Anyone have info on Sun Devil backup QB ? I have been waiting for UCLA to have a break out game but not sure they are capable. Looks like a good spot for AZ St but no Kelly will hurt
AZ St vs UCLA
- Thread starter prento
- Start date
[h=1]With Kelly out, Bercovici gets his chance for ASU[/h]
On Jan. 6, 2012, [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mike Bercovici[/FONT] was chilling with some friends when he got a call from then-Arizona State receiver Aaron Pflugrad. There was some big news for the Sun Devils' backup quarterback. In a surprise to many, junior Brock Osweiler, the team's starting quarterback, had decided to enter the NFL draft.
In advance of ASU spring practices in March 2012. Thirty-three months later, Bercovici can still recall exactly how he felt upon hearing the news of Osweiler's departure.
?It was an opportunity I had been waiting for my entire life," he said this week.
In 2011, Bercovici had beaten out [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Taylor Kelly[/FONT] for the backup spot. That made him a slight favorite to win the job over Kelly and redshirt freshman [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Michael Eubank[/FONT] in advance of the 2012 season. When spring practices ended, Bercovici was viewed as slightly ahead of Eubank, with Kelly a fairly distant third option.
Things changed. Dramatically. Kelly won the job -- coach Todd Graham even admitted at the time that it was a surprise -- and has played his way onto Arizona State's all-time top QB list over two-plus seasons. Bercovici has had to settle for being considered one of the conference's more talented backups, not that Bercovici ever got comfortable viewing himself that way.
?My hunger to be a starting quarterback hasn?t changed since I lost that competition," he said.
Just as the vice president is a heartbeat from the Oval Office, so a backup quarterback is an unfortunate play away from taking over an offense. The backup quarterback is the irrelevant mop-up guy with a backward baseball cap on the sideline -- until he becomes a team's most important player. For Bercovici, that transition happened when Kelly hurt his foot on the Sun Devils' last possession of the third quarter Sept. 13 at Colorado.
Bercovici, who has thrown 24 career passes, will therefore make his first career start next week. As if that isn't big enough, it will be Thursday night against No. 12 UCLA.
So, yeah, big stage for a first start. Of course, the relentlessly upbeat Graham said he's completely comfortable with Bercovici starting.
?We feel like we?ve got one of the best one-two quarterback combinations in the country," Graham said.
?He?s one of the last guys I?m worried about," he added later. "If this happened to any other team -- or any other team I?ve had -- it would be devastating to you.?
There's a significant distance, however, between being theoretically good and proving it on the field. While Bercovici is well-versed with the Sun Devils' offense and has an undeniably strong arm, he remains an unknown commodity. The chief concern with him is he too often believes he can use that strong arm to fire a pass through a window in the secondary that isn't much larger than a key hole. He knows this just as well as his coaches. In fact, he recalls how it might have cost him the job during 2012 preseason camp.
?At the start of camp, something in the minds of every quarterback is not turning the ball over," he said. "That?s what we stress here at Arizona State. If you go back and look at film, I threw two interceptions. I knew, from there I was playing catch-up. Taylor didn?t throw any interceptions.?
Said offensive coordinator Mike Norvell, ?That?s huge. That?s part of his development. Obviously, he has a tremendous arm. He can make every throw on the field that needs to be made. But it?s also understanding progressions and getting to when it?s time to go to that next progression and taking what the defense gives you.?
Bercovici can't try to overcome two-plus years of frustration on every pass, on every drive. Against UCLA, he needs to distribute the ball to his playmakers, of which he has plenty, and not force the action. Although he might get a few more shots downfield -- and fewer runs -- than Kelly, his first priority is to protect the football. Considering the past two games between these two teams have come down to the last possession, every miscue figures to be as critical -- if not more so -- as every big play.
It's probably a good sign, then, that Bercovici doesn't sound like a guy looking for personal vindication.
?I feel like it is my duty to have no setbacks with me at quarterback," he said. "It?s my duty to make sure we?re still undefeated when [Kelly] comes back. I owe that to him, and I owe that to the team.?
Such thinking shouldn't be too surprising, considering Bercovici's decision not to transfer already revealed him to be an unselfish guy. While many college quarterbacks quickly go looking for starting jobs after losing a competition -- Eubank is now the starting quarterback at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama -- Bercovici opted to stick it out. Yes, he thought about leaving, but those thoughts lost.
?Obviously, those thoughts race through your head, but it [would have been] a bitter taste to put on different colors," he said.
While the present is big enough for the 15th-ranked Sun Devils, there also is the future. Bercovici stuck around because he saw himself as the starter in 2015, when Kelly heads to the NFL. If anyone knows that's not a given, though, it's Bercovici. For one, there's a potential challenge from touted incoming freshman Brady White.
Playing well and winning while Kelly is out for what might be a month or more would, obviously, significantly bolster his case for next year. Bercovici knew that question was coming.
