Transforming Tony Temple

Tony Temple’s progress on the field entering this season is obvious. Off the field is tougher to measure.

One of the few things recruiters can’t judge with a stop watch, a tape measure or with video, Temple’s mental makeup has shown various sides over the course of the junior’s time in Columbia, especially since the Independence Bowl.

On the one hand, there’s the Tony Temple who committed himself to the weight room and his conditioning, adding 26 pounds of muscle for this season.

On the other, there’s the Tony Temple arrested in mid-June on a misdemeanor assault charge. With a late-September court date looming, the questions and speculation over what happened that night and what will happen in court are sure to increase as time grows closer to Temple’s day in court. The Kansas City native insists he has matured since the incident.

“Off the field you live and learn,” Temple said. “You’re going to make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. You’ve got to put it behind you and move on.”

Part of that process of moving on begins on Saturday at Faurot Field against Murray State. Temple began the week listed as the No. 1 running back on the depth chart, a job he won after coming back from a suspension following the arrest and helped by Marcus Woods going down with an Achilles tendon injury.

Although Temple is listed as the top running back on the depth chart, Woods said the spread offense the team runs requires at least three running backs. Woods is the second man on the depth chart and said he is close to 100 percent health. Jimmy Jackson is listed third and the fourth man, Earl Goldsmith, is expected to challenge Jackson for playing time.

But the increase in weight, something Temple decided to do when he weighed a mere 174 pounds just after the bowl game, helped him earn the starting job. He also said he began to start running like the back he knows he can be. That’s the Tony Temple that doesn’t mind to throw his extra weight around against other defenders.

“That’s the kind of runner I am because I usually don’t care about who is in front of me and I just wanted that opportunity that when someone’s in front of me, to run over them,” Temple said. “I’m not a guy that just runs east and west. I’ve got to get up the field and get a little contact.”

That attitude has shown in practices leading up to the season opener. Instead of finding the first hole to the outside or getting stopped at the line on the inside, Temple has been willingly hurling his 5-foot-9 frame at a defender when there’s no option to run by him.

Woods said the difference has been in Temple’s maturity.

“When he first got here to last year, even then everybody noticed it,” Woods said. “All he needs is to work hard and he can do whatever he wants. I’ve seen dramatic improvement from last year to this year. He’s always been a good guy and he’s never been cocky or arrogant. I just think it’s maturity.”

Temple was one of the highest-rated recruits in Missouri’s history, ranked as high as the No. 2 running back in the country by recruiting services. He burst onto the Kansas City high school scene as a freshman and completed a legendary high school career, despite playing in only three full games as a senior because of shoulder injuries. Since then, the critiques of him have grown. He’s been called too small, too injury-prone and too fumble-prone.

Temple said the criticisms were a challenge to ignore. But some of the whispers may have had some validity to them. From the time Temple first stepped on campus, all the way through last season, he said he relied too much on his talent alone to try and make his mark.

“I think a lot of younger players come in thinking that,” Temple said. “They feel like they are good enough to play at this level no matter what. I think that’s the biggest difference. You feel like you’re good enough to play so you don’t even think about the little things you need to do.”

Much like Chase Daniel now, coach Gary Pinkel said he didn’t want Temple to think about any of the hype he had coming into Missouri. Entering Temple’s junior season, Pinkel said he’s noticed the changes in his running back, especially in the last month of practices.

“He understands the offense, he runs harder, he’s a better blocker, his explosiveness, his change of direction, all those things and he matured as a young man,” Pinkel said. “I expect to see a different player.”

COMPETITION CONCLUDED: After a close competition between Jeff Wolfert and Adam Crossett, Pinkel announced after Tuesday’s practice that Wolfert will be the primary placekicker for Saturday’s game.

“He was the most consistent,” Pinkel said. “He earned the opportunity.”

Wolfert, a sophomore, originally came to Missouri as a member of the diving team, but decided that he wanted to kick for the football team. Since the start of practice, he has been the most consistent kicker.

Crossett struggled with consistency on his field goals from shorter distances at the start of camp, but did improve as camp went on. He will continue to punt and kick off and Pinkel did not rule out the possibility of Crossett, who has a stronger leg than Wolfert, taking long field goals.