Owls offer former FCS standout QB Tyler Hughes
Temple is still in search of adding a transfer quarterback, and the Owls extended an offer to former William & Mary quarterback Tyler Hughes once the portal opened Jan. 2.
After playing sparingly in his first three seasons, the 6-foot, 200-pound Marietta, Georgia product threw for 2,330 yards and 20 touchdowns against just three interceptions while completing nearly 67% of his passes, and he also rushed for 670 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
Hughes has also reported offers on social media from UTEP, Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, UMass, Ball State and Wyoming in addition to the Owls.
Temple signed three quarterbacks last month on the NCAA’s early National Signing Day in Mooresville High School’s Brody Norman, St. Thomas Aquinas’s Brady Palmer and St. Joseph Regional’s Lamar Best, with Norman and Palmer set to enroll later this month, but the Owls currently don’t have a quarterback on their roster who has taken a college snap. Former starter Evan Simon threw for 2,097 yards, 25 touchdowns and just two interceptions this past fall in his final season of eligibility, and backups Gevani McCoy (out of eligibility) Tyler Douglas (portal), Anthony Chiccitt (out of eligibility) and former walk-on Patrick Keller (portal) are all moving on. Camren Boykin, a class of 2025 recruit who was recruited by the previous staff and retained by head coach K.C. Keeler, is set to return this season as a redshirt freshman.
Temple had extended an offer to former Saginaw Valley State quarterback Mason McKenzie and planned to bring the Division II standout in for an official visit this week, but McKenzie verbally committed to Boston College this weekend before he could get to North Broad Street. McKenzie played in the same Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference as former Ferris State star Trinidad Chambliss. In a similar situation last year, Temple identified Chambliss in the portal and had him set up for an official visit, but Chambliss committed to Ole Miss just before his planned visit to the Owls. Chambliss has since gone on to throw for more than 3,600 yards and 21 touchdowns to go with eight rushing scores for an Ole Miss team that is set to take on Miami Thursday night in the College Football Playoff semifinal round.
Hughes had several notable performances at William & Mary this past season, including an Oct. 4 win over North Carolina A&T in which he threw a 75-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 66-yard run, and he threw for 235 yards and a touchdown and tallied 63 yards and two rushing touchdowns in the Tribe’s 31-24 loss at eventual FCS national semifinalist Villanova back on Sept. 27. Earlier in the season, Hughes threw a 79-yard touchdown pass at Virginia in the second quarter of a 55-16 loss to the Cavaliers in the Tribe’s lone game against an FBS opponent this season.
