Arizona State Sun Devils: Why Michael Eubank Is Team's Best Option

This fall, Arizona State has a critical decision to make: the starting quarterback position. The quarterback position is the most pivotal on the football field. Without an elite starting quarterback, it's hard for teams to be successful. 

The new starting quarterback will replace record-setting quarterback Brock Osweiler, who was drafted in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Sophomores Michael Eubank, Taylor Kelly, and Michael Bercovicci are competing for the ASU starting quarterback job.

I'll tell you why Eubank is the team's best option in the years to come. 

Athleticism

Of the three competitors for the ASU starting quarterback job, Eubank has the best athleticism of the three. Eubank is elusive in the open field and can make defenders miss easily. 

Dual-threat quarterbacks are highly successful in the college game; just look at Vince Young, Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, and many others. 

While it is not fair to compare Eubank to those national title winning quarterbacks, he still presents those players' elite speed and massive frame. 

Eubank is 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds. That frame will be impossible to take down in the pocket and in the open field. 

Playbook wide-open

Eubank's athleticism allows ASU to run a whole different assortment of plays that neither Kelly nor Bercovicci could successfully run. 

The Sun Devils can run option plays, the types of plays Oregon runs—not the wishbone or the triple-option.

Head coach Todd Graham has said repeatedly that he wants to run upwards of 80 plays in a single game, including around 10 "gadget" plays per game. Eubank allows Graham to run these types of plays with his versatility. 

Three-year commitment

When ASU makes its decision on a starting quarterback, it needs to be a three-year commitment.

Continuity at the quarterback decision is a must for ASU, as it will bring in its fifth different starting quarterback in five seasons. Not since the heydays of Rudy Carpenter have the Sun Devils had a starter for more than one season. 

Eubank, Bercovicci, and Kelly will all be sophomores in the fall, so the victor of the starting quarterback battle should be able to throw for three seasons. 

Eubank's biggest weakness is probably his consistent accuracy, but given time in Graham's spread-option system, he should improve tremendously. 

It is much harder to improve speed, which is something someone is either born with or isn't, than to improve throwing mechanics, which just takes practice.