Kurt Warner.
Temple kicked off the season with D’Wan Mathis as its starting quarterback. After a poor performance against Duke and a rough start against Lafayette, head coach Stan Drayton decided to bench Mathis for Warner.
Warner played well in relief of Mathis, completing 14-of-19 pass attempts for 173 yards and two touchdowns. He led Temple to a win over Lafayette.
Drayton raved about Warner following Temple’s win in Week 2.
“The way he handled the pressure … he didn’t flinch,” Drayton said, via The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He went out there and executed the offense, didn’t try to step outside himself, went out there and put the ball where it needed to be.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Warner performs as the starter against Rutgers this afternoon. That should be a challenge for the true freshman.
If Warner plays well against Rutgers, he may just solidify his spot as Temple’s starting quarterback.
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