Our countdown of the Pac-12’s Top 25 players from the 2013 season continues.
You can review our 2013 preseason Top 25 here.
No. 14: Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State
2013 numbers: Completed 62.4 percent of his throws for 3,635 yards with 28 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, giving him an adjusted QBR of 74.2, which ranked 24th nationally. He also rushed 173 times for 608 yards and nine touchdowns.
Preseason ranking: No. 12
Making the case for Kelly: Statistically, it was a split year for Kelly. He threw for more yards and ran for more yards than he did in 2012. But his interceptions were up and his completion percentage was down. He had fewer passing touchdowns but ran for eight more touchdowns than he did in 2012. With all that said, Kelly was still a better quarterback in 2013 than he was in 2012. He showed a greater command of Mike Norvell’s scheme and the addition of Jaelen Strong to the offense clearly was a significant boost to the passing game. He earned second-team all-conference honors -- which speaks to how the rest of the coaches view him. There were a lot of big numbers put up by quarterbacks in 2013, though it was Kelly who guided ASU to the league’s No. 2 scoring offense (39.7 points per game). His efficiency numbers could be better, but the fact that he’s coming back next season instantly makes ASU one of the most potent offenses in the conference.
No. 15: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
No. 16: Deone Bucannon, S, Washington State
No. 17: Paul Richardson, WR, Colorado
No. 18: Shayne Skov, LB, Stanford
No. 19: Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State
No. 20: Trevor Reilly, DE/OLB, Utah
No. 21: Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State
No. 22: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
No. 23: Hroniss Grasu, C, Oregon
No. 25: Myles Jack, LB/RB, UCLA
