New Orleans Saints wide receiver starred at Temple before moving on to the Big Easy (New Orleans Saints photo)

As of early December, there are 18 former Temple Owls under contract with NFL teams, 14 are on active rosters, two are on practices squads and two are on injured reserve lists. The latest Owl to join an active roster was Keith Kirkwood, who was elevated from the New Orleans Saints practice squad to the active roster on November 10th.

Kirkwood – a 6 foot-3 wide receiver, who was an undrafted free agent – wasn’t just taking up a roster spot, he’s been a contributor since he got his chance to get on the field.

In his first career game, he was targeted twice and caught both balls for 45 yards – including a 42-yard catch and run. He also had a tackle on special teams. Brian Baldinger on his Baldy’s Breakdowns on Twitter, said of the 42-yard play, “[Kirkwood] gets a chance to play Sunday due to injuries and ran this “drag/wheel” to perfection and his HOF QB built an instant trust.” The Saints beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the game 51-14.

“I think I gained Drew’s trust from day one,” said Kirkwood about Saints quarterback Drew Brees, “when he saw how hard I worked. I try my best to prepare every single week, I think I’ve shown I’ve improved and I have to keep going.”

“I’ve got a ton of confidence in him,” said Brees after their win over the Philadelphia Eagles. “He’s only going to get more and more opportunities. I love his progress here since OTA’s. While he was on practice squad, you saw flashes and just a level on consistency too. He’s a really smart guy and can play every position. I could see the way he was preparing each and every week even though he wasn’t in the lineup, he would study every position and I think that’s a unique quality for a guy to be able to step in and do that. With his size, his speed and his traits, I think to more time we have on task together the better he’s going to become, the more confident he’ll become and the more we’ll be able to work him into our offense.”

In their 48-7 dismantling of the Eagles, Kirkwood had three catches on four targets for 33 yards. All three catches gave the Saints first downs, two of them converted third downs. On the first one, he chipped defensive end Michael Bennett, to assist left tackle Jermon Bushrod, then got into his route and caught a four-yard pass from Drew Brees on third-and-three.

The second reception was a three yarder but he gained seven yards after the catch to give the Saints a first down on a third-and-nine play from their 15-yard line. Later in the same drive, he had a 19-yard catch and run to give his team a first-and-goal. Ultimately, the possession would end with the Saints first touchdown of the game.

On Thanksgiving Day, Kirkwood had one catch for a five-yard touchdown in the Saints 31-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons. He made his first career start against the Dallas Cowboys and caught the only touchdown for the Saints in a 13-10 loss. Since his activation, he’s been in on over 40 percent of the Saints offensive snaps and 26 snaps on special teams.

In 36 games at Temple, Kirkwood caught 91 passes for 1,388 yards and 12 touchdowns. None was bigger than the eight-yard touchdown pass from Phillip Walker with one second left in the Owls improbable 26-25 come-from-behind win over UCF in 2016; it was a key win in the Owls march to the American Athletic Conference championship that season.

Former Owls head coach Geoff Collins took over as head coach for 2017 (Kirkwood’s senior season) and the pair bonded. The tradition at Temple is that the nine toughest players get the single-digit jersey numbers and the first single digit Collins awarded was the number 5 to Kirkwood. Five was Collins number as a defensive back and linebacker at Western Carolina (a fact he never failed to mention) so you know it’s important to him.

Naturally, Kirkwood’s success in the NFL has been noticed at his former home on North Broad Street.

“I’ve got a special relationship with Keith,” said Collins as he cracked a huge smile. “I think the absolute world of him. He embodies everything this place is all about. When you see guys really want to achieve something and are willing to work as hard as they can to achieve it and then it starts to happen for them, the sense of pride is at a really high level. I can’t say enough special things about that young man.”

Kirkwood gave it right back.

“Coach Collins is an amazing coach,’ Kirkwood said in the raucous Saints locker room after their win over the Eagles. “He harped special teams from day one, ‘the way to get on the field is through special teams.’ I think from my hard work – that started over at Temple and transferred into the NFL – special teams are key. I think that’s what got me on the field and then offense just blew up.”

“All the guys that play in the league, I tend to watch them, especially Kirkwood he’s in my position group,” said Temple wide receiver Ventell Bryant, who is the Owls all-time leader in receptions and yards. “I talk to him all the time and he’s telling me, ‘when the opportunity comes, you have to be ready to play’ and he’s been ready. Drew Brees trusts him, he a great guy, he knows what he’s doing out there. I’m glad they’re using him.”

Temple TUFF has found a home in the Big Easy.

Email Rock Hoffman at rock@footballstories.com