Recruiting spotlight: Vaughn Carraway

January 31, 2008

Recruiting spotlight: Vaughn Carraway

Kenny Walter
OwlScoop.com Staff Writer

Talk about it in the Message Boards
Michigan. West Virginia. Tennessee. Pittsburgh. Syracuse. Connecticut.

Temple?

What do all those programs have in common? They all, at one point in time, made scholarship offers to Vaughn Carraway, one of the top high school football prospects in the state of Pennsylvania.

Temple?

Yes, the Owls beat out those programs to land the talented wide receiver from Muhlenberg High School. As first reported on OwlScoop.com, the 6-foot-2, 168-pound Carraway verbally accepted a scholarship offer from Owls head coach Al Golden Wednesday.

Carraway is ranked by Rivals as the 19th-best prospect in Pennsylvania and No. 66 overall in the nation among receivers. His 49 receptions, 818 yards and 13 touchdowns led Muhlenberg to a 9-3 record. Carraway was a jack-of-all-trades for Muhlenberg, running the ball, catching it, fielding kickoffs and punts.

Oh, and he was also a second-team Class AAAA all-state selection as a safety. He'll play in the prestigious Big 33 game this June in Hershey.

Why Temple? In the end, Carraway just felt it was the right fit.

"I just felt it was the right place for me," Carraway told OwlScoop.com in an interview Wednesday night. "I really like the campus. I like the city. Other schools didn't have that aspect for me. I like being in the middle of everything, and I hope to contribute to an improving team."

"The perception of the program is that they really are improving," Carraway added. "I am excited just to be part of that improvement."

Carraway is the latest, and probably the most impressive, addition to Temple's 2008 recruiting class. The three-star prospect will make it official when he signs his national letter-of-intent next Wednesday on National Signing Day.

Carraway, who visited Temple's campus for the first time on Dec. 14, has already struck up a relationship with his future teammates.

"I hung out with (Temple wide receiver) Bruce (Francis) when I came," Carraway said. "He's a cool guy who is going to help me get adjusted. I also talked with (quarterback) Adam (DiMichele) and (quarterback) Vaughn (Charlton). I already feel comfortable with those guys."

While the highly-touted Carraway comes in with an impressive resume, he also understands how much he really will have to work to make an impression on what is now a crowded group of receivers at Temple.

"I have to work on my route running and getting bigger if I want to contribute next season," Caraway said. "I think I did a good job this season catching the ball. I also did a good job making a move after I got the ball last season. I still need to be stronger and improve on everything before I get to Temple."