Elway brings more than a name to ASU

February 6, 2008

Because of his name, some expect too much from Jack Elway. Others expect too little, writing him off because he's not in the same league athletically as his father, College and Pro Football of Famer John Elway.

If Jack played a position other than quarterback, it might be different. But even when he was playing as a linebacker on the freshman team at Cherry Creek High in suburban Denver, genetically and historically his destiny always has been as a quarterback. He could have worn a jersey other than his dad's famous No. 7 but instead embraces that number and the pressure that comes with it.

"Dads always dream of their sons taking over for them, whether it's football or anything else," Jack told the Denver Post before earning the Cherry Creek starting quarterback job in 2006.

Now Jack is following John into the Pac-10.

Elway is among 23 players expected to sign letters of intent with Arizona State today. Three junior-college players already are signed and enrolled for the spring semester. A 27th player, Allante Battle, is expected to start out at ASU on track scholarship and play football.

There's a chance for one addition and, ASU hopes, no defections in a class ranked in the top 25 nationally by Scout.com (No. 14), Rivals.com (No. 20) and ESPN (No. 23).

At 6 feet 3 and 200 pounds, Jack is as big as his father was when he left Stanford to start his NFL career with the Denver Broncos in 1983. "He certainly inherited his dad's arm, that's for sure," Scouts Inc. writes in its scouting report. "Elway is full of upside and physical tools as a pocket passer with good athleticism and ideal size. He has the frame to bulk up and the arm to make all the throws. He is raw and can be rough around the edges in terms of mechanics."

Allen Wallace of SuperPrep said Elway "looks like a middle-of-the-road, three-star prospect. There's nothing wrong with that. It's like Joe Montana's kid going to Notre Dame; it's fun to talk about, and there's always that magic-elixir possibility."

Wallace said there also is a residual public-relations advantage for ASU coach Dennis Erickson's staff, that a player with Elway's pedigree would decide to develop his skills there.

As a senior, Elway threw for 2,180 yards and 25 touchdowns in a season that ended badly for him. He threw seven interceptions against eventual Class 5A state champion Grandview in a 35-7 loss. Before that, Elway had four interceptions for the season.

"He's a great kid who takes coaching very well," said Bob Johnson, who has worked with Carson Palmer and many other elite college and pro quarterbacks.

"I see a guy who is going to keep working and getting better," Johnson said. "His junior film wasn't that good, but he had a better senior year. I'm a huge (Dennis) Erickson fan. He sparks up programs in a big way. I see the kid flourishing in a big way there."

Erickson was offensive coordinator at San Jose State under the late Jack Elway Sr., John's father, from 1979-81.

"It's important, the fact that I knew Dennis," John Elway said last week when he and Jack were here for the Super Bowl. "Any time you're comfortable with somebody and you know what kind of football coach they are, and I know what kind of offense he runs, because it's a lot of the same stuff my dad ran. That had a little bit to do with it. Dennis is a players' coach, and they seem to all like him."

Elway committed to ASU in October after a campus visit. Neither he nor John flinched at the prospect of ASU adding a second quarterback to the class, which ultimately did not happen.

"The bottom line is he's going to have to come in here and compete for the job whether he's a freshman or with guys ahead of him or guys they bring in next year," John said. "That's why it really didn't have an effect on us either way. We understood the position that Dennis was in, that they've got to win football games, too. Competition is good. We really didn't care if they were going to bring somebody else in."

Danny Sullivan, Samson Szakacsy, Chasen Stangel and Elway are expected to compete to replace Rudy Carpenter as quarterback in 2009. Sullivan then will be a senior but, barring a Carpenter injury, will not have a significant playing experience advantage.