Temple Football: Will Owls rebound after first losing season since 2013?

Only two starters back on defense from a season ago

Much like the offense, the defense will be welcoming in a lot of new starters via the transfer portal and those guys are going to need to make an impact if Temple is going to get back to playing tough and physical defense like they have been known for.

The defensive line is going to look pretty new for Temple in 2021.

On the edge, Manny Walker is the lone guy back that played for the Owls last season and he finished with 19 tackles and two sacks. Opposite of Walker will be Will Rodgers, a transfer from Washington State, who had 54 tackles and eight sacks in 34 career games for the Cougars. On the interior, look for a pair of North Carolina transfers in Lancine Turray and Xach Gill to lead the way in the middle.

William Kwenkeu was the leading tackler for Temple last season and he will be the leader for the group and the defense this upcoming season. Alongside Kwenkeu, freshman Kobe Wilson and sophomore Kwantel Raines are going to be starting. In the secondary, UConn transfer Keyshawn Paul and Freddie Johnson should get the starts at corner and Amir Tyler is back at safety after being second on the team in tackles. MJ Griffin is going to be the other starter at safety and looking to make an impact.

How good this defense is in 2021 will depend on if the transfers can get adjusted quickly and if they are even talented to make an impact. That can make this team tough to project and it is likely to either be very good or go rather poorly.