Trenton Bourguet will remain Arizona State football's starting quarterback
The Arizona State offense finally clicked, so there is no need to make a lot of changes. So there won't be any.
Interim coach Shaun Aguano addressed the media on Monday as usual and confirmed that red-shirt junior Trenton Bourguet will be the starting quarterback moving forward.
The Sun Devils (3-5, 2-3) are riding the momentum of a 42-34 win over Colorado in which they racked up a season-high 557 yards total offense. They're going to need a similar effort come Saturday when they play host to No. 10 UCLA (7-1, 4-1) in a 7:30 p.m. Pac-12 showdown at Sun Devil Stadium.
This will mark the fifth nationally ranked foe the Sun Devils will have played.
Emory Jones, a transfer from Florida, had started the previous seven games but his status was thrown into doubt after a 15-14 loss to Stanford in which the offense struggled.
That resulted in Aguano making the decision to go with Bourguet against the Buffaloes and the former walk-on delivered. In his first career start, Bourguet completed 32 of 43 passes for 435 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. That was more than enough for Aguano to give him a vote of confidence.
"Trenton has earned the right to be the starter," Aguano said. "Our kids are doing well with him and they trust him. It's a bad spot for Emory (Jones). The great conversation we had with Emory is that, `Coach I'll be ready if the time comes,' That's always hard but Trenton will be our starter. I think he did everything right. He plays with that moxie and our kids trust him."
Aguano said he thought it would be better to name a starter and stick with him rather than going on a game-to-game basis. The Sun Devils usually do not practice on Mondays. They will be back on the field Tuesday with Bourguet getting the first team reps rather than have an "open" competition at that position as Aguano deemed it last week.
"It gives the offense the confidence that Trenton will be the guy going forward but Emory is very confident and very willing and able to take care of this offense. Will there be changes if we got to him? I don't think so. Our offense will fit both of these guys. But going forward Trenton will be the guy think will give us the best shot to win," he said.
Bourguet put himself on the radar when he entered in relief of Jones in the second quarter of the game against No. 21 Washington and rallied the team to a 45-38 victory. In that game, Bourguet was 15-of-21 for 182 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
Aguano will also remain the offensive play caller after taking over that duty from coordinator Glenn Thomas on Saturday. But Aguano stressed that Thomas has other duties. He's also the quarterback coach so he's aided in Bourguet's development. He is also viewing the game from the press box and on the headset, relaying information to him as well as the quarterbacks.
"He handles the passing game," Aguano said of Thomas. "We go back information-wise from the top. We're always talking. It's always hard to make that decision but he's done great with our quarterbacks and we still sit down and game plan together. It is a team effort on the offensive side. Maybe the play calling is a little different but the way we prepare is exactly the same. So he plays a huge part in that."
For subscribers: What grades did ASU football receive for win over Colorado?
Henderson questionable
Left guard Ladarius Henderson has missed the last two games with a broken bone in his hand that required surgery. Aguano said he is questionable this week, pending further evaluation. Des Holmes, who had started at right tackle, moved down to start in his spot with Emmit Bohle inserted into the spot from which Holmes moved.
Bohle had been seeing some reps at right tackle in relief of the starter there Isaia Glass.
The loss of Henderson has been big, not just because he is the Sun Devils' best lineman but because he's also one of the team captains as well. The Sun Devils are also already thin up front after the loss of Joey Ramos to an ankle injury sustained in the season opener.
"He's one of our better linemen and when you don't have that and you're shuffling guys around there is that chemistry or you lose someone who means so much to that line from a leadership standpoint we miss him a lot. It also hurts our depth too so we're just praying no one else goes down," Aguano said.
Read more: Bourguet leads ASU to win over Colorado in first start
Game time announced
ASU's game on Nov. 12 at Washington State will kick off at 1:30 p.m. and air on the Pac-12 Network. That is probably a good break for ASU since the weather in November in Pullman can present challenges to visiting teams.
The other games that week are put in the six-day window television networks have to make their selections for various time slots. Those games are Arizona at UCLA, Cal at Oregon State, Stanford at Utah and Washington at Oregon.
The previously announced Friday game that week will feature Colorado at USC at 7:30 p.m. and air on FS1.
Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783. Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trenton Bourguet will keep Arizona State's starting quarterback job
