Perhaps the third time will be the charm for the ASU football team.
Sophomore quarterback Samson Szakacsy will become the third starting quarterback in three weeks for the Sun Devils (4-6, 2-5 Pac-10) when the team travels to Los Angeles to square off with UCLA (5-5, 2-5) at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
Senior Danny Sullivan will be listed as the backup, ASU head coach Dennis Erickson said.
“[Szakacsy] has had a good week of practice and has done a good job with the first[-string] group,” Erickson said. “I like what I’ve seen, so we’re going to let him go and see what happens.”
ASU vs. UCLA preview, State Press Television
By Master Tesfatsion
Erickson said Szakacsy, who saw his first significant action of the season when he replaced Brock Osweiler in the second quarter of ASU’s loss at Oregon last week, hasn’t been bothered this week by elbow tendinitis that cost the sophomore a legitimate shot at the starting job during fall camp.
“I think his elbow is fine,” Erickson said. “I don’t think it’s 100 percent, the strength of his arm, but there’s no pain in it. It’s not quite what it was in the spring, but it’s close.”
Quarterbacks were not available for interviews following Thursday’s practice, but senior wide receiver Kyle Williams said he thinks Szakacsy, who will be making his first collegiate start, could give a jolt to an ASU offense that ranks ninth in the Pac-10.
“Samson just gives us that added athleticism back there,” Williams said. “He can definitely get out there and do the things he’s supposed to do, and he can do some things that normal quarterbacks aren’t supposed to be able to do. As far as his arm, I don’t think we’re too much worried about that.”
The Sun Devils say they still have plenty to play for despite a four-game losing streak.
The team must win its final two games to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1946-1947, and it will be countering a UCLA squad that is searching for the sixth win it needs to become bowl eligible.
“[Both teams] are fighting for whatever we can fight for,” Erickson said. “We are kind of both in the same situation.”
The road has been an unfriendly place for ASU. The Sun Devils are just 2-7 in games away from Tempe the past two seasons.
A number of players on the ASU roster are from the Los Angeles area, and Erickson said concentrating on the task at hand will be key to starting fast, crucial for a team that has been outscored 73-37 in the first quarter this season.
“It’s all focus,” Erickson said. “Particularly when you go to Los Angeles — we have so many players here from Southern California. It’s a matter of our players focusing on what they’re there for. It’s a game, not a vacation.”
Sophomore safety Clint Floyd, who attended Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, said he is looking forward to competing against some familiar faces.
“I get to play against some of my old teammates and some of the guys I played against at our rival [high school],” Floyd said. “It will [be] good playing against them again.”
UCLA senior linebacker Reggie Carter played with Floyd at Crenshaw and Bruin sophomore safety Rahim Moore, who has a NCAA-leading nine interceptions this season, played at nearby Dorsey High School.
“They are saying their defense is better, so we’ll see on Saturday whose defense is better,” Floyd said.
Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu
