Middle linebacker Elijah “Peanut” Joseph and defensive tackle Elisha “Eli” Joseph aren’t just two of Temple football’s mainstays. They’re twins. Peanut is a few minutes older, and Eli is almost 50 pounds heavier. But other than that, they have a lot in common. They’re both graduating from the College of Liberal Arts (Peanut with a degree in sociology, Eli with a degree in criminal justice). They’re both defensive stars who’ve been recognized as among the Mid-American Conference’s finest. And as upperclassmen they helped spearhead the Temple football program’s dramatic turnaround, leading the Owls to consecutive winning seasons and the team’s first bowl game in three decades in 2009.

Temple Times: You’re twins. If you go your separate ways after graduating, will it be the first time you’ve ever been separated?

Eli: Yes. We’ve been together our whole lives. We grew up playing midget football together in Hartford, Conn. We went to the same high school. We attended the same prep school. And now we’re graduating from Temple together.

TT: Are there advantages to playing on the same team as your twin brother?

Peanut: It’s a special kind of bond. It benefits us during good times and bad times. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to come to Temple together. Our relationship — being together — inspires us. We play for each other.

TT: Peanut, your senior season ended with a knee injury in the second-to-last game of the season. How are you feeling?

Peanut: My knee never really hurt me. What hurt me was not being on the field; not being there to help my teammates. My rehab has been going well. I’m about 90 percent. I try to stay positive. I’m in the training room every day three to four hours a day, trying to take care of my body. You have to work hard at it if you want to be successful.

 TT: Eli, you’re graduating with a 3.37 GPA. You’re a two-time member of the Academic All-MAC and Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area teams, and you’re a member of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s Hampshire Honor Society. What’s your time management secret?

Eli: It’s simple. You have to give something up. It means you can’t watch as much TV. Sometimes not as much sleep, staying up late doing homework. A lot of people can’t give those things up. But if you want to achieve something, you have to do it.

TT: How is life different for a Temple football player now compared to when you first arrived?

Peanut: The student body’s attitude has changed so much since our freshman year. Our freshman year, there weren’t a lot of students involved in Temple football or coming to games. People look at us differently now.

Eli: We see a lot more smiles. As a freshman, people told us how bad we were when we walked around campus. Now everything’s positive.

TT: Things didn’t turn out exactly as you had hoped on NFL draft day. What’s next?

Eli: We have to focus on today. We can’t control what happened in the draft or what’s happening with the NFL lockout. We can only control what we can control — that’s working hard every day, as hard as we did in the past. Hopefully in the future, everything will be solved and we can sign as NFL free agents.

TT: Your favorite class at Temple?

Peanut: [African American studies instructor] Nathaniel Thompson’s hip-hop course. It wasn’t just about music — he educated us on the history behind how hip-hop evolved. Coming from practice, I was usually tired, but I always looked forward to his class.

Eli: A class I took last semester called “The Black Woman,” taught by [African American studies doctoral student] Antwanisha Alameen. It changed my perspective about women. I was the only man in the class. I convinced some of my fellow football players to come.

TT: How about your favorite football-related memory?

Peanut: Just being a part of history — being here to help turn around this program and get this program running in the right direction. That’s the main thing that makes me happy. Coming from our freshman year, when we only won four games, to having two winning seasons the last two years. I’m very proud of that. We set a good foundation for the future.

— Hillel Hoffmann