?In theory, it would," he said. "But for these seniors, these guys I?ve been around for four years, it?s their time right now. My 100 percent focus is I want to be the best quarterback I can be on Thursday night for those guys.?
In other words, the future is now for Bercovici. It's not how he envisioned things 33 months ago. But he's got too much on his plate this week to quibble with the whims of fortune.
On Jan. 6, 2012, [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Mike Bercovici[/FONT] was chilling with some friends when he got a call from then-Arizona State receiver Aaron Pflugrad. There was some big news for the Sun Devils' backup quarterback. In a surprise to many, junior Brock Osweiler, the team's starting quarterback, had decided to enter the NFL draft.
In advance of ASU spring practices in March 2012. Thirty-three months later, Bercovici can still recall exactly how he felt upon hearing the news of Osweiler's departure.
?It was an opportunity I had been waiting for my entire life," he said this week.
In 2011, Bercovici had beaten out [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Taylor Kelly[/FONT] for the backup spot. That made him a slight favorite to win the job over Kelly and redshirt freshman [FONT=verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Michael Eubank[/FONT] in advance of the 2012 season. When spring practices ended, Bercovici was viewed as slightly ahead of Eubank, with Kelly a fairly distant third option.
Things changed. Dramatically. Kelly won the job -- coach Todd Graham even admitted at the time that it was a surprise -- and has played his way onto Arizona State's all-time top QB list over two-plus seasons. Bercovici has had to settle for being considered one of the conference's more talented backups, not that Bercovici ever got comfortable viewing himself that way.
?My hunger to be a starting quarterback hasn?t changed since I lost that competition," he said.
Just as the vice president is a heartbeat from the Oval Office, so a backup quarterback is an unfortunate play away from taking over an offense. The backup quarterback is the irrelevant mop-up guy with a backward baseball cap on the sideline -- until he becomes a team's most important player. For Bercovici, that transition happened when Kelly hurt his foot on the Sun Devils' last possession of the third quarter Sept. 13 at Colorado.
Bercovici, who has thrown 24 career passes, will therefore make his first career start next week. As if that isn't big enough, it will be Thursday night against No. 12 UCLA.
So, yeah, big stage for a first start. Of course, the relentlessly upbeat Graham said he's completely comfortable with Bercovici starting.
?We feel like we?ve got one of the best one-two quarterback combinations in the country," Graham said.
?He?s one of the last guys I?m worried about," he added later. "If this happened to any other team -- or any other team I?ve had -- it would be devastating to you.?
There's a significant distance, however, between being theoretically good and proving it on the field. While Bercovici is well-versed with the Sun Devils' offense and has an undeniably strong arm, he remains an unknown commodity. The chief concern with him is he too often believes he can use that strong arm to fire a pass through a window in the secondary that isn't much larger than a key hole. He knows this just as well as his coaches. In fact, he recalls how it might have cost him the job during 2012 preseason camp.
?At the start of camp, something in the minds of every quarterback is not turning the ball over," he said. "That?s what we stress here at Arizona State. If you go back and look at film, I threw two interceptions. I knew, from there I was playing catch-up. Taylor didn?t throw any interceptions.?
Said offensive coordinator Mike Norvell, ?That?s huge. That?s part of his development. Obviously, he has a tremendous arm. He can make every throw on the field that needs to be made. But it?s also understanding progressions and getting to when it?s time to go to that next progression and taking what the defense gives you.?
Bercovici can't try to overcome two-plus years of frustration on every pass, on every drive. Against UCLA, he needs to distribute the ball to his playmakers, of which he has plenty, and not force the action. Although he might get a few more shots downfield -- and fewer runs -- than Kelly, his first priority is to protect the football. Considering the past two games between these two teams have come down to the last possession, every miscue figures to be as critical -- if not more so -- as every big play.
It's probably a good sign, then, that Bercovici doesn't sound like a guy looking for personal vindication.
?I feel like it is my duty to have no setbacks with me at quarterback," he said. "It?s my duty to make sure we?re still undefeated when [Kelly] comes back. I owe that to him, and I owe that to the team.?
Such thinking shouldn't be too surprising, considering Bercovici's decision not to transfer already revealed him to be an unselfish guy. While many college quarterbacks quickly go looking for starting jobs after losing a competition -- Eubank is now the starting quarterback at Samford in Birmingham, Alabama -- Bercovici opted to stick it out. Yes, he thought about leaving, but those thoughts lost.
?Obviously, those thoughts race through your head, but it [would have been] a bitter taste to put on different colors," he said.
While the present is big enough for the 15th-ranked Sun Devils, there also is the future. Bercovici stuck around because he saw himself as the starter in 2015, when Kelly heads to the NFL. If anyone knows that's not a given, though, it's Bercovici. For one, there's a potential challenge from touted incoming freshman Brady White.
