Taylor Kelly expected to start at QB for Arizona State
It doesn’t look like there will be a quarterback controversy brewing at Arizona State.
With starter Taylor Kelly out with a foot injury since Sept. 13, backup Mike Bercovici has performed admirably filling in for Kelly, but now it appears that Kelly will regain his starting role Saturday against Washington.
Kelly returned to practice Oct. 9 and Graham initially thought the senior would be able to return for the Sun Devils’ game against Stanford over the weekend, but during pregame warm-ups the decision was made to hold Kelly out.
“Hopefully we’ll have him ready where he can go this week,” ASU head coach Todd Graham said per the Arizona Republic. “He wanted to go last week, but we also have an obligation to make sure I don’t put the kids in jeopardy. If I was making the decision with my heart, I would’ve let him play, but he wasn’t ready. We’ll see how it progresses this week.”
Bercovici made his third consecutive start, throwing for 245 yards and a score against Stanford – a 26-10 Sun Devils win. Previously, the redshirt junior threw for 510 yards and five touchdowns in a win over USC and threw for 488 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to UCLA. Those are some eye-popping numbers from Bercovici, so the decision to go with Kelly had to be somewhat difficult for the coaching staff.
Kelly, an all-Pac 12 selection last year, started 30 consecutive games for the Sun Devils before the injury. Graham said Kelly has been heavily involved in team activities the past few weeks while he continued his recovery.
"He's the most selfless player that I've ever been around,'' Graham said. "He's a winner. I just hated that he worked so hard and he's never going to get an opportunity to play in those last three games again."
Now ranked No. 14 in the country, the Sun Devils (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) are in a great position in a crowded Pac-12 South division. Though ASU is technically behind USC in the standings, its win over the Trojans earlier in the month means ASU holds a tiebreaker between the two schools.
The Sun Devils will face 5-2 Washington on the road Saturday night.
For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
