For him to come in and do what he did, that may be one of the best true freshman performances, first game, considering all things, considering what he’s got going on.”. But at the very least, Yellen gave. ASU believed throughout the week that it had an advantage against USC’s younger defensive backs, and it executed that way, throwing and completing go and fade routes throughout the game. Almost certainly, there will be some talk of Pickett being replaced at a point in the season because it happens every year. What is less clear is his backup when Pitt breaks fall camp. “We came in and we were a little nervous at first given that Joey had not really taken that (many) reps in practice,” Darby said. Enter your email to read this article for free. For freshman quarterback Joey Yellen, ... overriding fellow freshman Ethan Long as the No. He started that game (about 2⁄3 of the way into the season) with starter Jayden Daniels injured. © 2005-2020 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. “I think (wide receivers Frank Darby and Brandon Aiyuk) definitely played an unbelievable game,” Yellen said. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. That alone made Yellen’s performance during ASU’s 31-26 loss to USC on Saturday all the more impressive. He connected with junior wide receiver, But even before those plays, there was another unanticipated turn. “When we found out he was going, it was like ‘Alright, it’s time. So, could one of these guys catapult themselves to the starting job? But at the very least, Yellen gave — and didn’t take — the unexpected surprise of his appearance, proving that he can be trusted in Daniels’ shoes in similar situations, and perhaps down the line, a reliable two-year starter if Daniels were to leave for professional football after three collegiate seasons. Patti is the lone returnee with experience. — and didn’t take — the unexpected surprise of his appearance. This includes information about the number of visitors to the site, what pages visitors view on our site and how long visitors are viewing pages on the site. We had some adversity and all that, but there were a couple times where the game kind of came down to them — if (USC) is bringing pressure and (Darby and Aiyuk) have their isolation matchups out there and they were exactly where they were supposed to be each time.”. Despite the turnover, Yellen’s confidence remained intact. Despite not leading his team to a victory, Yellen threw for four touchdowns — the most by any Sun Devil quarterback in their debut, besting Daniels' best game by one score — and 297 passing yards, keeping ASU close at the finish of a game it earlier trailed 28-7 after the first quarter and had little expectations to succeed. When he committed to play for the Sun Devils on June 10, 2018, it was expected that he would be their quarterback of the future, overriding fellow freshman Ethan Long as the No.