Arizona State Sun Devils Spring Game: Three Things We Learned

The 2010 Arizona State Spring Game brought some mixed feelings as to the direction the Sun Devils are headed. Here are three things that Arizona State football fans learned from today's game in Tempe.

1. The Quarterbacks Showed Nothing to Prove Themselves

The battle for the starting quarterback position is still up for grabs between sophomore Brock Osweiler and junior Michigan transfer Steven Threet.

Neither QB showed signs of greatness in the spring game.

Both QB's showed poor decision making when throwing into coverage, resulting in three interceptions by Threet and one by Osweiler.

Osweiler completed 17 of 33 for 151 yards, while Threet completed 9 of 27 for 117 yards. To say the least, fans were not impressed. Osweiler threw the only touchdown of the game.

Brock Osweiler was either over-throwing his receivers or throwing it too low when being rushed. He had open receivers in the end zone on two occasions, but over-threw both opportunities.

The 6'8" QB also has limited mobility in the pocket, resulting in sacks by the pressuring defense.

Threet was very accurate when he had wide open receivers, putting the ball right in their hands. But when his receivers were in coverage, he lost all his accuracy by either throwing interceptions or throwing passes that were blocked.

Both quarterbacks have a lot to work on in regards to their accuracy.

2. The Defense Is As Strong As Ever

The defense won the spring game, which is not surprising to Sun Devil fans.

With the departures of Dexter Davis, Travis Goethel, and Mike Nixon after the 2009 season, it seemed that the defense would take a hard hit.

This is not the case. They looked as powerful and explosive as last season, if not more.

The defense owned the game totalling five sacks, five interceptions, and three tackles for a loss.

Defensive end Jamaar Jarrett and defensive tackle William Sutton made some huge stops against the run. These are two key players to watch, along with the powerful Vontaze Burfict.

Expect ASU's defense to be among the top, if not best, in the country for the 2010 season.

3.The Offense Still Needs a Lot of Work

The offensive line is slowly improving. The bigger o-line is allowing the quarterback a little more time in the pocket, but still not closing up all the gaps.

The overall theme of the offense in the spring game? Dropped passes. Receivers and running backs consistently dropped or bobbled easy passes.

Wide receivers J.J. Holliday and Oregon transfer Aaron Pflugrad shows a lot of promise for the future.

Pflugrad is small for a receiver at 5'10", but has great speed after the ball is caught to pull away from defenders. Having great hands in traffic, he will most likely be an asset for the passing game.

J.J. Holliday shows a lot of the skills that graduated WR Chris McGaha had while at ASU. He showed exceptional skills in being able to separate himself from his defenders and finding creative ways to get open.

The running game, or lack thereof, is weak. The spring game looked like a replay of the 2009 season of runs up the middle, resulting in no gain or a loss.

ASU needs to develop and use some new running plays that open up holes for the ball carrier to get through if they want to be successful in the 2010 season.

The question still remains: Can Dennis Erickson lead the Sun Devils to a much-needed winning season in 2010? Only time will tell.