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SEC Football: Spring 2019 storylines for every SEC team

By John Mitchell

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 01: Confetti falls after the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 35-28 in the 2018 SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 01: Confetti falls after the Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 35-28 in the 2018 SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Arkansas: Improved play at QB

Arkansas hit rock-bottom in Chad Morris’ first season in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks finished the year 2-10, and went winless in the SEC. It was the worst season of Arkansas football since the 1950s. The good news is there’s nowhere to go but up from here. In order to do that, Morris will have to get much better production out of his quarterbacks in 2019.

Blaming one position group of the Hogs’ shortcoming would be foolish; they were bad across the board, but the complete lack of even serviceable play at the most important position on the field was undoubtedly the biggest factor in their bottoming out.

Morris tried three different quarterbacks last season with little success. Ty Storey, Cole Kelley, and Connor Noland combined for 17 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, with a 112.4 QB rating, which would collectively rank them last in the SEC.

Storey and Kelley both transferred at season’s end, and the freshman Noland didn’t show enough to inspire confidence in him being the starter for 2019 and beyond. After such a rocky first season, Morris doesn’t have the time to wait for a developmental quarterback to figure it out; he hit the grad-transfer market hard this offseason and landed not one, but two players who theoretically would be upgrades over what the Hogs trotted out last season.

SMU-transfer Ben Hicks played for Morris with the Mustangs and is following his old-coach to Fayetteville. Hicks started at SMU for three seasons, and while he was never super efficient, he led some explosive offenses during his time in Fort Worth. His career 130.1 QB rating is a step up, but he hasn’t completed better than 60% of his passes in any of his three seasons. His 55.9 completion-percentage from last season would have ranked him 13th among starting quarterbacks in the SEC, ahead of only Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald.

Hicks will compete with Texas A&M-transfer Nick Starkel, who surprised some by choosing the Razorbacks despite Morris already landing Hicks on the transfer market. Starkel does have two years of eligibility remaining, though, so even if he’s unable to beat out Hicks for the gig this season, he figures to be the favorite to take the job in 2020.

Starkel has some starting experience as well, starting several games for the Aggies in 2018 and putting together some good efficiency numbers. He lost out in the QB-battle with Kellen Mond last season, which ultimately led to his decision to depart College Station. Hicks figures to be the favorite with his connection to Morris’ offensive, but Starkel has the higher upside and could snatch the job away.

Regardless of which player starts, either should be an instant upgrade from last season, which could cause Arkansas to jump up the standings and compete for bowl eligibility.

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