Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →Temple Owls Quarterbacks and Receivers
American Athletic. Starting quarterbacks by year: 2026: Ajani Sheppard, Jaxon Smolik; 2025: Evan Simon; 2024: Evan Simon, Forrest Brock; 2023: E.J. Warner, Quincy Patterson.
Temple Starting Quarterbacks and Receivers by Season
| Season | Quarterbacks (starts) | Top receivers (targets) | Pass Yds | TD-INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ajani Sheppard (3), Jaxon Smolik (2) | Jayce Freeman 22, JoJo Bermudez 19, Colin Chase 15 | 747 | 7-1 |
| 2025 | Evan Simon (12) | Colin Chase 64, Kajiya Hollawayne 60, JoJo Bermudez 55 | 2,249 | 25-2 |
| 2024 | Evan Simon (9), Forrest Brock (3) | Dante Wright 69, Ashton Allen 34, Antonio Jones 27 | 2,491 | 16-11 |
| 2023 | E.J. Warner (10), Quincy Patterson (2) | Zae Baines 48, Dante Wright 44, David Martin-Robinson 43 | 3,216 | 23-15 |
| 2022 | E.J. Warner (10), D'Wan Mathis (2) | Jose Barbon 88, Adonicas Sanders 58, Amad Anderson Jr. 36 | 3,308 | 18-11 |
| 2021 | D'Wan Mathis (7), Justin Lynch (5) | Randle Jones 46, Jose Barbon 45, Jadan Blue 37 | 2,104 | 10-8 |
| 2020 | Anthony Russo (3), Trad Beatty (2), Re-al Mitchell (1), Kamal Gray (1) | Jadan Blue 55, Branden Mack 51, Randle Jones 41 | 1,471 | 11-11 |
| 2019 | Anthony Russo (12) | Jadan Blue 130, Branden Mack 101, Isaiah Wright 73 | 3,137 | 25-11 |
| 2018 | Anthony Russo (9), Frank Nutile (3) | Ventell Bryant 76, Branden Mack 61, Isaiah Wright 61 | 3,082 | 19-18 |
| 2017 | Logan Marchi (7), Frank Nutile (5) | Isaiah Wright 71, Adonis Jennings 67, Keith Kirkwood 58 | 3,067 | 20-15 |
| 2016 | Phillip Walker (13) | Ventell Bryant 63, Keith Kirkwood 54, Jahad Thomas 40 | 2,877 | 20-12 |
| 2015 | P.J. Walker (13) | Robby Anderson 104, Ventell Bryant 62, Brandon Shippen 32 | 2,830 | 20-7 |
| 2014 | P.J. Walker (12) | Jalen Fitzpatrick 80, John Christopher 43, Kenneth Harper 31 | 2,406 | 13-16 |
| 2013 | P.J. Walker (7), Connor Reilly (4), Clinton Granger (1) | Robbie Anderson 67, Jalen Fitzpatrick 63, Ryan Alderman 55 | 2,976 | 23-11 |
| 2012 | Chris Coyer (9), Clinton Granger (2) | Jalen Fitzpatrick 50, Cody Booth 26, Kenneth Harper 16 | 1,333 | 10-6 |
| 2011 | Chester Stewart (6), Chris Coyer (3), Mike Gerardi (2) | Joe Jones 40, Evan Rodriguez 34, Deon Miller 26 | 1,368 | 9-4 |
College starts are inferred: the team's first passer in each game.
2026 Temple Target Tree
| Player | Pos | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jayce Freeman | WR | 22 | 8 | 162 | 1 |
| JoJo Bermudez | WR | 19 | 12 | 99 | 1 |
| Colin Chase | WR | 15 | 9 | 201 | 2 |
| Peter Clarke | TE | 11 | 7 | 54 | 0 |
| Keveun Mason | RB | 8 | 7 | 55 | 0 |
| Ryder Kusch | TE | 8 | 4 | 51 | 0 |
| Samuel Brown V | RB | 4 | 4 | 105 | 2 |
| Joey Schlaffer | TE | 2 | 2 | 13 | 1 |
| Demonte Greene | WR | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Hunter Smith | RB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| De'Carlos Young | RB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rameir Hardy | WR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2026 Temple Games
| Week | Opponent | Result | Quarterback | Cmp-Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | vs rhode island | W 38-14 | Ajani Sheppard | 9-16 | 142 | 1 | 0 |
| Week 2 | vs PSU | L 9-27 | Jaxon Smolik | 13-22 | 107 | 0 | 1 |
| Week 3 | at TOL | L 48-49 | Ajani Sheppard | 12-23 | 164 | 3 | 0 |
| Week 4 | vs ARMY | L 17-21 | Ajani Sheppard | 11-20 | 242 | 2 | 0 |
| Week 5 | at USF | W 17-13 | Ajani Sheppard | 9-14 | 92 | 1 | 0 |
2026 Temple Connections
| QB → Receiver | Tgt | Cmp | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajani Sheppard → Jayce Freeman | 18 | 7 | 144 | 0 |
| Ajani Sheppard → JoJo Bermudez | 15 | 8 | 55 | 0 |
| Ajani Sheppard → Colin Chase | 13 | 8 | 185 | 2 |
| Jaxon Smolik → Peter Clarke | 6 | 5 | 26 | 0 |
| Ajani Sheppard → Ryder Kusch | 6 | 2 | 26 | 0 |
| Ajani Sheppard → Keveun Mason | 6 | 5 | 44 | 0 |
| Ajani Sheppard → Peter Clarke | 5 | 2 | 28 | 0 |
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
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