1. "We found out on Saturday morning, that's when he told us," Drayton said. "We didn't know anything prior to that.”
McDowell participated in five spring practice sessions after joining the team in January and going through winter workouts. He was very much in the mix for the starting job based on his early performance.
"We were at practice number six at the time and he was definitely in a good spot with the competition," Drayton said. "But in his mind he's got to find a place that's going to be right for him in his last year of play.”
"He was good-to-go," Drayton said. "He has his degree, so he has the free will to go when he wants where he wants, which is tough to manage a football team that way. It does allow some kids to make decisions, in my opinion, prematurely.”
"Drayton admitted that McDowell's decision caught him by surprise.”
2. "Coach Stan Drayton says Cliff McDowell informed the team on Saturday morning that he was leaving the team (after five practices) and it came as a surprise.”
3. "Montana transfer
Cliff McDowell has exited the Temple football program after two weeks of spring practice and is reportedly back in the transfer portal. McDowell’s departure was first reported on social media on Monday afternoon by Mike Farrell Sports. A Temple spokesperson later confirmed that the 6-4 quarterback had left the team."
"At Temple, McDowell participated in the first five practice sessions this spring but was not in attendance for the team’s first full-scale scrimmage on Saturday. He had produced big plays and touchdowns with his arm and his legs in 11-on-11 work during the first two weeks of spring drills, according to the team’s practice blog.”
McDowell did talk to reporters after practice last weekend and indicated that things had gotten off to a good start on North Broad Street.
“Every day I’m getting more and more comfortable with the playbook,” he said. “We’ve got much more, so we’ve just got to keep stacking.”
“Ever since my first school I was at, the Ragin’ Cajuns, it had always been my goal to go back to FBS,” McDowell said. “And I stayed in FCS a little bit just to get some film and show what I could do. And thankfully the Temple coaches came by and trusted me to come and make a difference in their program.”
Temple’s head coach addressed the departure of Cliff McDowell and the progress of his QB room after practice on Tuesday
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