Temple Owls starting QB for Week 5: Who is Stan Drayton's QB1 for game against Army Black Knights?
The Temple Owls started the season with three straight losses before last week's win. They next face the Army Black Knights, who are undefeated this season. The All-AAC matchup will see the Black Knights take on the Owls on Thursday, with kickoff scheduled at 7:30 pm ET in Lincoln Financial Field.
For the Owls, junior quarterback Forrest Brock started the first two games at center. However, with his performance not matching the expectations, Stan Drayton gave Evan Simon the job, who impressed in last week's win.
Will Evan Simon continue to start for Temple in Week 5?
Yes, with no injuries to report, Evan Simon will be the starting quarterback for the Owls. The quarterback has lived up to the expectations and hopes to continue his performance on Thursday.
At Rutgers, as a freshman in 2021, Simon was limited in action before getting more opportunities the following year. In 2022, he threw for 777 yards, including four touchdowns and six interceptions. In 2023, another year where he mostly served on the bench, he took a transfer and joined Stan Drayton's team ahead of this season.
Evan Simon's performance in the first two games of the 2024 season
Despite being a transfer quarterback, Evan Simon found synergy with his team in his second game of the season. He became the first Temple player to record six touchdowns in a contest since Ryquell Armstead rushed for six touchdowns against Houston in 2018.
He's already thrown seven touchdown passes to his route runners while setting career highs in a single game last week.
In the Week 3 game against Coastal Carolina, he passed for 185 yards, including two touchdowns and one interception. He followed that up with a five-touchdown performance against the Utah State, where he threw for 271 yards. He also rushed for 49 yards on 11 carries, which included one touchdown.
Following a 45-29 win over Utah State, Stan Drayton spoke highly of Simon's performance.
“I love touchdowns,” Drayton said after Temple’s win against Utah State. “I’m not real picky about how we get them. It’s good to be able to be multi-dimensional. Six different people scored [Saturday]. That’s saying a lot about our quarterback, distributing the ball in the right spots for the right cause”
The oddsmakers don't expect Stan Drayton's Temple Owls to challenge the undefeated Army, which enters this game as a 12.5-point favorite.