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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas officially has a new starting quarterback.
After declining to announce a starter following the loss at Ole Miss, head coach Chad Morris confirmed what many expected at his weekly Monday press conference: Nick Starkel will start Saturday’s game.
"It wasn’t so much what Ben (Hicks) did or didn’t do; it’s what Nick did," Morris said. "We were looking for a spark, something to get our offense moving, create some momentum, create some yards, give an opportunity for some big plays."
Based on comments by offensive coordinator Joe Craddock, it sounds like Starkel will get all of the reps against Colorado State. The Razorbacks subbed him in both of the first two games for starter Ben Hicks.
"(Hicks will) be ready if that time comes, but right now we want to see what Nick can do," Craddock said. "Nick, obviously, provided a spark for us the other day and did some good things. Got to clean up some things, some mistakes, but again, he's only a couple of months into the system, as well."
The move comes just days after the Texas A&M transfer played the entire second half against the Rebels and completed 17 of 24 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown.
Those numbers far exceeded those of Hicks, who started the first two games of the season and failed to complete half of his passes in either outing. He was 14 of 29 for 143 yards against Portland State and was just 7 of 16 for 98 yards at Ole Miss, leading to his benching.
"Ben played okay; he missed some throws I wish we had back," offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said. "But Nick came in and did some nice things. He threw the ball downfield well. Guys made plays for him and gave us a little bit of a spark, so I think it’s his turn and we’ll see what he does this week."
When they named Hicks the starter before the season, Morris and Craddock both cited his experience and knowledge of the offense as the deciding factor, while still acknowledging Starkel had the better arm.
"Nick’s arm strength, I think he’s able to push the ball down the field a little bit more," Craddock said again on Monday. "That may put a little more fear in those DBs that they can’t just stop the run."
Starkel got a couple of series at the end of the first half against Portland State, but threw a critical interception in the red zone and then badly mismanaged the clock on his second possession. That put a damper on his 4-of-5, 48-yard performance.
Craddock even said that had he thrown a touchdown instead of getting picked off, there might have been more consideration to start Starkel in Week 2.
Ultimately, he still played significant reps against the Rebels because the Razorbacks’ offense scored just three points on 137 yards in the first half. It wasn’t enough to pull out a victory, but Starkel provided the spark they were looking for and put him in position to earn his first start at Arkansas.
Starkel previously started five games as a redshirt freshman at Texas A&M in 2017. During his time with the Aggies, he completed 60.8 percent of his passes for 1,962 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
So far at Arkansas, Starkel is 21 of 29 (72.4 percent) for 249 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He is averaging 8.6 yards per attempt, compared to the 5.4 yards per attempt by Hicks - who is completing just 46.7 percent of his passes.
"The one thing I did see, the ball came out of his hand quick," Morris said. "I thought, at that point, you kind of saw Ole Miss back off a little bit and give us some underneath stuff and loosen some things up."
Kickoff against Colorado State - which pulled off a comeback to beat the Razorbacks 34-27 in Fort Collins, Colo., last year - is set for 3 p.m. on the SEC Network.
