by Doug Haller - Sept. 17, 2012 07:02 PM
azcentral sports
For the first time, Arizona State's two-quarterback system backfired last Saturday, but it doesn't sound as if the Sun Devils are ready to make changes. Sophomore Taylor Kelly will start Saturday against Utah and redshirt-freshman Michael Eubank is expected to be used in certain packages, as usual.
"We're using the system," coach Todd Graham said. "It's been very effective, so we're not questioning the things we're doing. Taylor's our quarterback. I got a great deal of confidence in him. I got a great deal of confidence in Michael Eubank. If we'll continue to play him, it will pay off for us big-time because he's going to be a big-time player."
With last Saturday's game against Missouri on the line, offensive coordinator Mike Norvell sent in Eubank after Kelly had driven the Sun Devils to the 1-yard line, a move that worked well through two weeks. Eubank tried to run on the next two plays and was stuffed. (Graham later said ASU was supposed to hand-off to junior Marion Grice on third down, but the play call never got to Grice.) On fourth down, Kelly re-entered and threw incomplete in the end zone, and the Sun Devils lost a golden chance to take the lead.
One thing that's certain: Kelly has impressed Graham. The first-year quarterback started slowly against Missouri, but made huge third-down plays in the second half to keep drives alive. On two, Graham said he was screaming for Kelly to throw away the ball, only to watch him complete passes.
"He made mistakes," Graham said. "There's no question about it. But I'm telling you this: We have a real quarterback. There's no doubt in my mind about that. That guy's a winner. How he carries himself, how he conducts himself. He's just got that 'it' factor. You could look him in the eye on Game Day and see it. You look at how he brought (us) back. He made some spectacular plays."
During games, Graham said he runs special teams with special-teams coordinator Joe Lorig and that he's also "very, very involved" in ASU's defense. When ASU has the ball, Graham said he talks with Norvell, but the conversations usually focus on what the opponent is doing defensively. Norvell calls the plays. And Graham again emphasized that he trusts all his coordinators and prefers to let them do their jobs.
"Obviously, you're going to call plays and when they work everybody thinks you're a genius," Graham said. "Last week, everybody was talking about what a genius we are on offense and then this week they're wondering why you called what you called or why you did what you did. We're going to do the things we believe in."
More touches for No. 6?
Senior tailback Cameron Marshall -- on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation's best running back -- got just four carries against Missouri. He produced 15 yards. Graham said ASU has to get him more involved, but suggested it won't be easy.
"(Marshall) missed a lot of practice in preseason camp," Graham said. "He had a hamstring that was bothering him, and it kind of slowed the development a little bit, but he's a guy we want to get the ball to. (But) we have other guys, too, that we want to get the ball to. We want to get the ball to (senior receiver) Jamal (Miles), we want to get the ball to (freshman running back) D.J. Foster, we want to get the ball to Marion Grice, we want to get the ball to (junior tight end) Chris Coyle. We want to get the ball to whoever we got to get it to to win games, but we no doubt want to get (Marshall) more involved in what we're doing."
Marshall's four carries were his fewest since running four times in the 2010 opener against Portland State. Entering Week 4, he has rushed for just 81 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry.
Briefly
About two hours before last Saturday's game, Graham asked sophomore Deantre Lewis, "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" According to Graham, Lewis, moved from running back to defense just six days earlier, said he did and so he started as a nickel cornerback.
"He was playing in two different packages," Graham said. "... He did a good job. He really did. He's a great athlete. He wants to play and his role, as he learns, will continue to increase."
Moving forward, Graham said Lewis will continue to practice on defense, although he didn't rule out the former running back getting used on offense. Graham praised Lewis' unselfishness. "There's very few running backs that I have known throughout the years that would be willing to do that," he said.
ASU lined up with four down linemen on defense against Missouri, but don't read much into it. Graham said the Sun Devils' scheme will depend on the opponent and could change from week to week.
On starting Pac-12 play Saturday against Utah: "Our guys know they start counting this week," Graham said. "Our goal and our focus is conference play and winning championships, and it starts this week."
18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/articles/2012/09/17/20120917asu-footballs-two-quarterback-system-backfired-against-missouri.html
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