What looked to be a serious scare for Arizona State may not be as severe as initially feared. Quarterback Taylor Kelly was removed from last night’s game against Colorado and left on the sideline using crutches, but head coach of the Sun Devils appeared confident about his quarterback’s status moving forward. During a post-game radio interview, Todd Graham said quarterback Kelly and linebacker Laiu Moeakiola are “going to be perfectly fine,” according to AZCentral.com.
Kelly was injured in the third quarter at Colorado Saturday. He returned to the sidelines with a walking boot on and crutches. Losing the starting quarterback for the past two years does seem to be a blow to the offense of Arizona State, but until we know more about the specific timeline for a potential return it would be premature to write off the Sun Devils in the Pac-12 South Division, which they won last fall. Junior Mike Bercovici took over under center and would be the likely starter if needed again.
After giving defensive back Ezekiel Bishop a chance to play linebacker in Moeakiola’s place, Arizona State soon inserted freshman Christian Sam, a more natural fit at linebacker. If they need to fill that hole for an extended period of time, Sam will likely get the call after playing well with his opportunity.