DiMichele Anxious To Get Started As Temple's New WR Coach
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Temple Owls have a new wide receivers coach and it is someone that fans of the Cherry and White are very familiar with.
It's former Temple quarterback Adam DiMichele, who gets promoted to the position after spending last season on Matt Rhule's staff as a graduate assistant.
"I learned a lot (as a GA)," DiMichele tells KYW Newsradio. "I talked to Coach Rhule when he hired me as a GA and I told him, 'I want to spend this next year to see if I really want to do this and if I want to really be a college football coach.' And after the season I realized, that hey this is for me. I think I'm almost destined to help change kids lives and be a mentor to them and I'm really excited. The GA life isn't for everybody, but we did it. Me and the guys did it. I've got this great opportunity in front of me and I'm ready to attack it."
DiMichele is replacing Terry Smith, who left to join James Franklin's staff at Penn State, and he has a very good idea what he wants out of the players he will be working with.
"We're going to be a very competitive group," DiMichele says. "I'm going to demand that they come to work every day and get ready to compete. That's kind of how I'm going to coach."
Adam DiMichele Interview
Before graduating in 2009, DiMichele was an outstanding quarterback for the Owls. He was named team MVP following the 2007 and 2008 seasons and he finished his career ranked fourth in school history with 5,024 passing yards. After college he made several stops as a pro, including a cup of coffee with the Eagles and a season spent with the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL. He thinks his experience under center will really be a benefit when it comes to working with pass catchers.
"As a former quarterback, these guys will understand that there are certain windows that wide receivers need to be in at certain times when the quarterback takes his drop," DiMichele says. "I think I can do a really good job of explaining the concepts and explain to them why we're doing this versus certain coverage and what the quarterback's looking for, and the timing of his footsteps depending upon where you're going to be, depending upon what coverage is out there. I think I can bring that to the table for these guys, along with being a competitor."
DiMichele will have a lot of young talent to work with as Temple's 2014 recruiting class includes six wide receivers.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.
