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In the locker room, after ASU football’s 36-31 season-ending Sun Bowl victory, coach Todd Graham encapsulated everything the win meant for Sun Devil football in one statement.
He turned to redshirt senior Taylor Kelly, who had just played the last of his 37 starts at quarterback, and said naming him the starting quarterback all the way back for the Aug. 30, 2012, win over Northern Arizona was the best decision he ever made.
Graham then shone light onto the future, as he turned to redshirt junior Mike Bercovici and told him, “This is your football team.”
It was a fitting way to end a day that couldn’t have possibly gone much better for the Sun Devils. They checked all the items on every team’s bowl game list:
Win the game, first and foremost: check
Send the seniors out on a high note: check
Get a glimpse into the future: check
Kelly said he was feeling “by far” the best he’s felt since returning from a right foot injury. It showed, too. It had been too long since ASU had seen the Taylor Kelly who first appeared in that NAU win more than two years ago.
Video by Sports Editor Justin Janssen
The undisputed leader of two 10-win teams was back to his old self: making accurate reads and throws, while presenting a threat on the ground. He completed 24-of-34 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, in addition to picking up 24 yards rushing.
“He was Taylor Kelly today,” Graham said, bluntly but accurately. “Couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Seemingly every major player the Sun Devils sent off with the win had his moment Saturday.
Kelly capped off a terrific three-year tenure as starting quarterback with a vintage performance. His favorite target, redshirt junior Jaelen Strong, who is leaving early to enter the 2015 NFL draft, caught seven passes for yet another 100-plus yard game.
Defensively, where the youth was practically omnipresent all season, senior defensive end Marcus Hardison put a cherry on top of an impressive season with 13 tackles, including — appropriately — ASU’s first tackle for loss of the game, which came in the fourth quarter. Redshirt senior safety Damarious Randall almost went out with a bang — his third quarter near-interception was overturned by replay — but was flying all over the field nonetheless.
And while Hardison was named Most Valuable Lineman for the game, it wasn’t the outgoing players who were the keys to victory.
All four Sun Devil touchdowns were scored by a freshman running back. A 96-yard kick return came from another freshman running back. Kweishi Brown, a junior but in his first year at ASU, sealed the game with an interception.
Two interactions took place before Kalen Ballage’s decisive 96-yard kickoff return. He and fellow freshman Demario Richard (he of the four touchdowns) were preparing to return the kick, and both were thinking, “We gotta make something spark.”
Just as Ballage was set to take the field, Graham approached the calm-demeanored running back with words of fury and passion. It’s not a technique Ballage admits to working very often, but it certainly had its desired effect.
But ultimately, Ballage was most inspired by those who he’ll likely never share a football field with again: the best senior class Graham said he’s ever had.
“I said I gotta do something for these seniors,” Ballage said. “I gotta do something to give back to them. They meant so much to me to be a better football player and a better person.”
And just like that, he paved the way to checking off two items on the bowl game checklist.
The postgame locker room talk wasn’t all centered around Kelly and Bercovici. As Graham looked into the future by turning to Bercovici, the rest of the team peered into 2015 and saw wins.
“Guys in that locker room talking about, ‘Hey man, this starts the winning streak,’ ” Graham said.
They could just be talking about winning games. But knowing the message Graham preaches to his team, with the talent and aspirations it has, the Sun Devils could well be talking about a streak of Pac-12 South championships, conference championships, bowl wins or even national titles.
That’s a mystery. So, too, is how this team will fare in 2015. But one thing is certain, and the two freshmen running backs captured it best.
“Not to be cocky or big-headed,” Ballage said. “But I think Arizona State is someone everybody should really look out for.”
Added Richard: “If you don’t wanna be a Sun Devil, you’re crazy.”
Reach the reporter at ewebeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EvanWebeck
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