Morris finally names QB1 for Portland State
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FAYETTEVILLE — The wait is over: Arkansas has named SMU transfer Ben Hicks as its starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2019 season.
Head coach Chad Morris made the announcement during Monday’s press conference, just five days ahead of the Razorbacks’ opener against Portland State. Hicks beat out Texas A&M transfer Nick Starkel.
"Ben has earned the right to start and will our starter Week 1 going into Portland State," Morris said. "The competition between Ben and Nick has been impressive, to say the least, over three weeks."
This decision ends what has been a three-month battle between the two graduate transfers, but Morris was complimentary of Starkel's growth since arriving.
At his previous school, Hicks broke most of SMU’s career passing records with 718 completions for 9,081 yards and 71 touchdowns. His first three collegiate seasons with the Mustangs - including a redshirt year - came with Morris at the helm.
In 2017, which was Morris’ and Hicks’ final season together at SMU, he completed 58.5 percent of his passes for 3,569 yards, 33 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Last season, Hicks did not mesh well with new head coach Sonny Dykes and was even benched for a short stretch in the first half of the season before regaining the starting job.
With Morris clearly not happy with the play of Arkansas’ quarterbacks - Ty Storey and Cole Kelley, who eventually transferred - Hicks decided to reunite with his former coach. He was a midyear enrollee and immediately took over the starting job in spring ball.
In an unusual move, the Razorbacks brought in a second graduate transfer over the summer, as Starkel entered the mix when he arrived in June.
During his time with the Aggies, Starkel started five games as a redshirt freshman in 2017 but lost his job to five-star quarterback Kellen Mond last season. Over the last two years, he completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 1,962 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Graduating from Texas A&M in just three years, Starkel has two years of eligibility remaining. The coaches praised his intelligence during fall camp, saying he learned the playbook much quicker than expected. That made the decision a lot closer than some expected for Week 1, but it wasn’t quite enough to overtake Hicks.
Kickoff against Portland State, an FCS program, is set for 3 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on SEC Network.
**Check HawgBeat.com later today for more details on how and why Chad Morris came to this decision**