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Graham: Sun Devils QB Kelly will be ‘fine’

The Sports Xchange

September 14, 2014 at 9:52 am.

Todd Graham said his star quarterback will be "just fine." (Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports)

Arizona State coach Todd Graham downplayed a foot injury to Taylor Kelly that saw the quarterback leave the field on crutches following Saturday night’s 38-24 victory over Colorado.

Kelly threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth score before leaving in the third quarter with a right foot injury.

Kelly is “going to be absolutely fine,” Graham said after the game, per the Arizona Republic.

Arizona State has a bye week before playing host to UCLA the following week.

Kelly, rated the No. 13 quarterback in the 2015 class by NFLDraftScout.com, showed his value before leaving Saturday. He threw for two scores in the first half, passed to wide receiver Jalen Strong for another early in the third quarter and then put it away with a 50-yard touchdown run midway through the quarter that made it 38-17.

Kelly (6-feet-2, 2111 pounds) left the game after the Sun Devils went three-and-out late in the third quarter, and his absence was felt in the fourth quarter.

Kelly sat on the bench with a protective boot and a towel over his head while backup Mike Bercovici ran the offense. Arizona State had 371 yards of offense in the first three quarters but stalled in the fourth.

“All is I know is he’s out tonight and we’ll evaluate it tomorrow,” Graham said in is post-game press conference. “I’m very concerned. It was tough for us tonight, that’s part of it. You have to be able to respond. This is the adversity we talk about.”

The Sun Devils are averaging 47 points per game this season, with Saturday’s total being their lowest of the three games.

That’s with Kelly running the show. He has more than 7,300 career passing yards and 63 TD throws, one behind Danny White for fourth in school history.