Pac-12 analyst Parker on ASU: ‘I think there’s going to be struggles’
Jun 2, 2015, 3:09 PM | Updated: 3:10 pm
Not everyone is expecting great things from the Arizona State Sun Devils in 2015.
Though they are appearing in most preseason top 25 rankings and some of their key players, like receiver D.J. Foster and quarterback Mike Bercovici, are receiving plenty of hype, there are some who are not quite sold on Todd Graham’s team being one of the nation’s best this year.
Pac-12 analyst Glenn Parker is one of those people.
“I think there’s going to be struggles,” he told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday morning.
Parker’s issues with the Devils has little to do with the offensive side of the ball. He said Bercovici is “very good” and he loves the move of Foster from running back to wide receiver. The injury to receiver Cameron Smith, he said, will be an issue, but added ASU has enough good running backs and the offensive line will be good.
But on defense, where the Devils lost stars Damarious Randall and Marcus Hardison, Parker sees some issues.
“They’re going to have some problems on defense, can they get their secondary in order,” Parker questioned, noting the departure of Randall, specifically. “You wonder, who’s the next guy, who’s going to step up as their leader?
“Are they poised for a breakout year? Maybe not this year, but coming soon and I always know this, Graham wins games sometimes that he shouldn’t, and he’s got a big one to start this season, and that’s going to set the tone a long way when they play Texas A&M early in the year.”
The season opener, at Texas A&M, will take place on September 5.
