Temple Football Position Preview; Linebacker
Tagged under: News, Pennsylvania Colleges, Temple
Mike Livingston | June 8, 2026
The heart of Temple’s defense is looking like one of the most talented spots on the Owls roster as the 2026 season approaches, and without a doubt, the most talented spot on the Owl defense.
Looking into the past, nearly every signature Temple team had one thing in common: a strong, hard-hitting, and gritty corps of linebackers – and it seems that K.C. Keeler and Brian Smith may have just that on their hands this coming season. With loads of proven talent, and a player who may turn out to be the best player on the Owls roster without much of a doubt.
Outside Linebackers –
#10, Jaylon Joseph – 235/6’2
Houston, TX (North Shore)
Following three standout seasons for Lafayette College, Jaylon Joseph made the move down I-476 to North Broad Street for his final season of NCAA eligibility.
Joseph, who had been a star since his freshman season when he was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in FCS football, is coming off a 2025 campaign where he played in 12 games, totaled 23 tackles (15 solos), 7.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles. The Houston native had a stretch of four games where he had 2+ sacks in three of the four contests, and a season-best 2.5 sacks and six tackles against Fordham.
Joseph easily slotted himself as the top edge rusher on the Temple roster, working out in coverage and off the edge on the line – he began his Temple career making life miserable for both Ajani Sheppard and Jaxon Smolik while chasing them all around the backfield and clogging up passing lanes over the middle, working strong coverage on star tight end Peter Clarke for most of the spring.
Look for Joseph to be a prime candidate for single-digit honors come preseason, and also as nothing short of a star on defense for the Owls in 2026.
#56, JaMair Diaz – 6’1/245, R-Jr
Passaic, NJ (Passaic) – Sam Houston State – Glenville State
A North Jersey product, Diaz made the move to Temple in the offseason after one season at Sam Houston State, the former home of Keeler.
Diaz played in just four games and totaled 14 tackles, while returning a fumble recovery 43 yards in his debut at Western Kentucky, and had one sack among a season-high six tackles at Hawaii.
Though in his brief time during spring practices, Diaz took himself to the top of the totem pole in an edge rusher room that needed a second proven guy to back up Joseph.
With limited proven depth behind him, look for Diaz to take the majority of the snaps at the second edge spot for the Owls in 2026.
#28, David Kpeglo – 6’2/230, R-Jr
Philadelphia, PA (Neumann-Goretti)
After walking on to the roster back in 2023, Kpeglo has spent the last three seasons working his way up the depth chart and earning his keep.
He spent time in backup positions at outside backer last season while also spending time on special teams units.
Assuming he maintains his production level from the spring, Kpeglo could see some limited snap counts throughout the year.
#48, Adriano McLean – 6’6/230, R-Fr
Lansdowne, PA (Penn Wood)
The Delaware County product, McLean, didn’t see the field during his freshman season for the Owls and struggled to make much of a presence in spring camp.
However, with the aforementioned lack of depth at the position, look for McLean to possibly see some snaps throughout the year, presuming he isn’t able to get anywhere come fall camp.
#50, Brian Adderley – 6’2/245, R-Fr
Newark, DE (Glasgow)
A second-year walk-on, the local product didn’t see all that much time away from the fourth and third team in the spring. And considering a lack of playing time last year aside from special teams snaps, it’s hard to see Adderley’s role changing all that much in 2026.
Inside Linebackers –
#33, Curly Ordonez – 220/6’1, Sr
Fort Lauderdale, FL (Miramar)
Possibly the Owls’ best returning defensive player, Ordonez comes into his second season on North Broad following a year where he started every game at weakside linebacker for Temple – ultimately earning himself All-American Conference Honorable Mention honors.
He made his Temple debut during the Owls’ Week 1 win at UMass and recorded three tackles, including a TFL, while recording a Temple and FBS career-high seven tackles at the time vs. Oklahoma. He’d go on to record his first career sack vs. Navy and served as a team captain while having his best career game vs. East Carolina with 14 tackles while also recording a TFL.
