The mission for Texas A&M Football in 2018 is to reach double-digit wins under a promising quarterback in rising sophomore Nick Starkel.
Few quarterbacks went through as much of a roller coaster season as Texas A&M football’s two freshmen that took the bulk of the snaps behind center. True freshman Kellen Mond and redshirt freshman Nick Stark’s had their fair share of ups and downs that would result in a seven win season for the Aggies. But, this might be the brightest future the Aggies had at the quarterback position in the past four years.
First-year head coach Jimbo Fisher was well-known for developing quarterbacks with the Florida State Seminoles. Between Jameis Winston, Christian Ponder, E.J. Manuel, and Deondre Francois in the last seven seasons, Fisher has a good resume in the quarterback development department. Now, he has another chance to progress a young quarterback.
Looking back at the 2017 campaign, Starkel was the more successful between him and Mond. That was highlighted by two individual performances of tossing four touchdowns. The first of those two showings came against the New Mexico Lobos, in a momentum building non-conference Home victory. Against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the Belk Bowl, Starkel threw for nearly 500 yards and four scores, in a 55-52 loss.
Starkel also has the better arm of the two quarterbacks. Mond was anticipated to have a positive impact on the ground game, with all the backfield weapons at the Aggies’ disposal. However, starting running back Trayveon Williams was just as good with Starkel as he was with Mond. That takes some of the value out of Mond’s presence.
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All things considered, the former three-star recruit, Starkel, should be considered the favorite to win the starting job in the 2018 season opener. He’ll have to be ready to face head coach David Swinney, and the Clemson Tigers, in a key Week 2 matchup. Texas A&M has the answer at quarterback with the rising sophomore Starkel.