Five questions: FOX Sports’ Tyler Lockman talks Arizona State

UCLA opens its conference schedule on Thursday with a big road game at No. 15 Arizona State — a primetime chance for the Bruins to prove themselves still capable of a juggernaut performance. FOX Sports Arizona’s Tyler Lockman answered five questions about the Sun Devils, who are without starting quarterback Taylor Kelly.

1. How do ASU fans feel about Todd Graham two-plus years in? Does he need to show progress after a Pac-12 South title to keep them satisfied?

It’s hard to imagine them feeling any better about Graham in year three. He has overhauled the program’s culture, taken the team to two bowl games, boosted recruiting and gotten unprecedented commitment — financially and otherwise — out of ASU’s administration. That’s all before mentioning the Sun Devils won the Pac-12 South and hosted the conference title game in his second season. On top of it all, he recently backed up his talk of a long-term commitment to ASU by donating $500,000 of his own money to ASU’s stadium renovation fund. How could ASU fans not be happy with him leading the program?

All that good will afford him some breathing room this season. Fans tempered their expectations a bit after ASU lost nine defensive starters to graduation and the NFL following last season, so while Graham and the players expect themselves to at least match last season’s 10-4 finish, fans would probably be pretty happy to see ASU finish with eight or nine wins in what was expected to be a bit of a building year.

2. How does ASU’s defense look after losing nine starters? Might it get exposed against a more potent offense?

It’s hard to tell exactly where the defense is because ASU has so far faced an FCS team (Weber State), a team that runs the triple option offense (New Mexico) and a team that has two conference wins in the past two seasons (Colorado). Against Colorado it showed signs of being the playmaking defense it has been the past two years but also allowed 545 total yards, the most it has under Graham. It has also shown its youth in each of its game. With three true freshman starting and more playing, mistakes have been made, and there will certainly be more. The defense still has a lot of growing to do, and this week could definitely be a painful learning experience. Facing Brett Hundley at less than 100 percent might help, but either way ASU should get a better idea this week of where its defense stands.

3. How does Mike Bercovici compare to Taylor Kelly? What will Arizona State miss most about their All-Pac-12 quarterback?

Bercovici has a better arm than Kelly, but his confidence in it can be dangerous. Turnovers cost him the chance to start in 2012, as Kelly displayed better ball security. Kelly is also more mobile, though Bercovici has improved his ability to make plays on his feet over the past two seasons. Bercovici is also a more vocal leader, which teammates may feed off, particularly in such a high-profile game. The thing ASU will miss most about Kelly: His ability to run ASU’s zone read. Kelly had become so effective at finding the best one-on-one matchup and recognizing when his best option was to keep the ball and go. Bercovici has run it with the first team in practice, but the game experience Kelly has is impossible to replicate.

4. Can D.J. Foster maintain his current pace? Or is part of his success due to ASU’s lackluster nonconference schedule?

This pace? Probably not. An impressive pace? Probably. Foster’s torrid start has come against teams allowing 181.0 rushing yards or more per game. UCLA’s rushing defense ranks in the bottom half of the Pac-12, but it’s certainly a cut above what Foster has faced so far. Still, Foster proved last season he can do it against quality teams. In the Pac-12 title game against Stanford, Foster broke off a 51-yard touchdown run before leaving the game with an injury. He’d racked up 124 yards against Arizona the week before. Foster is the real deal, and he should get a ton of opportunities in this game, but 170.0 yards per game is a tough pace for anyone to maintain.

5. Who has been the Sun Devils’ most surprising performer so far?

There have been a few surprises, but the biggest has to be safety Jordan Simone. The redshirt junior walked on at Washington State in 2011 before taking a year off following a coaching change. He transferred to ASU as a walk-on and started to display a knack for making big plays. He ran with the first team in spring practice and seemed to be a place holder, but he won the starting job at bandit safety and has kept proving himself on the field. Against Colorado last week, he showed he’s one of the top playmakers on this defense with an interception, a forced fumble and 13 tackles. He’s also become a big time source of energy the entire defense can feed on.