ASU Football: The Sun Devil Quarterback Situation

As Sun Devil Nation prepares for the upcoming game at Washington this Saturday, they will no doubt be paying attention to the quarterback situation.

The general concensus right now is that Taylor Kelly will return as the starting quarterback for ASU.  Taylor went down Sept. 13 against Colorado.  Back up Mike Bercovici stepped in and went 2-1 as the starter.  (He looked pretty impressive in doing so)  Because of Bercovici’s performances, there was some speculation that there was a possible quarterback controversy in Tempe.  Head coach Todd Graham put an end to that speculation before it even began, stating that Taylor Kelly is the starter and when he’s healthy, he’ll be out there.

That’s the right thing to do in order to keep the peace in the locker room.  As for the best choice to put on the field, that is debatable.  Bercovici did well as the starter.  He’s almost strictly a drop-back passer.  But he’s good at it.  Kelly, on the other hand is a decent passer, but more of a running threat.  His presence on the field to run the zone-read option should actually help the running game get back on track.  No longer will defenses be able to ignore the quarterback and focus solely on DJ Foster.

This may be critical against Washington.  The Huskies have a great defense–one of the best in the conference.  They especially excel at rushing the passer.  A solid running game can slow down that Washington pass rush.  Kelly is also more mobile in case the pass protection breaks down.  So, for the coaches, the decision is quite simple.  Kelly should start, but only if he is 100% healthy.  Kelly has to be the player he was during games 1-3.  If he’s not, then Bercovici should start.

Devils in Detail believes that Kelly will in fact start, and he is the right matchup for this Washington game.  Husky stadium is ridiculously loud and difficult to play in.  Kelly has more experience in those situations.  But here is the caveat:  if Taylor Kelly is rusty and not up to game speed yet, and the offense is not clicking, coach Todd Graham cannot be stubborn and leave Kelly in there.

Hopefully, it won’t happen, but this team needs to be ready to insert Bercovici into the game if Taylor Kelly’s timing and accuracy is off and/or if his effectiveness to run the offense is diminished at all.