Redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly attempts a pass during the first half of the game against UA on Friday, Nov. 28, 2014. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)The offense looked sharp Thursday.
ASU struggled on offense at times in the past few games, but the sun shone Thursday over the Sun Devils. There was no scrimmage and very few drills involving the offensive line, but the accuracy of the passes reflected coherency that hasn’t been completely there over the last week of practice.
In redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly’s first run-through with only receivers and defensive coverage, he did not throw an interception and completed most, if not all, of his attempts. Typically, if coverage is strong and receivers can’t find an opening, the quarterback is encouraged to run through a “hole” in the “offensive line.”
Kelly didn’t have to resort to this.
Offensive coordinator Mike Norvell said the weeks off were important for Kelly to regain his strength. Kelly's broken foot, an injury which plagued him throughout the season, appears to be healing.
"He’s getting his strength back and really feeling confident," Norvell said. "Now that everything’s really getting where he’s back in the weight room, getting that strength back, has been huge these last few weeks."
Kelly didn’t make his first mistake until a drill late in practice against the scout team: he overthrew junior running back D.J. Foster on a short middle route and it was picked off by freshman defensive back Dasmond Tautalatasi.
On the two consecutive plays following the interception, Kelly hit a receiver just beyond Tautalatasi’s coverage zone for huge gains.
Redshirt junior Mike Bercovici did not look as strong. He made many errant throws and his accuracy was sub-par. He eventually began hitting more targets later in practice.
His connection with redshirt freshman wide receiver Ellis Jefferson looked strong. Twice, Bercovici connected with Jefferson on long routes in stride. While Bercovici was struggling to get the timing down with other receivers, Jefferson looks like he could be a positive sign going into next season.
Another positive sign is freshman linebacker DJ Calhoun. Today, near the beginning of practice, he blitzed off the edge. A combination of his impact on the ball carrier and a poor hike resulted in a fumble.
This isn’t an isolated incident. During the season, Calhoun was one of ASU’s top rookies. He had 35 tackles and a sack in seven games, resulting in being named an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. He said it feels good, but he tries not to look into too hard those awards.
“I just try not to look at that,” he said. “At the end of the day, you know, it is what it is, you gotta keep on playing… you could get hurt the next day.”
In general, the defensive line has outplayed the offensive line in the past week of practice, and often gets good pressure on the quarterback. What the offensive line has done well is open up holes for the running game.
Redshirt senior offensive lineman Jamil Douglas said the line has been working a lot on helping the run and protecting the quarterback through improving their communication.
“(Communication) just keeps us on the same page, whether it’s in the run game or in the pass game, protecting the quarterback or opening holes for the running back,” he said.
Their level of communication has slipped in the weeks off of practice, but ever since the line reconvened, it has been improving.
“(We’re) just getting back into the swing of things since we had a little bit of time off but I think everyone’s doing a great job so far,” Douglas said. “I think everyone has the right mindset.”
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Logan_Newsman
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