Boyle brothers lining up to play for Owls

January 24, 2008

Boyle brothers lining up to play for Owls

Kenny Walter
OwlScoop.com Staff Writer

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Temple offensive coordinator George DeLeone appears to be building a cohesive unit along the line of scrimmage. Establishing some depth there is the next step for DeLeone, who also serves as the Owls' offensive line coach, and the fiery teacher and mentor is hoping the addition of a set of twin brothers from Maryland's Calvert Hall High School will provide some help in that area.

The Owls landed verbal commitments from left tackle Pat Boyle and left guard Sean Boyle when the pair accepted scholarship offers from Temple head coach Al Golden in October.

The Boyle twins, who check in at 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, said they made their college decisions individually. And while they're certainly excited about playing together at the next level, that was not the only factor in their decision.

"It's nice to be going to school with him," Pat Boyle said, "but we made our decisions separately. We did not have to be going to the same school. William & Mary was pushing for us hard as well. Towson had some interest in the beginning of the summer. In the end, we both felt that Temple was the right place."

"Playing together is not extremely important to us," Sean Boyle said, echoing his brother's sentiments.

Temple is in a unique situation in that the Owls expect to return 10 of 11 starters on offense, including all five on the offensive line, so the Boyles know it will take a lot of work to make an impact as freshmen.

In fact, they were quite honest in breaking down their own individual games when speaking with OwlScoop.com.

"I need to work on my speed," Pat Boyle said. "I had a lot of trouble with faster defensive ends. At the next level, they are all going to be pretty fast."

"I like going against bigger lineman that I can get under and push off," Sean Boyle said. "I still need to work on my speed. We didn't pass the ball a lot, but when we did, I felt I did a good job pass blocking."

The Boyles were part of a Calvert Hall team that went 5-6 in 2007. Throughout the year, they kept close tabs on the obvious improvement of their future program in North Philadelphia.

"They made some great strides," Pat Boyle said. "I never really knew anything about Temple football, but I followed them this year and I was impressed with what they did. They were competitive every game I saw. We went to the Kent State game (a 24-14 Temple win), and it is real exciting to get a chance to play at [Lincoln Financial Field]. Every player wants to play in a stadium that size."

While the Boyles are excited to be joining an improving program, they kept a close eye on the coaching situation this off-season when Golden interviewed for the head coaching job at UCLA. Golden ultimately withdrew his name from consideration just after Christmas.

"I felt like it was a good thing," Pat Boyle said. "For him to be interviewing for a job like that means he must be doing something good at Temple. It really just gives more exposure to Temple."

"When I heard he was interviewing with UCLA, I thought about leaving," Sean Boyle admitted. "In the end, Temple was where I wanted to be. I'm glad he came back, and I am excited to play for him next season."



OwlScoop.com staff writer Kenny Walter can be reached at kenneth.walter@temple.edu.