Temple University football head coach Stan Drayton emphasized he wanted to bring in recruits that would buy into his system when he was hired in December 2021.
On Wednesday, seven high schoolers and five transfers signed their National Letter of Intent to join Drayton’s 2022 recruiting class. Temple signed three players before Drayton was hired on Dec. 15, 2021 — Sam Martin, Jackson Pruitt and Corey Yeoman – bringing the class to 15 signings.
“Being an area recruiter for 27 years, you have to have the skill set of identifying talent,” Drayton said. “That part of it wasn’t anything new, the tough part of it was trying to find a system that fits.”
Here is a breakdown of the 12 new players who committed to Temple Wednesday.
Elijah Warner:
Warner comes in at six feet, 200 pounds from Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. The son of former NFL quarterback and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner is a three-star recruit and received a total of 11 offers, but committed to Temple on Jan. 21. He totaled 2,742 yards, 26 touchdown passes and eight interceptions this season, according to Max Preps.
Darvon Hubbard:
Hubbard is a three-star running back transfer from Texas A&M University, where he played in three games and rushed for four yards in two seasons before entering the transfer portal on Jan. 19. He hails from Willow Canyon High School in Surprise, Arizona, where he averaged 6.9 yards per carry on 99 rushes and eight touchdowns. In the air, he recorded 19 receptions with 17.6 yards per catch and three scores. Hubbard committed to Temple on Jan. 26.
Reese Clark:
Clark, a Philadelphia native and three-star recruit, comes from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Fairmount and received his only offer from Temple. He committed on Feb. 13, 2021, when former head coach Rod Carey still led the team.
The six-foot four-inch and 200-pound commit played wide receiver at St. Joseph’s but will play tight end for Temple.
Aaron Jones:
Jones, a three-star recruit according to 247sports, attended Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. The defensive tackle received three non-Temple offers, and committed to the Owls on Dec. 29, 2021.
In 2019, Jones had 79 tackles and six sacks at Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, Connecticut, before transferring to St. John Paul II High School in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Zamar Grove:
Grove is a six-foot six-inch, 235-pound edge rusher out of Irvington High School in Irvington, New Jersey. He is an unranked recruit with no other Division I offers. Grove had 12.5 sacks and 71.5 total tackles in 13 games his senior season, and committed to the Owls on Jan. 31.
Elijah Deravil:
Deravil is a cornerback out of Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. The unranked Junior College commit is from Miami, Florida, and had four other Division I offers, according to 247sports.
Deravil had 20 tackles and two interceptions in eight games played as a JUCO senior after transferring from Bethune-Cookman University, where he redshirted.
Dominick Hill:
Hill is a three-star transfer from the University of South Carolina, which he signed with on Dec. 18, 2019. The former wide receiver turned cornerback appeared in four games for the Gamecocks and recorded six total tackles. Hill attended Jones High School in Orlando, Florida, where he had six interceptions in 13 games.
Jacob Hollins:
Hollins is a JUCO redshirt-junior also from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. The six-foot one-inch, 225-pound linebacker spent his freshman season at Illinois, where he played in eight games, primarily on special teams. Last season, he transferred to Garden City and played in 11 games at linebacker, notching 56 tackles and two sacks.
Darrien Lewis:
The six-foot two-inch, 230-pound linebacker is from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland. Lewis originally played at DeMatha Catholic High School in Washington, D.C., before transferring to St. Francis for his senior year.
London Hall:
The three-star recruit from Clearwater Catholic High School in Clearwater, Florida, is a six-foot-two, 210-pound linebacker. Hall spent his first three seasons as a cornerback at Calvary Christian High School before transferring his senior year. During his senior season, he had 61 tackles, three interceptions and three kick returns for touchdowns.
Antwone Santiago:
Santiago is a six-foot three-inch, 210-pound linebacker from Platt High in Meriden, Connecticut. While at Platt High, Santiago played wide receiver and safety. During his senior year, he totaled 31 catches for 492 yards and five touchdowns.
Tra Thomas:
Thomas is a JUCO sophomore transfer from Independence Community College in Independence, Kansas. The six-foot four-inch, 224-pound outside linebacker competed in 10 games, recorded 39 tackles, two sacks and one interception with the Pirates. Prior to college, Thomas played tight end and outside linebacker at Old Mill High in Millersville, Maryland.
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