ASU Football: The End of the Taylor Kelly Era
By Mike Slifer
Yesterday, in El Paso, the Taylor Kelly era ended for ASU Football. It ended well. The senior quarterback connected on 22 passes for 240 yards as ASU held on to beat Duke 36-31 in the Sun Bowl.
ASU fans will always remember and be grateful for Kelly leading ASU to 26 wins over his 3 year career. They’ll remember how he led the Sun Devils to two bowl game victories. There were other great victories: last year’s win at UCLA, last year’s drubbing of USC, two thrilling wins against Utah, this year’s win against Notre Dame, among others. And ASU fans will always be grateful for his role in two victories over U of A in the Territorial Cup Game.
But what most fans don’t know about is Taylor Kelly’s leadership. Of all the one hundred or so players on the ASU football team, no one is more liked or respected than Taylor Kelly. His teammates love him. His coaches trust him completely.
On top of that, Kelly is respected in the community for his involvement in youth football and local high schools. Taylor Kelly is a giver and has been recognized as such by several organizations.
But as a player and a competitor, Devils in Detail is most impressed with Taylor Kelly just being the starting quarterback in the first place. If you recall, when coach Todd Graham arrived in 2012 and conducted spring practices, Taylor Kelly was number 3 on the quarterback depth chart behind Michael Eubank and Mike Bercovici. That was at the end of spring ball and heading into fall practice.
Everyone knows the rest of the story. In August of 2012, Kelly leapfrogged both Eubank and Bercovici to become the starting quarterback for opening day. At the time, it was a bit of a head-scratcher. But as we have come to realize, it was the best move. And even though Kelly’s senior season didn’t go as planned, (due to injury) his leadership contributed to another 10-win season. That’s impressive. Coach Graham should also be grateful for having the good fortune to inherit Kelly from the previous coaching staff. (Dennis Erickson)
Taylor’s football career most likely comes to an end here in Tempe. But Sun Devil fans should be eternally grateful for representing the University the way that he did and for his contributions on the football field.