Playing well and winning while Kelly is out for what might be a month or more would, obviously, significantly bolster his case for next year. Bercovici knew that question was coming.
?In theory, it would," he said. "But for these seniors, these guys I?ve been around for four years, it?s their time right now. My 100 percent focus is I want to be the best quarterback I can be on Thursday night for those guys.?
In other words, the future is now for Bercovici. It's not how he envisioned things 33 months ago. But he's got too much on his plate this week to quibble with the whims of fortune.
UCLA Coach Jim Mora was adamant when asked if there was any advantage to keeping Arizona State Coach Todd Graham guessing about whether Bruins quarterback Brett Hundley would play.
"No one is trying to pull the wool over on Todd Graham because you're not going to pull anything over on Todd Graham," Mora said.
Still, Hundley's status remains a guessing game leading up to Thursday night's game between the No. 11 Bruins and No. 15 Sun Devils at Tempe, Ariz. Mora said that it is up to the medical staff to clear the junior quarterback, who injured his left elbow against Texas on Sept. 13.
Graham, as Mora predicted, is not buying it.
"He's going to play," Graham said during the Pac-12's weekly conference call. "There is no doubt in my mind that he's going to play. We watched [the UCLA game tape]. We looked at [the play where Hundley was hurt]. We fully expect him to play."
So coy -- if that?s the UCLA game plan -- is not going to cut it.
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Back to Mora, who was sure the Sun Devils ?are preparing for UCLA, schemes and plays and tendencies. I?m sure they are assuming that Brett is going to play. That?s what I?d be doing.?
Right again.
?You always prepare for the best one,? said Graham, whose own starting quarterback, Taylor Kelly, has already been declared out of the game because of a foot injury. ?If Brett Hundley didn?t play, it would be totally shocking to me.?
And if he didn?t?
?That makes it easier for us," Graham said. "You know what I'm saying? Not to take anything away from the backup quarterback, but Brett has some skills that are really, really special.
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"What he does is add so much to it when the plays don't work with his ability to extend plays, pull the ball down, throw the ball 70 yards down the field, throw across the field on his back foot. If he doesn't play, that makes things better for us."
A little something for UCLA backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel to ponder.
"No one is trying to pull the wool over on Todd Graham because you're not going to pull anything over on Todd Graham," Mora said.
Still, Hundley's status remains a guessing game leading up to Thursday night's game between the No. 11 Bruins and No. 15 Sun Devils at Tempe, Ariz. Mora said that it is up to the medical staff to clear the junior quarterback, who injured his left elbow against Texas on Sept. 13.
Graham, as Mora predicted, is not buying it.
"He's going to play," Graham said during the Pac-12's weekly conference call. "There is no doubt in my mind that he's going to play. We watched [the UCLA game tape]. We looked at [the play where Hundley was hurt]. We fully expect him to play."
So coy -- if that?s the UCLA game plan -- is not going to cut it.
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Back to Mora, who was sure the Sun Devils ?are preparing for UCLA, schemes and plays and tendencies. I?m sure they are assuming that Brett is going to play. That?s what I?d be doing.?
Right again.
?You always prepare for the best one,? said Graham, whose own starting quarterback, Taylor Kelly, has already been declared out of the game because of a foot injury. ?If Brett Hundley didn?t play, it would be totally shocking to me.?
And if he didn?t?
?That makes it easier for us," Graham said. "You know what I'm saying? Not to take anything away from the backup quarterback, but Brett has some skills that are really, really special.
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1
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"What he does is add so much to it when the plays don't work with his ability to extend plays, pull the ball down, throw the ball 70 yards down the field, throw across the field on his back foot. If he doesn't play, that makes things better for us."
A little something for UCLA backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel to ponder.
Bercovici v Kelly
Bercovici v Kelly
Everyone I talk to that watches practice has good things to say about Berco here, his biggest problem compared to Kelly is that his mobility is nowhere near what Kelly's is. He has a stronger arm, but frankly, the way that our play calling has been the past two years, going down the field is not a strong suit. Most of ASU's big plays come from YAC on slip screens or side WR screens. Going to be an interesting game, most Thursday night games the home dog is a decent side to take.
Bercovici v Kelly
Everyone I talk to that watches practice has good things to say about Berco here, his biggest problem compared to Kelly is that his mobility is nowhere near what Kelly's is. He has a stronger arm, but frankly, the way that our play calling has been the past two years, going down the field is not a strong suit. Most of ASU's big plays come from YAC on slip screens or side WR screens. Going to be an interesting game, most Thursday night games the home dog is a decent side to take.
Gun of an arm but like you said lacks mobility. He cant play the read option......I think ASU starts out slow due to this.
Thank you. I am considering the under here and not playing the side. Under never safe in college (especially PAC 10/12 in past). Thanks again for the input
