In the end, Arizona State made the safe choice by going with Steven Threet as its starting quarterback. Coach Dennis Erickson cited experience as a factor in choosing Threet, who has transferred from two schools.
Threet had his share of underachieving practices, but overall, his decision-making was the best between he and Brock Osweiler. Samson Szakacsy never got a full opportunity, hampered by a fatigued arm.
Threet would appear to combine the strength of Szakacsy -- mobility -- and Osweiler -- a pocket presence. Szakacsy might be the ideal guy for Erickson and Noel Mazzone’s offense with his ability to run and make things happen if a play breaks down, but he’s not in the mix. Erickson didn’t rule out using Szakacsy at a position on offense other than quarterback, however.
Threet and Osweiler are big, strong guys -- 6-5 and 6-8, respectively -- but Threet, while he has a tendency to lock on to one receiver and telegraph his passes, ran the No. 1 offense a bit better in camp than Osweiler. He has also seen live big-time college football defenses in real games as Michigan's quarterback. No substitute for being in the fire before. For his part, Osweiler displayed some good touch on his passes, but also made glaring errors in game-like conditions.