Sullivan deserved one shining moment

As I sat in my Seattle hotel room Saturday night, watching Arizona State wide receiver Chris McGaha catch the game-winning touchdown pass against Washington, I thought of two things:

1. How in the world did McGaha get so wide open?

2. Good for Danny Sullivan.

As any regular reader of this column knows, I have stumped for freshman Brock Osweiler since the season began. Prior to the Sun Devils' opener against Idaho State, I wrote that Osweiler should be the starter, given Sullivan's limitations and the fact ASU wasn't expected to do much this season anyway.

Might as well let the freshman learn this season so he's that much better in 2010, I reasoned.

Since then, I've been pretty hard on Sullivan, criticizing him for constantly missing open receivers against Georgia then arguing that he should be benched after ASU's home loss to Oregon State.

I'm still not sold on Sullivan as a Pac-10 quarterback. But I couldn't help but smile as I watched him celebrate his finest moment as a Sun Devil.

Simply put, he deserved it.

Sullivan waited four years to be the starter at ASU. He didn't start a game his first three seasons and when he did play, the Devils were either so far ahead that his performance was irrelevant or so far behind that he was the Christian being thrown to the lions.

Sullivan never complained, though. He kept his mouth shut, put his work in and waited, knowing he'd have his senior season.

Then Osweiler shows up for spring ball, coach Dennis Erickson raves about his maturity and arm strength, and everyone wants to see the kid play. Suddenly, Sullivan is Chad Christensen and Osweiler is Andrew Walter.

Imagine how Sullivan felt. He had yet to start a college game and already he was being pushed aside.

How would you feel?

If Sullivan was an arrogant jerk, I wouldn't be writing this column. But he's not. Ask anyone connected with the football team, and they'll tell you he's a good kid who cares about the right things.

That's why he was so devastated after the Oregon State loss. He knew he had let the team down. He sat there; his shoulders slumped, trying not to cry as he was asked time and time again about his performance and the fans chanting, "We want Brock, We want Brock."

You can argue that a college quarterback should be tougher than that, and I wouldn't disagree. But even as I called for Osweiler to start, I felt sorry for Sullivan.

This is it for him. He's not going to play in the NFL. Once this season ends, he's moving on. Football will be in the past tense, except for the occasional Saturday morning in the park.

I'd hate to think that for the rest of his life his senior season would be a bitter memory; every athlete deserves a moment he can tell his grandkids about. Sullivan finally got his.

There's a good chance Sullivan - and the Sun Devils - struggle the rest of the season. None of ASU's final six games are a picnic. There might come a time when Erickson does go to Osweiler.

But if the final stretch is unkind to Sullivan, he'll always have that October night when he launched a pass into McGaha's waiting hands, heard the cheers from the crowd and basked in his teammates' embrace.

Even if you don't think much of the quarterback, how can you not feel good for the kid?