Arizona State to continue musical chairs act at quarterback against Cal
Arizona State quarterback Drew Pyne will be unavailable for this Saturday’s game against Cal, coach Kenny Dillingham revealed on Tuesday.
Pyne led the offense for ASU in its Week 4 loss to USC, a game that marked his first start for the Sun Devils. He completed 21 of his 36 pass attempts for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. But Pyne looked to be in pain throughout the game, and Dillingham told reporters after Tuesday’s practice he’d battling several things.
“He’s been dealing with two really pretty extreme things that he’s tried to battle back from and he’s got a third one now,” Dillingham said. “He’s out for the near future.”
Expect Trenton Bourguet to start for the Sun Devils. He returned to practice on Tuesday after what he said was the first game he’d missed in his career because of an injury.
Bourguet started the Week 3 loss to Fresno State but was knocked out of the game in the first quarter. Because of all the injury issues within the program, ASU has had three different quarterbacks start in the team’s first four games. For a young team and a new offense, that presents challenges.
“Yeah. But, you know, nobody cares,” Dillingham said. “Find a way.”
Last season, Bourguet took over for Emory Jones after an injury in the Washington game and led a second-half victory. A week later, Bourguet threw for 435 yards in his first career start — the second-best day by an ASU quarterback in their first start.
He went on to throw for 1,490 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. In seven total appearances, he completed 71% of his throws with six interceptions.
Bourguet completed six of his first eight pass attempts in the Fresno State game before picking up the injury.
Dillingham said Tuesday he’s back at full strength.
“A great leader, super smart guy, so it was really good to have him back,” Dillingham said. “I would say (he’s at) full strength, 95% to full strength. He looks great out there today. His arm looks fresh, to be honest, so maybe that time off last week, not throwing, really rested his body, rested his arm. He looks fresh.”
Added Bourguet: “I definitely felt it, spinning it a little better than past weeks.”
ASU and Cal kick off at 12 p.m. PT Saturday on the Pac-12 Network.