Two years ago, former Tennessee commit Jabo Lee arrived on campus with much fanfare, having been named the South Carolina Player of the Year. Knee injuries have hampered his progress but do not mean the end of his career, because former Owl back Montel Harris proved it is possible to bounce back from knee injuries. Harris scored seven touchdowns and had 351 yards in a 63-32 win at Army in 2012, and Lee is a similar talent.

Few things were more frustrating to Temple fans last year than the lack of a punt return game. Temple coaches, perhaps overly concerned about a couple of early-season muffs, put a possession receiver back on punt returns, and the results were a lot of fair catches that led to poor field position. If the Owls want to tilt the field in their favor, they will have to use a dynamic returner like Nate L. Smith (above) or Khalif Herbin.

The Owls recruited five wide receivers in the 2014 class, none of whom were able to make a significant impact on the field last year. There is still hope, though, that Hawaii transfer and Neptune, N.J., native Keith Kirkwood (above, No. 10), who did make the field, fulfills his potential as a favorite target for quarterback P.J. Walker.

One of the reasons why the Owls will enter the season as one of the favorites in the AAC is that they return all 11 starters from a defense that ranked No. 4 in the nation in points allowed (only 17.5 per game). Still, four-star recruit Kareem Ali is on campus, and he will likely win one cornerback spot. This will allow Tavon Young (above, No. 1) to move to safety where his ball-hawking skills will make a good defense even more effective.