Kenny Dillingham kept his cards pretty close to the vest, but he did tell reporters after practice on Tuesday that Jaden Rashada looks better this week and ASU will monitor his progress ahead of Saturday’s Territorial Cup.

Reports from media on hand for practice were that Rashada was the first quarterback up during the team segment. Dillingham said Rashada has been cleared for a few weeks but the Sun Devils’ staff is waiting until he’s 100% to put him back on the field.

“He’s looking better this week, so we’ll see how he progresses throughout the week,” Dillingham said.

Rashada has not played for ASU since Week 2. When Dillingham revealed the former 4-star would miss time, he initially put a 4-6 week timetable on his return and said the staff would try to save the season as a redshirt year for him.

The 6-foot-4 freshman from Pittsburg, California, has only appeared in two games this season, meaning he can see the field on Saturday against Arizona and still preserve his redshirt season. Through ASU’s first two games, Rashada completed 34 of his 60 pass attempts for 403 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

He currently has as many touchdown throws as the other three quarterbacks ASU has used this year combined.

Trenton Bourguet, who has been the primary starter in Rashada’s absence, has one passing touchdown in 248 attempts this year. Bourguet has averaged just 6 yards per pass attempt while throwing four interceptions. Prior to last year, Arizona State had never suffered through a nine-loss season. At 3-8 in Dillingham’s debut year, a loss to Arizona would make it consecutive 3-9 campaigns.

Rashada would be a significant boost to the offense if he’s healthy enough to get back on the field.

It would also allow tailback Cam Skattebo to focus more on running the ball. The Sun Devils have had to deploy a heavier-than-usual dose of the “WildSkatt” down the stretch, using their do-everything tailback to run, pass, and punt.

Dillingham has had to get creative. It sounds as though, regardless of Rashada’s status, he’ll end the season with a bang.

“It’s the last game of the year so you pull out all the stops,” Dillingham said. “Pull out everything you’ve got. Anything you’ve done all year, you pull back, you maybe grab-bag things you’ve done from Week 1 to Week 2 to Week 3 to Week 4 to Week 5 to Week 6 all the way out, you put them all together, and you put together the best way to create explosive plays.”

Kickoff against Arizona is set for 12:30 p.m. PT on ESPN.