Despite being limited through spring camp, Ordonez still headlines the Owls’ linebacker corps and projects to be a first-line starter.
#22, Eric Stuart – 6’2/215, GS
East Palo Alto, CA (Menlo-Atherton)
Eric Stuart comes into his final season with the Owls and will look to create a dangerous one-two pairing with Ordonez in the defensive backfield.
As a regular part of the linebacker rotation last season, Stuart served as a team captain and recorded a game-high six tackles during a Week 1 win at UMass. He made his first start of the season vs. Howard and recovered a fumble at Georgia Tech.
Stuart filled in well in the middle of the defense, never garnering too much attention, which can be looked at both positively and negatively.
As of now, he projects to get the opening-week nod alongside Ordonez.
#44, Tyree Alualu – 6’0/230, Jr
Wexford, PA (North Allegheny)
An impressive stock riser in spring camp, Alualu, who is the son of former NFLer Tyson Alualu, stepped up in the absence of Ordonez and put himself in the starting linebacker conversation and right in the heat of the battle come fall camp.
Alualu saw marginal playing time during his first two seasons at Temple, spending time on both special teams and defense during his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Owls.
He’ll make his case for the starting job when fall camp comes around. Assuming he doesn’t get the bid, it’s easy to presume he’ll see regular time in the linebacker rotation.
#30, Jayvant Brown – 6’0/220, R-Jr
Deerfield Beach, FL (St. Thomas Aquinas)
The former SEC product and Kentucky Wildcat, Brown, spent 2025 with the Owls and saw limited playing time.
Now coming into his redshirt junior season, he projects to be a regular part of the linebacker rotation in a room that seems to get deeper every time the Owls take the field.
While Brown may not be at the starting caliber just yet, he very well could headline the position for Temple in 2027.
#36, Wesley Brown – 6’2/210, R-So
Decatur, GA (Cedar Grove)
Like Alualu, Brown worked his way up the ladder in spring camp and made big plays when he was given the opportunity to.
Brown, who became a core special teamer last season for Temple, has worked to carve out a good role for himself on the field over the past two seasons.
On top of his special teams assignments, he’ll also likely join the linebacker rotation, filling in on specific scheme looks.
#12, Willy Love – 215/6’3, R-So
Camden, NJ (Woodrow Wilson)
A local product who spent his first college season at Monmouth, Love joined the Owls last season, where he redshirted.
While Love doesn’t project to be deep in the linebacker rotation, he could definitely see time in specific spots, though it will likely be another year or two until he breaks through as a regular at the position.
#43, Aiden Britton – 5’11/215, R-So
Stroudsburg, PA (Scranton Prep)
The former walk-on from Scranton Prep was one of the grittiest guys on the field all spring for the Owls, working his way into a few big-time first-team reps towards the end of the stint.
Britton, who has always been on the bubble in terms of getting snaps on both defense and special teams, likely won’t see too much meaningful playing time this year unless he goes off in fall camp and shows out in the weeks leading up to the season. However, a special teams role could very well be in the playing cards for the Eastern PA guy soon enough.
#53, Reggie Jones – 235/6’2, R-Jr
Leesburg, VA (DeMatha Catholic)
The Owls’ very own social media darling, Jones, enters his fourth season as a walk-on still on “the road to one tackle,” as he affectionately puts it on his social media series that has documented his college football journey.
One of the most fun-loving guys on the roster, he didn’t see all too much meaningful action in spring ball, though he could break through this year and see some playing time in garbage time and blowout situations.
#15, Jordan Montgomery – 230/6’2
Philadelphia, PA (Roman Catholic)
A former recruit entering his fourth season with Temple, Montgomery appeared in every game for the Owls in 2025 yet struggled in spring camp.
The Philadelphia native failed to see much meaningful field time and didn’t impress when given it.
There is little doubt that Montgomery will see the field in 2026, though he’ll need to turn things around in the fall if he wants to keep his trajectory looking north.
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