Temple will open its season Saturday against Rhode Island with both Ajani Sheppard and Jaxon Smolik in the quarterback plan, a sign the job remains unsettled even as game week arrives. K.C. Keeler said one of them will start at Lincoln Financial Field, but the Owls are prepared to use both at 2 p.m. on +.
That matters because Temple is trying to turn a near miss into progress. Keeler is entering his second season after the Owls went 5-3 in 2025 before four straight losses left them one win short of bowl eligibility, and the opener is the first public look at a roster that added 22 players through the transfer portal. For readers searching Rhode Island Vs Temple, the headline is not just the opponent. It is whether the quarterback plan can steady a team that spent spring and camp sorting out the position.
Sheppard and Smolik have been fighting for the job since the spring, and neither arrives as a blank slate. Smolik appeared sparingly over three seasons at Penn State and never attempted a collegiate pass. Sheppard played in five games across two seasons at Rutgers and completed both of his pass attempts for 23 yards, then missed the entire 2025 season at Washington State because of an injury. Keeler said he thinks Temple can live with two quarterbacks, a judgment that fits a staff still deciding who gets the first snap and how long the other stays involved.
The same caution is showing up at running back, where Sam Brown enters Saturday as the starter but has been limited in practice over the past two weeks after taking a hard hit on Aug. 20. He did not take part in team or contact drills, and Keeler said the staff is trying to protect Brown from Brown, backing him off so he can be fresh on game day. Brown’s status does not sound like a mystery so much as a workload decision, but it leaves Temple with one more moving part before kickoff.
Temple has said it can live with two quarterbacks, yet it still has to decide how that looks in real time. The opener against Rhode Island will not answer every question, but it should show whether the Owls have a workable plan or simply a temporary one.
