During the offseason, Temple football players met with mental coaches to help them prepare for the challenges they will face in the upcoming season. One of the exercises required each player to come up with their main goals for the season.
Each player in the locker room quickly thought of a goal for themselves — everybody except for one.
Tyquan King was the only player who didn’t think of a goal, instead, he made an “expectation” to be the best player he could be to help the team. The linebacker wanted to focus on aiding the team he just transferred to a few months prior.
“[I’m] just doing whatever I need to do to help the team,” King said. “I never set a goal for myself. I just want to be the best individual I can be.”
King had to wait for his number to be called as he watched from the sidelines as a reserve for much of the first two games. He suffered an injury that left him in street clothes in Temple’s week three loss to Coastal Carolina on Sept. 14.
King returned the following week against Utah State and was part of the starting lineup after linebacker Eric Stuart suffered an injury. King finished the game with a team-high 13 tackles and has not only become the backbone of a much-improved Owls defense, but he’s also solidified himself as one of the best linebackers in the American Athletic Conference.
“[Tyquan is] just a guy doing exactly what we preach as coaches, just to be ready when your number is called,” said linebackers coach Chris Woods. “You really never know when it’s going to happen. When it happens it’s incumbent on you to go in there and execute the defense. If you stink it up, then chances are you’re going to lose your opportunity.”
On-field production has never been an issue for King, who was a tackling machine during his two seasons at North Carolina A&T by notching 93 tackles in 2022.
King transferred to ECU the following year but re-entered the portal after just three games with the Pirates. There, he was discovered by Temple’s coaching staff, who roped him into the culture head coach Stan Drayton had cultivated at Edberg-Olson Hall the past two seasons.
But there was still a learning curve King needed to navigate. The Owls brought in more than 40 new players during the offseason, leaving King with competition to carve a spot in the starting linebacker room. King tested out a few different positions but found himself on the outside looking in of the starting 11.
“When I first got here in the spring, I was put through three different spots,” King said. “Coach Woods just wanted to get a feel for me and see how I get acclimated into the system. Once I was able to hone in on one spot it allowed me to flourish, because I could focus on my job description.”
While he wasn’t in the starting lineup, King made a lasting impression on the coaches and his teammates. Everybody around the building knew it was only a matter of time before King earned his shot and when he did, he never let it leave his grasp.
King finds himself first on the team in tackles and has formed a strong duo with single-digit linebacker D.J. Woodbury Sr. The two have become a tandem in the Owls’ second level and have become closer friends off the field. When King started to come into his own this season, it left Woodbury Sr. unphased despite it being a shock to those on the outside looking in.
“Things that I expected to see all year,” Woodbury Sr. said. “When he first came here, he was raised just to buy into what we had going on here. And he’s a born leader. He’s someone that man him. We go to that all the time. How much we want to win.”
King’s impact has helped lift the Owls’ defense and now they show signs of improvement this season. His playing skills gave an extra boost and he has helped aid Temple despite its 2-5 record. He has also helped continue the cycle of linebacker play that has been a constant factor for the previous decade.
King is aware of the trend and is glad to be a part of it and hopes that it continues past him into future generations of Temple players.
“It feels great,” King said. “There’s people who have come way before me and there’s people that will come way after. I just want to leave a grateful impact.”
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