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The Razorback coaches finally announced their decision to name SMU grad transfer Ben Hicks the starting quarterback for game one against Portland State on Monday and the fans, who polled greatly in favor of A&M grad transfer Nick Starkel during the preseason, naturally started complaining and overreacting on social media.
The first player to come to Hicks' defense was team captain, linebacker De'Jon Harris. He did so with a tweet Monday, before expanding on his confidence to the media on Tuesday.
"When we got basically all the guys in for the summer going into fall camp, I just felt like he’d take a bigger step and he did that and he earned the spot," Harris said.
Several more players including Rakeem Boyd, Trey Knox, John David White, expressed their excitement and support for Hicks on Twitter as well.
The main factor for starting his former quarterback, Chad Morris said, was Hicks' knowledge of the offense, his experience getting the ball out quickly and making sure every man on the field is where he's supposed to be. Starting center Ty Clary said there's no doubt Hicks is the man for that job.
"Ben Hicks is great," Clary said Tuesday. "It’s the coach’s decision and I stand behind it. I trust that guy back there. He’s been in the system for a long time. If I make a mistake, he fixes it pretty quick. I try to do the same for him, but he doesn’t make very many mistakes, if any at all."