Redshirt junior quarterback Taylor Kelly and senior running back Marion Grice have emerged as an effective duo in the ASU football backfield as of late.
For the month of October, Grice picked up 394 rushing yards in four games and averaged 6.1 yards per carry, up 2.2 yards from September.
Kelly has scored five touchdowns in the past three games and has recorded 209 rushing yards. He didn’t run the ball as effectively in the first half of the season, but he believes he’s now riding a groove.
“I’m confident,” Kelly said. “I don’t know why. It’s kind of starting to hit me. I guess I kind of just went away from (running) from the beginning, and now that I’ve done it, it’s starting to become second nature."
Both have been getting it done largely due to running the zone read.
The zone read is an option play that is decided in the “mesh,” or the area when the quarterback motions a handoff to the running back after a snap in the shotgun formation. The quarterback reacts to how the opponent’s defensive line (typically focusing on a certain defensive end) attacks the run.
If the defensive line commits to stopping the running back, the quarterback can pull the ball and run the open lane. If the quarterback sees the defensive line containing him from the outside, he can give the ball to the running back to the inside.
In offensive coordinator Mike Norvell’s scheme, Kelly also has the option to throw a quick pass to an outside receiver if he decides to keep the ball.
In the game against Washington State last Thursday, the Cougars crashed inside and chased after Grice in several instances, leaving Kelly open. Grice didn’t score, but Kelly had two touchdowns from running the option.
“For the defensive end to make that split-second decision on who is he going to take between me or Marion, it’s a hard one,” Kelly said.
Sometimes, the zone read is so potent that Grice often jokes with Kelly for not giving him the touchdown. He expects to take the ball near the goal line every time, but he has full trust in Kelly if he decides to pull the ball away.
“It’s great that I have a quarterback that basically can do almost the same thing I can do and run,” Grice said. “It puts pressure on the defense. They don’t know which one of us is going to run the ball. If they’re going to take me, Taylor is going to make them pay. If they take Taylor, I can make them pay.”
Grice and Kelly both said they’ve been working every day on their chemistry in the zone read since the summer.
“Every day has been good development,” Grice said. “In our skill development, we work together going full speed, and we just now got a knack for it.”
Additional notes:
– Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jaelen Strong missed Wednesday’s practice because of a personal matter. Coach Todd Graham said Strong will return to the team tonight to make up for the work he missed in practice.
– Graham said the team is intending to redshirt freshman safety Marcus Ball, who has not played yet this season because of a shoulder injury he sustained at Camp Tontozona in August.
– Graham called Wednesday’s practice the best Wednesday practice the team has had all season.
– Interim athletic director Dr. James Rund informally chatted with the media after Wednesday’s practice, a day after it was announced Steve Patterson is leaving ASU for Texas.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
