What was a quarterback controversy for the ASU football team has turned into desperate scramble to find the signal-caller that is the least banged up.

ASU coach Dennis Erickson said Monday at his weekly press conference that he does not know which quarterback will start for the Sun Devils when they square off with UCLA on Saturday because of health issues revolving around ASU’s trio of signal-callers.

Sophomore quarterback Samson Szakacsy became the third quarterback to find himself under center for the Sun Devils this season when he replaced freshman Brock Osweiler, who made his first career start against Oregon, after Osweiler went down with a shoulder injury in the middle of the second quarter.

Szakacsy completed 13 of his 22 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown and showed his ability to elude the pass rush in the first extended action of his Sun Devil career.

But Erickson said he needs to see how Szakacy’s elbow, which is still recovering from tendinitis that sidelined him in training camp, responds after the heavy amount of throws in the game.

“[Szakacsy] gives you some different things athletically than the other two give you,” Erickson said. “[I’ve] got to see how his elbow is, because when he throws for a long period of time, it bothers him. I won’t know probably until [Tuesday] for sure. The thing about him [is] he’s very accurate, and he made some good throws in that game.”

The health of senior Danny Sullivan, who started nine games before a biceps injury forced him to miss all of practice last week and the game against the Ducks, and Osweiler also still needs to be evaluated this week before Erickson makes a final decision about who will start against the Bruins.

“I don’t know for sure where [Sullivan and Osweiler are] at,” Erickson said. “According to the trainer, they both should be OK, so we’ll just wait and see.”

ASU still ranks first in the Pac-10 in total defense (301.4 yards per game) heading into Saturday’s contest but dropped from second to fourth in the conference in rushing defense (105.5 yards per game) after allowing UO to rack up 276 yards on the ground last weekend.

The two offenses the Sun Devils have struggled with most this season, Stanford and UO, both have dominant ground attacks but get those yards in different ways, with Stanford using a power game headed by bruising senior Toby Gerhart and UO using a two-headed monster of redshirt freshman running back LaMichael James and junior quarterback Jeremiah Masoli in the Ducks’ spread attack.

“Whether you’re tackling Gerhart or you get one-on-one in the open field against Masoli or whatever, it’s still about tackling,” Erickson said.

“Regardless of what people do on offense, you still [have to] tackle, and we missed some tackles in the first half of that game that were costly as far as long plays were concerned.”

Quarterback isn’t the only position on the field where ASU is currently hampered by injuries, as three Sun Devils suffered season-ending blows against the Ducks.

Sophomore tight end Dan Knapp appears to have a torn anterior cruciate ligament, sophomore offensive lineman Matt Hustad dislocated a knee cap and senior linebacker Gerald Munns dislocated his elbow, Erickson said.

“Not good luck for those guys,” Erickson said. “I feel for them.”

Senior linebacker Travis Goethel will now back up freshman Vontaze Burfict at the middle linebacker spot, while senior Tom Njunge will replace Hustad at right tackle.

Freshman running back Cameron Marshall was also limited against Oregon because of pulled muscles in his legs but is expected to see more playing time against UCLA, Erickson said.

The loss of Hustad, Knapp and Munns brings ASU’s season-ending injury total up to 14 players.

Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu.