ASU Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham: Mike Bercovici could get 10 snaps vs. UW

There is no mystery as to whom the starting quarterback will be for the 14th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday night against Washington.

It will be Taylor Kelly. The senior, who has missed the last three contests with a foot injury, will be back at the controls, according to head coach Todd Graham, who was a guest of Doug and Wolf Friday morning on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

“Really good,” Graham responded when asked how Kelly looked in practice this week. “He took every rep full-speed, he looks 100 percent to me and he’s had a great week of practice.

“He’s ready to go. Barring anything different happening, Taylor will start, but I think both of them will play.”

Both of them means Mike Bercovici, who filled in admirably as ASU’s starter in Kelly’s absence, could see some playing time too. Which begs the question: if Kelly is fully healthy and he’s the clear-cut starter, why would Bercovici still get time?

“I just think we’re a better football team than we were before Taylor got hurt,” Graham said. “Bercovici and Taylor are both really quality quarterbacks and they’re very diverse in their talents — what they do really well. Actually each one of their strengths is the other one’s weakness, but they’re both great players. I think Michael, given the opportunity, we’ll utilize that.

“But we’re not going to be rotating quarterbacks. Taylor is our starting quarterback and he’s going to be in there playing.”

Admittedly, that statement is a little confusing — ASU won’t rotate quarterbacks, but there’s a good chance we’ll see both Kelly and Bercovici against Washington. Later on in the interview, Graham did clarify things.

“What I think our fans can look forward to seeing is as long as Taylor is feeling 100 percent and all that, he’s going to be our starting quarterback. We’re not going to rotate quarterbacks,” he said. “What I’m saying is would you see Mike play some plays? We’d like to play 90 plays, I think maybe you’ll see Mike play maybe 10 plays.

“This is Taylor’s team. He’s the starting quarterback. It won’t be a deal where we’re rotating in and out. But I do think Mike has some things that can help us win the football game, so we’ve got some plays and a package for him.”

The Sun Devils and Huskies will kick off at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. The game can be heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 p.m.

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