Morris declines to name starter despite Starkel's strong showing

Subscribe for free for 30 days! NEW USERS | RETURNING USERS

OXFORD, Miss. — Two games into the season, Arkansas’ quarterback situation is as unsettled as it was during fall camp.

Although Nick Starkel took over for Ben Hicks at halftime of the Razorbacks’ 31-17 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday, head coach Chad Morris declined to name a starter for next week’s game against Colorado State.

That means questions will swirl around QB1 for at least another 36 hours, until Morris meets with the media at noon Monday.

“We’re not going to address that right now,” Morris said. “This isn’t the time or place right now to address it. We’ll get back and evaluate like we always do.”

However, if their play at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was any indication, the Razorbacks have found their new quarterback in Starkel.

The Texas A&M transfer completed 17 of 24 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown, helping Arkansas move the ball in the second half after the Hicks-led offense managed just 137 total yards before halftime.

“We didn’t get the job done, so it doesn’t really matter how I played,” Starkel said. “I’d throw 10 yards and take a win over losing. That’s how I’ve always been and that’s how I’ll always be.”

With the offense struggling for a second straight week, Morris told Starkel he was going in just before the quarterbacks left the locker room to warm up.

“I thought it was time,” Morris said. “We needed a spark and I wanted to see who could kind of give us a kick start in our offense in the second half.”

It wasn’t a particularly smooth start for Starkel, as the Razorbacks were called for an illegal formation on the first play and then they had to burn a timeout before they ran another one.

Despite being back up nearly his own goal line, he connected on back-to-back passes for freshmen Trey Knox and Treylon Burks, nearly getting the first down.

“I didn’t know how long I was going in there,” Starkel said. “I just knew I was going in for that first play and that’s all I was hoping for. ‘I just need a crumb, I just need a crumb,’ that’s all I’ve been saying.”

Starkel’s second possession went much better, as he marched the Razorbacks into Ole Miss territory with a chance to tie the game at 10-10.

A botched trick play - on which he threw the ball to the left instead of the right - lost 14 yards, but it didn’t phase him. Devwah Whaley got all of the lost yardage back on a screen and then he connected with Knox on what appeared to be a game-tying 38-yard touchdown.

Unfortunately, Burks was lined up on the line of scrimmage, covering up tight end Grayson Gunter and leading to an illegal man downfield penalty that erased the score.

“One second you’re celebrating in the end zone and the next second someone’s walking up to you saying, ‘Hey, there’s a flag. You have to go back,’” Starkel said. “Just things like that, they put you in a hole.”

Behind the sticks once again, Starkel responded by hitting tight end Cheyenne O’Grady over the middle. He was stopped two yards shy of the first down, though, and then the Rebels brought down Rakeem Boyd a yard short.

Arkansas never had the ball again in a one-possession game, as Ole Miss scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive.

“I think he came out and did a great job,” Knox said of Starkel’s performance. “He didn’t have any momentum on his side. Just to come out and move the ball down the field was very impressive.”

Through two games, Hicks has completed just 21 of 45 passes (46.7 percent) for 241 yards - an average of 5.4 yards per attempt. Starkel had a critical interception last week, but is now 21 of 29 passing (72.4 percent) for 249 yards - an average of 8.6 yards per attempt.

It was evident that Starkel got more comfortable as the game progressed, but he publicly said he would be fine with whatever his role is moving forward.

“We’ll go back and we’ll watch the film,” Starkel said. “I felt pretty good out there, but obviously it’s Coach Morris’ decision and I’m going to respect everything that he chooses to do.”

Morris was asked multiple times about the impending decision during his postgame press conference. However, he refused to divulge any hints on which way he was leaning.

“We’re just going to step back from tonight, get in there tomorrow and re-evalute things,” Morris said, “and make a decision that’s what’s best for this football team.”

If the Razorbacks do make the switch, there’s no doubt what kind of quarterback they’ll be getting. When Morris named Hicks the starter before Week 1, he said it was because of his knowledge of the offense while admitting Starkel was the quarterback with the better arm.

That’s a fact his teammates have also noticed.

“Oh, he spins it,” Knox said. “It rips through the air. It’s just so smooth to catch. He has a great arm. He’s a great talent, he’s smart, he’s picking up the offense, so I think he’ll be a great weapon for us.”