Coming into the season, there were several concerns over the state of this Arizona State Sun Devils team, as far as the personnel goes. We knew they’d be more disciplined and come into games more prepared, but didn’t know what to expect as far as results.
The team is through just two games, but the results have been much better than expected all over the board. The defense has been strong, but the real surprise has been in the offensive end. More specifically, the quarterback play has been terrific.
Under center was a major concern for this program heading into the season. After unexpectedly losing Brock Osweiler to the NFL this spring, one of the big questions was how they would replace him. It has only been two games, but the Devils look like they’re doing a pretty decent job of it so far.
ASU has used Taylor Kelly as the starter, but Michael Eubank has also seen snaps at quarterback. The two were especially strong against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday, but also proved to be strong against Northern Arizona University in the season opener.
The Idaho native, Taylor Kelly, has been especially fantastic through two games. He’s 33-of-43 on the season for nearly 500 yards and a couple of scores. He helped to pick apart the Illini defense, which was a top 10 defense last year, in completing his first 10 passes of the night.
Freshman Michael Eubank hasn’t thrown the ball as much, but he’s completed all six of his passes that he’s thrown this year, also for a pair of scores. The two have also been threats on the ground, with Eubank rushing for two touchdowns this season.
Quarterback was expected to be a position of weakness for this team in 2012. But the Devils have been successful early on with not only one, but two kids under center. And each brings their own flavor to the offense, making this a difficult group to stop. Just ask Illinois.
As impressive as they’ve been early on, there’s still a great deal to prove for Kelly and Eubank. They’ve been a joy to watch so far, but now they’re really going to have to show up next week against the Missouri Tigers.
