(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
While viewing time for the media was minimal in the Sun Devils’ final practice before their trek to Southern California, head coach Todd Graham amended the information drought with news on starting quarterback Taylor Kelly.
Taylor Kelly will not play against USC this week, but will play against Stanford in two weeks.
“He’s not going to play,” Graham said. “He will for sure be back for Stanford is what I am told.”
Kelly has been hampered by a foot injury (of unknown extent) since the fourth quarter of ASU’s contest against Colorado three weeks ago. Kelly’s agenda at practice has remained unchanged over the past weeks, as he appears each day in a walking boot and crutches and proceeds to throw lightly or do medicine ball workouts.
But with new information obtained from a latest x-ray, his status for the coming games is starting to become clearer.
“I actually don’t know what the x-ray was, [the key is] just not [to rush him back] too quick,” Graham said. “He’d like to [play] and we tried to give him every opportunity to. But we also have to make sure that we take care of him. He’ll be in a support role like he was last week, and then we have an off week. I fully expect him back for Stanford.”
Transitioning into preparation for USC
With the Kelly being out for the matchup on Saturday against USC, Graham transitioned the post-practice interview session into the significance of this week’s game.
“We talk about winning championships—to win the South you have to beat UCLA, you have to beat USC,” Graham said. “So obviously it’s a must-win for us.”
That “must-win,” however, will come against a team ranked 16th in the country and fresh off a convincing win against the Sean Mannion-led Oregon State Beavers.
To complicate matters for the Sun Devils, USC is led by quarterback Cody Kessler. Kessler’s claim to fame is his hyper-accuracy, exemplified by his 10 touchdowns to zero interceptions ratio and the sixth best completion percentage in the nation (72 percent).
After Thursday’s practice, Graham recognized this talent that USC has, but nevertheless ended on an optimistic tone.
“This is the best receiving corps we’ll face in the league, and the best running back corps that we’re going to face in the league,” Graham said. “They are very, very capable, and what we have to do is go out and execute our fundamentals… We had the best week of practice that we’ve had. We understand the challenge ahead of us.”
First-Team Defense
Defensive Line: Marcus Hardison (End), Jaxon Hood (Nose Tackle), Tashon Smallwood (Tiger)
Linebackers: Viliami Latu (SPUR), Salamo Fiso (SAM), DJ Calhoun (WILL), Edmond Boateng (Devilbacker)
Cornerbacks: Kweishi Brown (Boundary), Lloyd Carrington (Field)
Safeties: Jordan Simone (Bandit), Damarious Randall (Field)
Practice Notes
- Graham said that he was not sure if Carlos Mendoza will see an increased role this week. Graham did acknowledge that now that he is healthy, Mendoza will receive at least some playing time.
- Graham said that Jordan Simone played one of the best games of his career against Colorado, and that he thinks the world of him in terms of character, energy and drive.
- Paul Crawford continued his work with the defensive lineman, once again spelling Marcus Hardison at defensive end. Still, Crawford does not figure to see much playing time on Saturday, according to Graham.
- The Sun Devils kickoff unit practiced onside kicks for about ten minutes of the media viewing portion.
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